Every so often, online car auction sites serve us up a slice of pure, unadulterated weirdness. It’s a nice break from pristine typical collector cars, and you aren’t getting much weirder than this. This very orange, rather modified malaise-era electric car is named the General Wee, and it just sold on Bring A Trailer for a whopping $8,000. That’s real used modern electric car money. So why?
If you aren’t familiar with the Comuta-Car, don’t worry — it’s an evolution of the 1974 Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar, a rolling electric Toblerone bar that was an attempt at doing something, anything in the wake of the fuel crisis. Before Nissan launched the Leaf, the CitiCar was the most popular electric car in America by sales numbers, which highlights just how dark the dark ages of EVs were.
With eight six-volt lead-acid batteries and a six-horsepower motor, this thing was just barely slow enough to have a three-step speed controller instead of an actual potentiometer-style accelerator. We’re talking about a top speed south of 40 mph here, good enough for urban use but questionable outside of its limited use case. Oh, and did I mention that for the Comuta-Car version, the batteries were moved into the bumpers? This thing is adorably crappy, which helps explain why someone decided to turn a Comuta-Car into a General Lee tribute.
While the orange paint and requisite numbers are self-explanatory, and the “General Wee” stickers are hilarious, there are a few deeper ponderings that arise when you take a gander at this Comuta-Car. Are those side-by-side wheels? Great question. Perhaps. They’re definitely blingy for the General Wee, as this is one vehicle that makes 14-inch wheels look absolutely huge. The rubber band tires might affect the ride, but then again, these things were never known for their comfort, so the impact is likely negligible. Speaking of cosmetic add-ons, given the theme of the General Wee, you’re probably wondering what’s on the roof. Great question.
It’s a black vinyl rendition of the stars and stripes. Whoever built this thing kept it classy, perhaps keeping Ohio’s place in the general realm of historical events at the front of mind, or perhaps knowing full well that what’s considered socially acceptable changes as norms shift. Either way, bullet dodged.
Oh, and it’s worth noting that this Comuta-Car is a proper hot rod. The old lead-acid batteries are gone, replaced by lithium-ion units that feed a 72-volt DC motor through an Alltrax controller. While all of this stuff won’t turn the General Wee into a rocketship, it should perk up performance nicely.
So, other than as a hilarious gag, why would someone pay $8,000 for this orange doorstop? Well, the auction seems to have been for a cause. According to the Bring A Trailer listing, “Proceeds from the sale will be used to resurface the running track at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio, according to the seller.” While there’s no indication that the buyer is an alumnus of the school, the winning bidder did comment “Eat your heart out Cybertruck owners!”
Actually, that’s it. Why spend six figures on a low-polygonal electric car when you can get essentially the same thing for four figures? Hey, if one of these wedge-shaped EVs is good enough for Jack White, chances are the General Wee is a proper barrel of laughs. Is it $8,000 worth of laughs? That depends on your perspective, but the world is brighter because one individual thinks it is. Rock on.
(Photo credits: Bring A Trailer)
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