When I remember DC Motors correctly, they get more tourqe when they get slower, due to a higher load for example. So running it in full power mode should bring you up any hill, until the voltage of the lead acid batterys drop
@Marcangelus1 Lithium will work okay, they will lose efficacy and staying cold for a long time will kill the cells outright. Or at least they used to. Since they're magic I'm not sure. Modern lithium battery cars heat/cool the batteries to keep them from failing. Lead acid will fail pathetically, because they're sad, ancient, and pathetic. And at -40, an el generico car battery will literally freeze over if it drops below 60% charge.
When I was a kid in the 70s, someone in my neighborhood had one of these, so I used to see it driving around all the time. I found it both fascinating and hilarious.
Nancy's guy Frank here.... I owned and drove one for 5 years, my wife took our car to work and I had the choice of buying a gas car and all of the expense of operating that, or buying the CitiCar with no gas or oil expense. I chose the Citicar, so I didn't have to walk to work... we lived in a small city at the time and I was only about 2 miles from my job. I ended up charging it ONLY once a week. ALL of my gauges worked like they were supposed to work, and the doors closed easily like they should. Mine had 8 - 6V golf cart batteries, I found that a bungee cord hooked to one metal bar of the rt. window and over my head to the metal bar of the other window effectively killed all of the drafts in the winter time. Also, the frame was of large Pipes (like race cars use) from the front bumper over the drivers head to the back bumper. So when you really looked at it... the driver was in a "basic" Roll bar cage... much safer than at first glance. Still I did not want to be hit in it though, but the roll bar cage did give me a little more confidence. I DID get the car to go up to 47 MPH ONE TIME! It was going down a long hill, and that was my first and only time at that speed. The short wheel base made it rather unstable as it jumped from lane to lane with only a small movement of the steering wheel. Had to hold the wheel perfectly still or you would be crossing the yellow, double line, on the road and running head on into on coming traffic. I actually served me well for the time that I needed it. MUCH cheaper than running a gas car for that short distance each day.
You seen what it was like in the oil crisis??? Nearly everyone was wasting a FEW HOURS A DAY in massive lines to get a limited amount of gallons of gasoline. It made it look like some type of soviet union lines for basic goods.... with this you'd look like the guy who HAD THINGS WORKED OUT. Less about chasing your dreams, more about ESCAPING YOUR NIGHTMARES.
Learned this from going to the Lane Motor museum, where they have one of these along with several other similar French electric cars from the 70's. Back then you didn't need a driver's license to own/operate one of these. But they were so awful the only people who bought them were the town drunks who had their license suspended due to DUI.
@@remlatzargonix1329 Yeah, I saw that picture someone posted, where some idiot broke the *FREE* condom dispenser to steal the *FREE* ones. Not like I pay attention to this very much, but I remember that.
Nightweaver20xx it’s the missing link between Powerwheels and the fancier gold carts. It also fills in the gap of food related cars like the Oscar Mayer wiener mobile and ice cream and taco trucks with giant foods on the roof
It's got a similar motor control system as an early 70s Club Car Caroche. Contactors, ballast resistors, and microswitches connected to the gas pedal. But just think what you could do with it, LiPo batteries, new motor controller, a motor from Plum Quick, and you could give it range and highway capable speeds!
you should try driving that cheese wedge you might giggle to driving it knowing someone thought that would make a serious car to drive on the highway🤣🤣
@ 6:23 you ask, "Who would buy these things?" Well, my best friend from grade school's dad, that's who. I about fell over when I saw the title of this and watching you go through all the parts and how it drives brought back a BUNCH of memories! He took me for a ride around town in it and I thought it was the coolest thing ever, but even as a late grade schooler I recognized the impracticality of it.
Today, 8 hours ago, my son received his CitiCar. Yes, delivered in an enclosed carrier as the width of the track would not allow it to go up on an outdoor rig. I just got home from there. Good Lord. The cheesiness is unbelievable. We are trying to grasp the concept. Get our heads around it. His makes your look like a perfect specimen. It gives us the flavor of something like a kiddie car at an amusement park, the kind that the kids think they are "driving" but it is in fact pulled by a cable underneath the concrete path. Where do I start. The seats feel like they were designed by someone who said, "Let's make the most uncomfortable seats as possible". No matter how you sit, and how you move around, you cannot even get slightly OK. You are just uncomfortable. On his, this seat bottom can be removed to reveal the battery case underneath. Behind this sheet metal case, there is just an opening to the road. Just open. So you are separated from an opening that goes to the street by just the seat bottom. I guess that is the method to provide ventilation to the batteries. Insane! The old bass terd that sold him the car said that everything works, it just needs the batteries. When I saw it, I noticed the brake pedal was on the floor. "The brakes need some work Dad" my son said. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the brake pedal was just freely swinging from its mount. The mechanism to connect it to the master cylinder is gone. Upon even closer inspection, I discovered that there is no master cylinder, or anything else! The rubber brake hoses are there for the front, just sitting in their mounts. The line for the rear brakes is just hanging weirdly in the air. "It just needs brakes, the mother****** said". Cracks as described in the A pillar. And the doors. None in the front piece. No battery connector cables. "They just take regular cables!" the guy said, whatever that means. Yeah, regular cables that have battery terminal connections on BOTH ends, plus whatever goes off to the motor. You know, the "regular" cables. The bright side today is I was able to push the car up the driveway. Up a slight incline. By myself. With my son inside. With one arm. Sigh.
