This Funky Little Commuta-Car Is How They Did EVs In The 70s, And Could Be Yours For Just $3k

If you down a couple of shots of raspberry vodka and squint your eyes to where they’re almost closed, this oddity on wheels sort-of looks like an Autozam AZ-1. That is, except for the missing rear spoiler, the gullwing doors, and the crazy 10,000rpm turbocharged three-cylinder engine. In fact, this thing doesn’t really rev at all, because this sucker is electrical.

Okay, so it’s not an Autozam, but it must be some kind of weird Kei car, right? Leave it to those car crazy Japanese manufactures to create a super-deformed variant of the Dome Zero… but nope, it’s not Japanese at all. In fact, this wedge-shaped wonder is one of nearly 4500 electric cars built by a Florida-based company in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Florida? Yup, this teeny street-legal electric runabout is as ‘Murican as a bald eagle drinking Budweiser, only without the expected snorting V8 soundtrack that usually accompanies such things. I’d make another LS-swap joke right about now, but I think I finally found a car where it just won’t fit.

It’s called the Comuta-Car, and it was built by Commuter Vehicles from 1979 through 1982. This is actually the second-generation model; the earlier CitiCar was built from 1974-1977 by another company, and it was joined by the Comuta-Van that also came out in 1979. If you’re not impressed yet, consider that this was the most widely sold electric vehicle in the United States until Tesla’s Model S came out just three years ago. Everyone always complains about big American cars with their big, boring V8 motors. Well, here’s your tiny American alternative, and if you act fast you can own this 1981 example currently selling on eBay in New Mexico for the tidy sum of $3000.

Is it worth that much? Honestly I have absolutely no idea, but we’ll find out in a couple of days because that’s when the buy-it-now auction is over. Incidentally, for that price you get a blue Comuta-Car in “great” condition with some spare parts and a short list of mods. Mods? Oh yeah, it’s running DEKA Pro Master 230 AH batteries with an AllTrax controller, a Zivian NG1 battery charger and a motor with double brush leads. Is that good? Anyone? I’m not what you’d call electrically savvy. For all I know this could be same stuff they put in those dorky electric shopping carts at Wal-Mart.

But here’s the thing: I think this oddball electric car is cool as hell. I can’t explain it, because these things top out around 35mph with a 6bhp electric motor. But sailing around sporting events in a golf cart is crazy fun, and I’m drawn to the halls of YouTube where people basically rub two sticks together and make electric cars go bonkers. Could something like that happen here? Juice up the power a bit to make it borderline schizophrenic? That would cut into the car’s 40-mile range, but with 30 years of technological advancements you can’t tell me there isn’t some way to make this car a little more daring.

Or just enjoy it for the forgotten but significant piece of electric car history that it is. There seems to be a cult following for these cars at citicar.org, so you wouldn’t be completely on your own. If you’re thinking about getting a scooter or a carbonfibre racing bicycle to zip around town, this could be a viable, unique, attention-getting alternative.

Anyone else feel that way, or am I really just that messed up in the head?