April 28, 1975

Sebring Vanguard, Inc
Electric Vehicles
Sales Division

_{4432 U.S. HWY. 27 SOUTH / P.O. BOX 1963 / SEBRING, FLORIDA 33870 / PHONE (813) 385-5116}

April 28, 1975

The Honorable Claude Pepper
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Pepper:

We appreciate your letter of March 19 Addressed to our president, Mr. Robert G. Beaumont. We have progressed much further in the field of electric transportation than your letter indicates you are aware of, but we do badly need some financial assistance as well as help with a petition we currently have before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

We can use your assistance in several areas:

1. We are seeking to have our CITICAR added to the current Federal Supply Schedule. Donald H. Saunderson, Chief, Industrial Supplies & Equipment Branch, Procurement Division, FSS, Auburn, Washington has written on March 18, 1975 “Your CITICAR SV-48 electric automobile has been reviewed with a great deal of interest by all who have had the opportunity. We have requested permission to add the CITICAR to our current Federal Supply Schedule from our Central office in Washington. When a decision has been reached pertaining to this request we will be back in touch.

United States Senator Sam Nunn wrote me on April 11 to the effect the General Services Administration was scheduled as a witness at their Energy Conservation Hearings on April 16, 17 and 18 and he would ask them what has been done insofar as procuring non-gasoline powered motor vehicles for the Federal Supply Schedule. Anything you can do to assist us with the GSA will help.

2. An electric car demonstration bill was introduced on March 26 by Congressman Mike McCormick, George Brown, Olin Teague, Charles Mosher and Barry Goldwater, Jr. We have written to them as follows:

“You are to be commended for introducing an ELECTRIC CAR DEMONSTRATION BILL. The last sentence of your bill reads: “I hope that before the end of 1977, we can have members of the public driving demonstration electric cars.”

The fact is we don’t have to wait until 1977. The CITICAR SV-48 electric automobile is ready now, is being driven on U.S. Highways by about 1,000 owners, and is currently available for sale through about 100 dealers. I have driven the original VANGUARD electric automobile since 1970 and driven the present Sebring-Vanguard CITICAR SV-48 electric automobile since November, 1974 without experiencing any problems other than the infrequent blowing of a fuse. It is the perfect car for commuting to work, picking up groceries and daily trips on secondary roads of less than 50 miles. The speed of 38 mph is totally adequate and the car accelerates fast enough to beat everyone across an intersection.

The CITICAR does not pollute. Some 38% of the families who own automobiles have two and three cars in the same driveway going an average distance of only 11 miles per day. If these 2nd and 3rd cars were electrics we would be totally self-sufficient in oil and never have to import another drop of foreign oil. This could be the greatest thing that ever happened to our economy.

It is right that the Government should encourage growth of the CITICAR and most certainly grant their petition for temporary exemption from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards currently before the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Docket No. EX 75-16 FR Doc. 75-10397 filed 4-18-75 to enable us to advance the concept of electric car transportation.

Out of 20 automobiles owned by the Corps of Engineers at Port Gordon, Ga. 17 never leave the base and 15 never go over 10 miles per day. The present CITICAR can replace countless thousands of expensive, polluting and gas-eating autos at military bases throughout the world and through orders from the Government Sebring-Vanguard can survive expensive research and development we as individual have had to proceed to advance electric automobiles.

We believe you will find the attached information of considerable value. We stand ready to cooperate in hearings before your committee and invite members of your committee to investigate our plant and production line facilities.”

3. As individual businessmen we invested some $1.2 million in private funds beginning in 1969-70 to solve pollution problems. We did so before the gas crisis when gas was thought to be plentiful and was selling for .30 a gallon. We have made tremendous gains, but have lost over half a million and can’t afford to sustain further losses. We need financial assistance from the Government in the form of Government orders for the CITICAR, or a research grant, Small Business loan etc.

Respectfully Submitted,

Robert L. Balfour
Vice President – Sales Manager
Sebring-Vanguard Inc.,
National Sales Office
604 Aumond Road
Augusta, Georgia 30904

Oversight of Energy Conservation
Hearings Before the Committee on Government Operations
United States Senate, Ninety-fourth Congress, First Session
April 16, 17, and 18, 1975
Pages 885, 886