TBF if I had one of these I would probably want to replace the brakes _in toto_ with something modern. Due to wanting to live? Replacing the batteries with lithium iron phosphate would improve things dramatically, too. (Although I'd be torn between using three different banks or a single bank with three DC-DC converters to get the three voltages.) But everything else about this car is perfect. Cannot be improved upon.
brushed motor that sucks balls as you have to maintain the motor or it will stop working why can't they use induction which don't have brushes that fail after a few miles of driving and have to be replaced to get the motor working again as they can use induction motors now in modern ev's
Thanks for this review. Brought back fun memories. When I was about 5 years old my family moved to Sebring & my dad worked for Vanguard. We had a green Citicar. All your comments in your review were spot on. My favorite Citicar memory was when they had a parade lap/race prior to the 12 Hours of Sebring race with about 20 Citicars... I got to ride with my dad for that lap. Our memory is how quite it was. You could hear the fans along the track talking & that back straight took forever going 30’ish mph!! (We came in second 😎)
I'd wager a lot of those 4000 units sold were to residents of communities with golf cart trail networks. As ridiculous as it is as a car, it's a pretty fun golf cart equivalent that could take you on the road when needed.
@@MeatLeBeef It seems to have as much space in the back (if not more) as a first gen Smart Fortwo, which let me tell you is quite a lot. I once put more than a dozen old PCs in one of those (some were on the passenger seat though) and interestingly, this heavy load drastically increased ride comfort. So for carrying a day's worth of letters, this should be easily enough.
You live thru the oil crisis??? I bet plenty were bought by the type of people who can't understand why rich guys buy a ferrari to get stuck in a traffic jam when they could have bought a helicopter. The lines were ridiculously long with people wasting HOURS EACH DAY to get a few gallons of fuel. Stuff like this was a solution "that worked" but nothing more.
I know several car collectors and they tell me thaty they do get controlled more with their collectible car than their regular car - and even if we're talking very mundane ancient car (Renault Dauphine, Peugeot 404, etc - I(m not in the US so they are common cars) well the Gendarmes always seems to appreciate having a look and a talk with the driver.
I think it's actually less powerful, but it does go faster than golf carts. Based on the incredible noise it sounds like it has a gearbox to achieve that ratio.
I don’t know what was more entertaining, viewing this example of an electric road car to tackle the gas crisis or listening to your chirps and chuckles at the experience of driving it! Thank you!
Wyatt Hawkins if you squint hard enough to close your eyes completely, hold a picture of a Countach in front of your face, then open your eyes, it looks like a Countach.
While I was stationed in Louisiana, had a co-worker who owned one. Considering the speed limit on base, it was theoretically ideal for commuting in that environment. Never asked the co-worker how it held up in that state's notorious humidity and rainstorms.
I remember seeing one of these in an episode of “The John Larroquette show.“ The title character won one of these in a contest. His rent agreement stated that his electricity was paid for with his rent. The landlord had a fit when the electric bill jumped threefold because of John charging his car.
This reminds me of Soviet battery-powered hauler from about the same era, a two-seater with a cargo platform, was used to pull cargo trolleys in mail sorting facilities, and on some factories where for some or other reason traditional vehicles were considered not okay. Made similar noises and was also yellow. But three times longer and ten times heavier (it used 10 if not 20 led-acid batteries).
Johns Memes Dad sold it. The new owner paid for it but never picked it up. We hung onto it for a couple of years then called a tow truck to take it away.
in 1975 I bought a Ford F150 pickup and across the street from the Ford dealer was a Citicar dealer. I clearly remember this because, at the time, I was interested in electric cars and the only way to get one was either build one yourself with lead batteries or buy a Citcar.
1D10CRACY just today I spotted a blue citicar a few blocks a way. You can tell it's been sitting in the driveway a long time. Not in good shape. Front end up on jacks . Stuff is piled around it. What is this thing worth as is? What is it worth fixed up?
Thank you for bringing back memories. I drove one in Erie, PA. Not mine, but owned by a close cycling friend of mine who was starting up a bicycle shop in town during the Bike Boom, and I was his mechanic. John D'Angelo's was a little older than this one (memory is saying 1973, but could be 1974) and was one of the hard-core eco freaks in town. Thus his selling off his 72 Honda Z600 for one of these. I remember his had a propane heater in it, where you'd screw one of the Coleman bottles into the heater, and I only remember three batteries under the seat. And once your mileage ran past the 25 mile mark, you could count on your top speed dropping. By the 35 mile point, you were crawling home.
