Autoette


 * See also Autoette (1910 automobile).

The Autoette was an electric microcar manufactured from the late 1930s to the 1970s. The two-seat, three-wheeled microcar was steered by tiller and powered by specially made batteries from Trojan Battery Co., with motive power provided by a converted 24-volt Dodge 1½ hp. electric starter motor and later a proprietary motor built for Autoette. Models included the "CruiseAbout", "Golfmobile" and "Electric Truck".

Autoettes were popular as electric shopping vehicles - small vehicles for trips around town or to shopping centers. They were almost always allowed on sidewalks until the 1970s, and various stores even had designated parking for them. The Autoette was also marketed and sold as a golf cart and an early electric wheelchair or invalid car for the disabled. Starting in 1953, some models could be equipped with a small "accessible" door on the vehicle's curb side, at the level of the seat, to facilitate entry.

Autoettes were available with a broad range of accessories, usually installed by the dealer as upgrades. These included windscreens, doors, convertible tops, side curtains, and more.

The vehicle was designed in Long Beach, California around 1936 by Robert Tafel as an improvement and alternative to “Custer” cars which were popular in the region. He produced them on a small scale until entering into a business partnership with Newton Blood in 1940. In 1941 Blood bought into the company, fully acquiring it in 1949. It was during this time that it gained use in warehouses and factories to assist with production during WWII. Following the war, a welder named Royce Seevers worked his way up in the company, becoming the majority owner around 1952. It was briefly sold to Wayne Industries, a street sweeping company, in 1953, but was reacquired by Seevers in 1958 until production stopped in the 1970s.