Four years before Elon Musk was even born (1971), another pioneer started a company to build electric-powered cars. The man was John Gould, and the name of the Colorado-based company was Unique Mobility. From 1979 to 1982, he managed to produce a few dozen odd-looking vehicles called the Electrek. Passed on to the seller from a neighbor, two of these interesting cars are offered for sale, though not currently running. Located in Locust Grove, Georgia, this duo plus some parts is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $3,500. Thanks, Chuck Foster, for coming up with this tip!
By the time the first Electrek was built in 1979, the U.S. had gone through two disruptions in its supply of imported oil which resulted in higher prices at the pump. U.S. car manufacturers were moving away from the gas-gobbling land yachts of yesteryear, but their successors weren’t as fuel efficient as the automobile of the 21st Century would become. That’s when Unique Mobility rolled out the Electrek Uncar, hoping to change the market. After three years of trying, the product was discontinued.
The Electrek used a 32-hp General Electric motor connected to a Volkswagen Fox 4-speed manual transmission. Regenerative braking was part of the design. The car drew its power from 16X6-volt batteries that were wired in series into a custom motor controller designed by Soleq. Estimates vary as to how many of these cars were built and sold, but 50 seems to be the most agreed-upon number. The auto’s odd looks are said to be the result of an attempt to introduce aerodynamics to the design.
One of the reasons why the cars probably tanked was they sold for $25,000 new (that’s equal to more than $82,000 today). So, it’s unlikely many people took the initiative seriously. And they only had a range of about 100 miles before you needed to do a recharge. No road trips for these cars, although they were capable of 65+ mph.
The Electrek came in three body styles, the 2+2, a panel van, and a hatchback. The seller’s duo seems to cover the first two. The yellow one would be the 4-seater, while the blue one looks set up for two passengers and come light cargo. The circumstances of how the seller’s neighbor got these cars aren’t mentioned, but they have Colorado plates which hark to the roots of the company that built them. The yellow ran at one time. We don’t know the status of the 32 batteries it would take to run them or anything else they might need. You could quickly amass quite a repair bill to get these things going again. Or you could just make a down payment on a Tesla.
Another one? Wasn’t this featured a short time ago? Still a strange looking little car.
This sorry car single-handedly killed round one of the electric car technology.
This must be the E model in Elon’s line up SEXY.
Looks better than his trucks do.
The designer never thought, “this is fugly”. Hard to believe.
I think it whenever passing a new-car dealership.
I would dare say the entire AMC line up falls into that catagory. How did the gremlin, matador, javelin etc ever get off the designers table? I know the story of the gremlin (blame the bean counters) but the matador? Ugh. That’s ugly.
“I’m melting!!!!”
This is pretty cool.
It’d be pretty neat to see somebody upgrade this with new lighter smaller lithium ion batteries and more modern Electronics. Probably get a lot more life out of those Motors and more range. Especially with these very light fiberglass bodies, I bet they would be fast and travel along distance before needing a recharge. I’m sure even if you spent whatever the minimum it would cost to get these up and running it wouldn’t even be close to half the cost of a tesla. I know somebody who’s got one and told me he wish you bought a different hybrid every time something breaks on it cost him too damn much to fix it
Danny, I think you’re on the right track
here. Were they mine, I’d do the same
thing– especially when Tesla’s cost
well over $150K. And now, we’re
starting to see them dumped on used
car lots here in Florida. In Winter Haven alone, my neice has seen at
least three of them so far. It’s a fact
that these cars cost more to repair
than an average person makes in a
year. So it only makes sense to pick
up one or both of these cars if you
want to go the EV route. Upgrading
these cars would cost a fraction of
the price of even a used Tesla. If I had the spare cash, I’d be all over these two cars. After all, everyone
loves a BOGO!
They may have attempted to introduce aerodynamics but they never bothered to invite aesthetics.
These bad boys cry out for an LS swap. At least they’d run.
Why does everything “cry out for an LS swap”? There is a huge number of other power plants available.
It’s called sarcasm. Many car guys don’t understand it.
“The yellow ran at one time”? Surely they both ran at one time. 😂
LS them both. Or on a more serious note (not much) find a VW Fox motor.
advance thinking, but a Money Pit now!
A very bad joke when new, an insult now.
Is this available? It does say pending now.
I’d be all over this pair like ten dollar hookers on prom night!
One them had enough use to wear a hole in the driver’s seat so it can’t have been all bad.
Shame they’re so pug-ugly, makes it harder to find someone with the love and knowledge and cash.
!6 X6 Volt batteries at the very least to get these running again.
Guess that’s why the seller is trying to unload them. Major money pit!!!!
Well , I’ve been proven wrong again . . The Pontiac Aztek is NOT the ugliest car I’ve ever seen . . Why can’t they center the rear wheels in the wheel wells or , does it just appear that way . . Looks like it needs larger wheels & tires . .
These are museum pieces and were technically very advanced for their time. 0-30 in 9 secs, 72 mph top speed, 70 mile range in town, 55 on the highway, onboard charger ran on house current, VW Rabbit chassis and wheels drove like a car and seated 4 comfortably.
I was involved with developing and test-driving the Electrek, and I must tell you that the whole concept and execution were done entirely in-house, at Unigue Mobility in Englewood, CO, by a team of a bare dozen dedicated problem-solvers.
Everyone was very proud of this ground-breaking machine. We knew that once it ran reliably, the unusual look could be fixed later.
Larry Perkins
Highlands Ranch, CO
Well thankyou.
Do you still have one of your own?
What do you think it would take to get one of these going?
Well they’re sold. I wish there was some way we could stay in touch with whoever bought it to find out what he does with them and how he fixes them.