Simone Giertz has one of those... ruclips.net/video/hXzcIoq2ing/видео.html Nice Bonus: It can be used as a computer mouse: ruclips.net/video/QDSEpjjavhY/видео.html
Great video!! LOLOL!! you are hysterical! ""legally, you could take this on the highway, but it would be certain death." HAHA!! We were one of the 4,000. My dad had a light blue one with the stripe. I started having flashbacks with the windows that slide off, and the smell you were talking about. I was around 7 years old when we got it, and my dad would put me in that tiny space behind the seats, looking out the back window while we were driving like i was an exhibit in a traveling zoo. I grew up in Charlotte, and everywhere we went, people would pull over to watch us drive by, then they would follow us to stop and ask questions about it. The Charlotte Observer did an article about it, and I was in the picture with my Dad. Thanks again, you made my day... ;)
0:27 The Citicar has a top speed of 35mph. A domestic cat can run at speeds of up to 30mph. So we're basically looking at 2 vehicles in the same performance class. One major difference is a brushed motor produces DC current, whereas a brushed cat produces only static.
24 mph... what is it, 38.6 km/h? Sorry, I can do it peddling my 23-kilogram (50.7 lbs) very un-aerodynamic bicycle with my legs. On a good road and with a tailwind but still. My friends who ride lightweight (17 lbs) racing bicycles can do 25 mph uphill in crosswinds.
As Robert has said in multiple videos, he enjoys cars that are borderline death traps or cars that are just horrible drivers in general, so if he's having fun then that means the majority of people probably would not enjoy the experience at all
Ngl this thing is unironically awesome and I would love if some niche car company created a refreshed version, some may argue the Renault Twizy exists but it doesn't have the same aesthetic, that cheese wedge shape is to die for
I love how Tesla owners think they have the first electric car lol. I actually had a Mazda B2000 converted to electric years ago that was a blast. It still used the manual trans and would hit 80 easily but was only good for 100-125 miles.
@@bassam_salim We used forklift parts that where damaged in a fire and didn't cost us anything. But the batteries and charger, cables/ends etc were around a grand. But I never kept track since a lot of the stuff we had at our marina from other projects. You can do it cheaply or as expensive as you want though. Had we had a adapter cnc machined instead of using steel and a plasma cutter it would've added to things. It all depends on how much of a hurry you are in and what you can dig up, find in scrap yards etc. We also used marine deep cycle batteries from a fishing trawler at first, but they only lasted a few months, but it proved it's work before we spent the money. All in all it was a great truck for running around the yard and to the store for work etc.We just made a wood and fiberglass cover for the batteries in the bed and used it like a regular little truck. I'd even let employees take it home if they needed it for some reason etc. Sadly being a Mazda it rusted beyond repair but I'd build another if the right truck came along. With newer batteries I could see it going 200 miles easily.
I'd want to put a London Underground whistle on it. Search on youtube. They're so obnoxious and sound like a toy train but much louder. Perfect for this car.
It seems perfect - electric, sits two, space for small load, low cost (I assume), lots of fun from driving at minimal speeds. These really seem great city vehicle specs to me! And all this was possible in 70s.
@@austinbartose6527 Here is your answer to crashing in a Smart Car: ruclips.net/video/mnI-LiKCtuE/видео.html I was surprised, the passenger compartment is well protected.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
Modern EVs: *Quiet as a mouse*
The Citicar: "Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"
it sounds like a childs battery car. XD
@@goldenpun5592 Brushed DC motors FTW!
MORE LIKE THE SOUND YOU MAKE IS RRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE RRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
@@xxtravdamanxx no that's the sound a gender studies major makes at a biker meet.
*cue screaming sun from rick and morty*
How long until the "I bought a CitiCar" video we wonder....
davespiros i’d give him a week
That depends on when Simone Giertz gets tired of hers.
@@josephhouk6703 She's got Truckla now, so not long I'd guess
Time for the Citi Car and Wheego to race.
lol Exactly what I was thinking.
I thought ..... Is this just a hillarious car review or a pre purchase test drive video
The wedge car will never die! Until it has to go uphill, or it gets cold.
When I remember DC Motors correctly, they get more tourqe when they get slower, due to a higher load for example.
So running it in full power mode should bring you up any hill, until the voltage of the lead acid batterys drop
I've seen them driving in snow on a windy day.
@Marcangelus1 well, you could make an insulated battery pack inside a box and then add a cooling/heating system
@Marcangelus1 Lithium will work okay, they will lose efficacy and staying cold for a long time will kill the cells outright. Or at least they used to. Since they're magic I'm not sure. Modern lithium battery cars heat/cool the batteries to keep them from failing. Lead acid will fail pathetically, because they're sad, ancient, and pathetic. And at -40, an el generico car battery will literally freeze over if it drops below 60% charge.
or use too many of its extra features that draw too much current.
0:47 What I find more impressive is how the car can grow a tail at a moments notice.
lol nice
It retracts too!
If it is cat approved then I am sold
i thought the car was happy and that why was wigling the tail :)
Thats a tailpipe if I have ever seen one.
When I was a kid in the 70s, someone in my neighborhood had one of these, so I used to see it driving around all the time. I found it both fascinating and hilarious.
I feel like this one desperately needs some as seen on TV accessories 😁
It's freakin reviews!!
I was born 2007 but i bet if i saw that i would have the same reaction
That's cool,I would have enjoyed to see one for reals
Time to review this
"How did they sell these things?"
followed by
"I love this thing"
Perfection.
spoken like a true petrol head ;)
there was a dealer in Sacramento ca. in the 70's
the answer was in the 70s you didn't need a liscense so it was popular with drunks
Looking at his car collection, he’s the market for the car when it was sold new in the 70s.
