An Electric Car from the 1950s -- the "Pioneer" from Nic-L-Silver Battery Company



From an article published in Sports Car Illustrated, January, 1960, p. 32 ff.






The two seater body was made of laminated fiberglass, and it had a removable hardtop. Behind the bucket seats were 12 4 -volt series wired batteries made by Nic-L-Silver. These lead cell batteries have two cells each with 31 plates per cell and a capacity of eight hours at 235 ampere hours.






A box frame construction carried a full torsion suspension similar to that a of a VW of the era. Top speed was 50 mph. A hydraulic brake system an conventional steering system was also featured in this 95 inch wheelbase vehicle.



The inventor-entrepreneur for all of this was George Lippincott, who hoped to build ten cars a day with the market being power companies and postal authorities.



The car had two electric motors and a stated range of 100 to 150 miles, depending on how the vehicle was driven. Price was stated at $1995, with a $300 cost to replace batteries when that happens.

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