Everybody gangsta till a giant mouse comes to you
...That's why the cat is there
@@thelonewolfproductionz1592 dumbass
Common misconception.
Mice don't eat cheese. They eat peanut butter.
Hay MOUSE....Say Cheese.
zero umashi wooosh
Nancy's guy Frank here.... I owned and drove one for 5 years, my wife took our car to work and I had the choice of buying a gas car and all of the expense of operating that, or buying the CitiCar with no gas or oil expense. I chose the Citicar, so I didn't have to walk to work... we lived in a small city at the time and I was only about 2 miles from my job. I ended up charging it ONLY once a week. ALL of my gauges worked like they were supposed to work, and the doors closed easily like they should. Mine had 8 - 6V golf cart batteries, I found that a bungee cord hooked to one metal bar of the rt. window and over my head to the metal bar of the other window effectively killed all of the drafts in the winter time. Also, the frame was of large Pipes (like race cars use) from the front bumper over the drivers head to the back bumper. So when you really looked at it... the driver was in a "basic" Roll bar cage... much safer than at first glance. Still I did not want to be hit in it though, but the roll bar cage did give me a little more confidence. I DID get the car to go up to 47 MPH ONE TIME! It was going down a long hill, and that was my first and only time at that speed. The short wheel base made it rather unstable as it jumped from lane to lane with only a small movement of the steering wheel. Had to hold the wheel perfectly still or you would be crossing the yellow, double line, on the road and running head on into on coming traffic. I actually served me well for the time that I needed it. MUCH cheaper than running a gas car for that short distance each day.
"I'm doing over the speed limit!"
imagine being pulled over in a cheese wheel...
That would be like the van version of it, right? XD
Getting the kids to school in a washing machine... (rofl)
a friend of my dad put in a portrait a speed ticket he gained in a citroen 2cv
that's probably why 4000 people bought it for the shits and giggles factor alone no other reason then the comic relief factor alone
SERGAL CAR SERGAL CAR
@@Sky30w0 i mean, it's battery powered... could just as easily be a protogen car :P
Cheese Louise! I half expected Simone Giertz to come popping out halfway through
As did I.
They should totally race against each other to see which one's faster.
same. First thing i wanted to know is if this was cheese louise
IKR. Cheese Louise is a Commuter Car BTW
I was like .... Simone .... then ... oh wrong channel 😅 hilarious
Someone designed this and went “yes it’s amazing”
And it was actually built
Chase your dreams folks , chase your dreams
"cheese" your dreams
You too can make a failure of a car
You seen what it was like in the oil crisis??? Nearly everyone was wasting a FEW HOURS A DAY in massive lines to get a limited amount of gallons of gasoline. It made it look like some type of soviet union lines for basic goods.... with this you'd look like the guy who HAD THINGS WORKED OUT. Less about chasing your dreams, more about ESCAPING YOUR NIGHTMARES.
Lassi Kinnunen would people start using horses 🐴 again if that were to happen. It'll be the Wild West all over again huh?
...
“And he’s brought a piece of cheese.”
-Jeremy Clarkson
i love your hysterical laughing when you’re driving it and it’s going like 20 mph yet it’s so loud
Gotta love brushed motors! Think of vacuum cleaner motors, they are very similar.
Nobody: ...
The cheesewedge car: rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
@@versedbridge4007 but they're COOL
Essential a 1:1 RC car
I am amazed at what a piece of doo-doo kaka this car is. And there were at least 4,000 people suckered into buying this (or a derivative). Amazing.
0:42 man that CitiCar is happy to get out and about, just look at it wag it's tail!
I was about to say the same thing. Great minds think alike.😊
Cat is cuter than the car
@@Jeffrey314159 cat was cute tho
*its tail
“This is the most fun I’ve had barely moving”
The perfect expression of the Citicar
Learned this from going to the Lane Motor museum, where they have one of these along with several other similar French electric cars from the 70's. Back then you didn't need a driver's license to own/operate one of these. But they were so awful the only people who bought them were the town drunks who had their license suspended due to DUI.
"No Locks" and who in their right mind would try to steal it?
That's not my concern, I'd rather be worried about getting dragged out of it
Probably car-jack proof
Clearly, you have never lived in a city with junkies.....they steal anything and everything, no matter how seemingly worthless.
Mickey Mouse.
@@remlatzargonix1329 Yeah, I saw that picture someone posted, where some idiot broke the *FREE* condom dispenser to steal the *FREE* ones. Not like I pay attention to this very much, but I remember that.
"This is a step below a golf car somehow"
And I'm pretty sure brushed DC motors are what they put in Power Wheels.
Nightweaver20xx it’s the missing link between Powerwheels and the fancier gold carts. It also fills in the gap of food related cars like the Oscar Mayer wiener mobile and ice cream and taco trucks with giant foods on the roof
It's got a similar motor control system as an early 70s Club Car Caroche. Contactors, ballast resistors, and microswitches connected to the gas pedal. But just think what you could do with it, LiPo batteries, new motor controller, a motor from Plum Quick, and you could give it range and highway capable speeds!
Watching this man giggle while driving the equivalent of a little tikes my first Chevrolet on the road is enjoyable. Cheese wedge for the win.
you should try driving that cheese wedge you might giggle to driving it knowing someone thought that would make a serious car to drive on the highway🤣🤣
@ 6:23 you ask, "Who would buy these things?" Well, my best friend from grade school's dad, that's who. I about fell over when I saw the title of this and watching you go through all the parts and how it drives brought back a BUNCH of memories! He took me for a ride around town in it and I thought it was the coolest thing ever, but even as a late grade schooler I recognized the impracticality of it.
0:43 I like how this car has a tail. Must be trying to attract mice looking like a wedge of cheese.
Cat cleaning their gonads is also a special moment at 0:35
I'm with the owner on not trying to improve the throttle; its gives this car character and besides, to what end are you going to improve this car?
You cannot improve something that is PERFECT.
Just a modern battery and (maybe) a modern electric motor. And that's it!
@@McBeamer94 i wouldnt trust this car to go over 35
Maybe fit a Zero motorbike's guts in it?
@@McBeamer94 Nah its clearly over 30 years of age and a product of its time so... leave as is. Maybe a pack of new batteries.
Me: Can we get a Tesla
Mom: we have a Tesla at home
Tesla at home:
🤣🤣🤣
XD
Comedy cemetery
Shouldn't that be Tesla @Home?
🤣
Today, 8 hours ago, my son received his CitiCar. Yes, delivered in an enclosed carrier as the width of the track would not allow it to go up on an outdoor rig. I just got home from there.
Good Lord.
The cheesiness is unbelievable. We are trying to grasp the concept. Get our heads around it. His makes your look like a perfect specimen. It gives us the flavor of something like a kiddie car at an amusement park, the kind that the kids think they are "driving" but it is in fact pulled by a cable underneath the concrete path. Where do I start.
The seats feel like they were designed by someone who said, "Let's make the most uncomfortable seats as possible". No matter how you sit, and how you move around, you cannot even get slightly OK. You are just uncomfortable. On his, this seat bottom can be removed to reveal the battery case underneath. Behind this sheet metal case, there is just an opening to the road. Just open. So you are separated from an opening that goes to the street by just the seat bottom. I guess that is the method to provide ventilation to the batteries. Insane!
The old bass terd that sold him the car said that everything works, it just needs the batteries. When I saw it, I noticed the brake pedal was on the floor. "The brakes need some work Dad" my son said. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the brake pedal was just freely swinging from its mount. The mechanism to connect it to the master cylinder is gone. Upon even closer inspection, I discovered that there is no master cylinder, or anything else! The rubber brake hoses are there for the front, just sitting in their mounts. The line for the rear brakes is just hanging weirdly in the air. "It just needs brakes, the mother****** said".
Cracks as described in the A pillar. And the doors. None in the front piece. No battery connector cables. "They just take regular cables!" the guy said, whatever that means. Yeah, regular cables that have battery terminal connections on BOTH ends, plus whatever goes off to the motor. You know, the "regular" cables.
The bright side today is I was able to push the car up the driveway. Up a slight incline. By myself. With my son inside. With one arm.
Sigh.
TBF if I had one of these I would probably want to replace the brakes _in toto_ with something modern. Due to wanting to live? Replacing the batteries with lithium iron phosphate would improve things dramatically, too. (Although I'd be torn between using three different banks or a single bank with three DC-DC converters to get the three voltages.) But everything else about this car is perfect. Cannot be improved upon.
are we all going to ignore the cat?
No
It's there to keep the mice away from the cheese.
No
No, we will look at it and not comment
Are we going to ignore that other yellow thing that appears in the background at 4:52 and 9:40?
Mom can we have Cybertruck?
Mom: no, we have Cybertruck at home
Cybertruck at home:
Itz_gray_ 2020 *at least you have a car*
you stole that comment
@@thatquietasianguy9582 That's not a car that's a death trap
/OttakuWarrior\ *that death trap was worth it*
Eeey! No stealing comments! 😠😂
"3.5 horsepower"
- okay, that doesn't sound so bad
"brushed dc motor"
- i want to die
And something tells me that motorcycle brakes would be far better on it
@@thenthson im sure bicycle disk brakes would do a better job
@@bluckq then again brake technology has probably advanced quite a bit since it was produced
Non-car guy here, what's wrong with a brushed dc motor?
brushed motor that sucks balls as you have to maintain the motor or it will stop working why can't they use induction which don't have brushes that fail after a few miles of driving and have to be replaced to get the motor working again as they can use induction motors now in modern ev's
Thanks for this review. Brought back fun memories. When I was about 5 years old my family moved to Sebring & my dad worked for Vanguard. We had a green Citicar. All your comments in your review were spot on. My favorite Citicar memory was when they had a parade lap/race prior to the 12 Hours of Sebring race with about 20 Citicars... I got to ride with my dad for that lap. Our memory is how quite it was. You could hear the fans along the track talking & that back straight took forever going 30’ish mph!! (We came in second 😎)
I'd wager a lot of those 4000 units sold were to residents of communities with golf cart trail networks. As ridiculous as it is as a car, it's a pretty fun golf cart equivalent that could take you on the road when needed.
Yep, the concept is ever more popular,
According to Wikipedia, the USPS was a big customer.
@@CaptHollister Were they delivering one letter at a time with that trunk space?
@@MeatLeBeef It seems to have as much space in the back (if not more) as a first gen Smart Fortwo, which let me tell you is quite a lot. I once put more than a dozen old PCs in one of those (some were on the passenger seat though) and interestingly, this heavy load drastically increased ride comfort. So for carrying a day's worth of letters, this should be easily enough.
You live thru the oil crisis??? I bet plenty were bought by the type of people who can't understand why rich guys buy a ferrari to get stuck in a traffic jam when they could have bought a helicopter. The lines were ridiculously long with people wasting HOURS EACH DAY to get a few gallons of fuel. Stuff like this was a solution "that worked" but nothing more.
This is like the Doug Demuro of cars that WERE quirks, had NO features and were bumper-to-bumper mistakes. Well done, I was thoroughly entertained.
This is far more entertaining than Doug to be honest.
Doug just takes too long
@@snjert8406 that's what she said!
He's not as much of a smart arse as Doug either.
Steven Donald well put!
"Sir, do you know why I pulled you over?"
*Suppressing giggles*
I have SEVERAL theories!
Heh, well, just hypotheses, really. :-P
"Because you're JEALOUS!"
@@RobMacKendrick: Haha, yeah, SURE! :-D
I know several car collectors and they tell me thaty they do get controlled more with their collectible car than their regular car - and even if we're talking very mundane ancient car (Renault Dauphine, Peugeot 404, etc - I(m not in the US so they are common cars) well the Gendarmes always seems to appreciate having a look and a talk with the driver.
@@LeSarthois I had a friend years ago who drove a classic Mustang. He told me the same thing. "Afternoon, sir. Is this a '66?"
All it needs is a wind up key in the back and this car would be perfect.
The Citicar is basically a golf cart with windows
Or I would call it: "A moped on 4 wheels with a cover".
It's just a golf cart.
With windows? Yes. More powerful? Debatable.
I think it's actually less powerful, but it does go faster than golf carts. Based on the incredible noise it sounds like it has a gearbox to achieve that ratio.
Dude i was just gonna say the same shit it's like a street legal golf car lol
That goofy grin that you just couldn't wipe off your face may explain why they sold so many of these things. It looks like you were having a blast.
8:06 "I'm going 31, _this is the best thing ever!"_ This man is my hero. Solid rec from Technology Connections!
Read this as he said it perfectly in sync
I don’t know what was more entertaining, viewing this example of an electric road car to tackle the gas crisis or listening to your chirps and chuckles at the experience of driving it! Thank you!
If you squint hard enough, it kinda looks like a Countach
Haha no it don't
Wyatt Hawkins if you squint hard enough to close your eyes completely, hold a picture of a Countach in front of your face, then open your eyes, it looks like a Countach.
If you squint that hard you'll get brain damage!
Ha
Damn I don’t think they got the joke
'no power brakes no power steering', it sounds like it's hardly got a power assisted motor, lol
Me:Can i buy a Wheego?
Mom: We have a Wheego at home
Wheego at home:
Haha as if the Wheego can't be the "one at home" compared to other vehicles
Comedy cemetery
@@noshit1128 no shit
no shit no shit
@@tomato-tu1ow no shit no shit no shit
While I was stationed in Louisiana, had a co-worker who owned one. Considering the speed limit on base, it was theoretically ideal for commuting in that environment. Never asked the co-worker how it held up in that state's notorious humidity and rainstorms.
0:43 I didn't know this car had a tail, that's a cool feature
I remember seeing one of these in an episode of “The John Larroquette show.“ The title character won one of these in a contest. His rent agreement stated that his electricity was paid for with his rent. The landlord had a fit when the electric bill jumped threefold because of John charging his car.
oh shit i remember that show
That's how marijuana growers would get busted. because of the grow lights, there would a sudden increase in the electricity they were using.
Never thought I would see Cheese Louise in my recomended videos, much less in a channel outside Simone's
Was literally about to say is that Cheese Louise
@@LewisMoten The Comuta version had crank windows!? Swanky!
@@bradlemmond no, they were sliding windows
you learn something new everyday
The cat was guarding the cheese form any possible rats🤣🤣🤣
"Breaks are a little sketchy" That's always what you want to hear
*chuckles "i'm in danger"
*brakes
The Trabant is a better car
A good driver doesn't need brakes...
funny how tesla somehow failed with their brakes lol
The car doubles as a coffin in the event of a collision.
R/cursed comments
You're not wrong
Opecuted r\wiosh
Opecuted R\woshwjtb4os
Yeah your not wrong 90% of the time the thing crumples so much that the funeral home can't get your body out
When you pull up to a charging station in a Tesla and see this car charging
"Why would anyone buy this?!" "Hehe, this is halarious. I love it!"
Yep, that’s the answer right there.
So this is where Elon based his Tesla cyber truck design ideas from.
YES
may be
and weed lots of weed involved
The Cyberduck
LOL 😂
Cat... "Yeah I'll check it out, but first I need to clean my ass." Hilarious creatures.
I saw the cat too lol
Bruh, this dude out here driving the McDonald's Play-Place.
it takes courage to do that one on the highway son alot of courage
This reminds me of Soviet battery-powered hauler from about the same era, a two-seater with a cargo platform, was used to pull cargo trolleys in mail sorting facilities, and on some factories where for some or other reason traditional vehicles were considered not okay. Made similar noises and was also yellow. But three times longer and ten times heavier (it used 10 if not 20 led-acid batteries).
The true question is
"If a Citicar rear ends a pinto at full speed, who explodes first?"
Army combat engineer here
It’s essentially an electrically ignited blasting cap that some spec for has booby traps a convenient gas can with
Pinto.
I’m now imagining a MORTAL COMBAT “Versus” mode: Pinto VS Citicar
HMMMMM
The driver 😂
My dad bought one of these for $800. It was an interesting ride.
Was it as noisy as this one exhibited here?
John Smith It was crappy, bumpy, but quiet. It whined a little.
Tom Olofsson what happened to it?
Give it a proper cheese 🧀 paint job and drive around town :-P
Johns Memes Dad sold it. The new owner paid for it but never picked it up. We hung onto it for a couple of years then called a tow truck to take it away.
He was having such a good time when driving it... just pure, unbridled joy.
"It's so loud and I'm barely moving. This is best thing ever"
"The interior, if you can even call it that" .. LOL
*switch to dash shot*
Awww .. look at that sweet BROWN
Its actually more of a dark orange. There is no brown.
why is my BMW I3S so damned quiet compared to that thing there's no whining at all
in 1975 I bought a Ford F150 pickup and across the street from the Ford dealer was a Citicar dealer. I clearly remember this because, at the time, I was interested in electric cars and the only way to get one was either build one yourself with lead batteries or buy a Citcar.
I almost bought one of these off of Craigslist
Biggest missed opportunity I’ve ever missed
1D10CRACY just today I spotted a blue citicar a few blocks a way.
You can tell it's been sitting in the driveway a long time.
Not in good shape. Front end up on jacks . Stuff is piled around it.
What is this thing worth as is?
What is it worth fixed up?
You're going to regret this for the rest of your life.
Wait...so you missed missing the opportunity? Are you low-key admitting you got it?!
Hey I just saw a link to a video by you, and it has a citicar in it! mystery solved.
0:42 Kitty gets behind to give the car a push. Kitty says "I make it go fast!"
"Honey, it's pretty chilly out. Can you grab the squirrel?"
*"This is the most fun I've ever had barely moving."*
0:43 wait a minute that’s not a tailpipe!
lul
ITS A WHOLE CAT HOLY SHIT
I thought how is that tailpipe moving?
Thank you for bringing back memories. I drove one in Erie, PA. Not mine, but owned by a close cycling friend of mine who was starting up a bicycle shop in town during the Bike Boom, and I was his mechanic. John D'Angelo's was a little older than this one (memory is saying 1973, but could be 1974) and was one of the hard-core eco freaks in town. Thus his selling off his 72 Honda Z600 for one of these. I remember his had a propane heater in it, where you'd screw one of the Coleman bottles into the heater, and I only remember three batteries under the seat. And once your mileage ran past the 25 mile mark, you could count on your top speed dropping. By the 35 mile point, you were crawling home.
I love how everyone in their yards just stop and glare like
"Did I really just see that thing?"
"this is so fun"
"WHO WOULD BUY THESE?"
I bet it stinks down there.
I would... And put a 600 cc gas engine in it.
I have one!
@@1D10CRACY Have a quick sniff. I bet it stinks down there.
Simone Giertz has one of those... ruclips.net/video/hXzcIoq2ing/видео.html
Nice Bonus: It can be used as a computer mouse: ruclips.net/video/QDSEpjjavhY/видео.html
Me: *sees cat*
Me: awwww *proceeds to ignore everything else*
remember to get that cat to breath on your neck in winter as a heater lol
Great video!! LOLOL!! you are hysterical! ""legally, you could take this on the highway, but it would be certain death." HAHA!!
We were one of the 4,000. My dad had a light blue one with the stripe. I started having flashbacks with the windows that slide off, and the smell you were talking about.
I was around 7 years old when we got it, and my dad would put me in that tiny space behind the seats, looking out the back window while we were driving like i was an exhibit in a traveling zoo.
I grew up in Charlotte, and everywhere we went, people would pull over to watch us drive by, then they would follow us to stop and ask questions about it. The Charlotte Observer did an article about it, and I was in the picture with my Dad.
Thanks again, you made my day... ;)
I would put circle decals on it to make it look more like a cheese wedge!
With slightly darker-orange circles, it would be the most convincing ridable Swiss cheese
Reminds me of that moment in Tim and jerry where butch painted a metal nut to look like a piece of cheese
@Donny Sites
Cat was looking for rats.
That would be the perfect advertisement for a cheese shop or a cow farmer.
“That’d mean certain death but you could do it” the best
0:43 Saw cat's tail, first thought: extension cord? Then I saw it move. lol
0:27 The Citicar has a top speed of 35mph. A domestic cat can run at speeds of up to 30mph. So we're basically looking at 2 vehicles in the same performance class.
One major difference is a brushed motor produces DC current, whereas a brushed cat produces only static.
Hey! these were made in my home town. Usually seen them being used for delivering mail.
"20 MILES AN HOUR"
my electric scooter:
"I do 24 HAH"
my two stoke motorized bicycle: *does almost 40* lol
hey your electric scooter has better aerodynamic properties then that city car so obviously it can go faster
24 mph... what is it, 38.6 km/h? Sorry, I can do it peddling my 23-kilogram (50.7 lbs) very un-aerodynamic bicycle with my legs. On a good road and with a tailwind but still. My friends who ride lightweight (17 lbs) racing bicycles can do 25 mph uphill in crosswinds.
@@IgnatSolovey yeah but sadly your bicycle's are slightly more state of the art tech then a simple amusement park like that old cheese wedge
Next on Aging Wheels... I bought a citicar.
I want to see this thing on Laurie's Mechanical Marvels, but he's more into diesel and steam.
they're only $6,000
The brushes on the motor screaming for dear life
"This is the most fun I've ever had in my life"
"How did they find anyone to buy this?"
0:43 apparently these cars also came equipped with their very own cat tail. Very innovative for its time indeed!
Shut up
It's for balance
"This... Oh cmon no one's that desperate"
Well played, you, well played
The cat licking his ass during the intro...best car channel on YT hands down
"Who would buy this?" soon followed by "It is the best thing ever!"
I see a buyer right there. ;)
As Robert has said in multiple videos, he enjoys cars that are borderline death traps or cars that are just horrible drivers in general, so if he's having fun then that means the majority of people probably would not enjoy the experience at all
8:14 sounds like a washing machine on a spin cycle
Nobody:
That one cat in the background:
*licks it’s balls*
A LONE KITTY LICKING IT'S BALLS.
0:35 this
r/UselessNobody.
Well, they're not going to lick themselves!
I was 'Ahh look, a nice ca... ffuck it's munching on it's love plums now... DIRTY BASTARD!!!!'
The amount of times I have rewatched this cheese wedge centered video is too much
"the slight smell of carbon from the brushes on the motor" what a comforting factor
That is fairly standard of brushed DC motors, it would be more concerning if you didn't smell it to be perfectly honest
0:43: And some models sport a tail that mimics that of a living cat!
" I ca-chunk too quickly " finally got me
how did they find 4000 people to buy it simple from how fun it looks to drive that's how I figure
Ngl this thing is unironically awesome and I would love if some niche car company created a refreshed version, some may argue the Renault Twizy exists but it doesn't have the same aesthetic, that cheese wedge shape is to die for
dude I'm going to buy a couple of Tesla logos and tell everyone that this is the newest beta model
I love how Tesla owners think they have the first electric car lol. I actually had a Mazda B2000 converted to electric years ago that was a blast. It still used the manual trans and would hit 80 easily but was only good for 100-125 miles.
@@southjerseysound7340 how much did the conversion cost
@@bassam_salim We used forklift parts that where damaged in a fire and didn't cost us anything. But the batteries and charger, cables/ends etc were around a grand. But I never kept track since a lot of the stuff we had at our marina from other projects. You can do it cheaply or as expensive as you want though. Had we had a adapter cnc machined instead of using steel and a plasma cutter it would've added to things. It all depends on how much of a hurry you are in and what you can dig up, find in scrap yards etc. We also used marine deep cycle batteries from a fishing trawler at first, but they only lasted a few months, but it proved it's work before we spent the money. All in all it was a great truck for running around the yard and to the store for work etc.We just made a wood and fiberglass cover for the batteries in the bed and used it like a regular little truck. I'd even let employees take it home if they needed it for some reason etc. Sadly being a Mazda it rusted beyond repair but I'd build another if the right truck came along. With newer batteries I could see it going 200 miles easily.
@@southjerseysound7340 100 miles is still a pretty good range. That's more than most people would do in their daily commute I feel.
Nobody is gonna believe it's a Tesla, the door gaps are too even.
AW: "Why would people buy this thing?"
Also AW: "THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!"
Sounds like a supersonic subway wagon, or a Soviet trolleybus. Awesome!
We need more quirky car videos like this! :)
I love the cat showing up, and the hidden cat tail
0:27 that cat made my day
7:35 "I wish I could honk at them but the horn doesn't work" XD
If it worked, the car would probably slow down every time you honked it..
I'd want to put a London Underground whistle on it. Search on youtube. They're so obnoxious and sound like a toy train but much louder. Perfect for this car.
Nah it would draw too much current.
"this is the most fun I've ever had, barely moving" priceless.
It seems perfect - electric, sits two, space for small load, low cost (I assume), lots of fun from driving at minimal speeds. These really seem great city vehicle specs to me! And all this was possible in 70s.
Well, it was technically possible, but not quite nice with 1970's tech.
The concept is sound, the execution leaves much to be desired.
If they came out with a updated version of this, I’d buy it.
me 2
Just convert an old golf cart, couldn't be much worse than what they have here haha.
If you dare to drive this, you will get killed in a fender bender
if the car infront of you has a blowback, youll flip
Do all your cars crash?
It has a roll cage and full frame. Stronger then it looks.
Like a smart car
@@austinbartose6527 Here is your answer to crashing in a Smart Car: ruclips.net/video/mnI-LiKCtuE/видео.html
I was surprised, the passenger compartment is well protected.
A 1970s Prius made from melted down Legos? Sign me up
"Electric Cheese Wedge From the 70's" is such a good description