ALLECTRIC - TOMORROW'S CAR - TODAY

The "Allectric" was built by West Penn Power Company to demonstrate the practicality of a short electrical automobile and the possibilities that exist with materials and knowledge already at hand.

West Penn (an operating unit of Allegheny Power System, Inc.) is an electric utility serving 420,000 customers in southwestern and north sentral Pennsylvania, and is headquartered at Creensburg. The "Allectric" was produced under the direction of William E. Sturm, vice preseident.

Mr. Strum points out that West Penn Power is not a car manufacturer, but has an interest in promoting the developmtn of electric automobiles as a potential market for increased electric sales and as one solution to the problem of air pollution.

The "Allectric" is designed for limited range service. The booklet "Automobile Facts and Figues" published by Automobile Manufacturing Accosiatiion reports that 60% of car trips are less than 5 miles...almost half of use of cars is going to work...the one-way trip os about 6 to 10 miles...and over half the cars contain only the driver.

Mr. Strum points put that most of the air pollution (that comes from cars) is being created byt its group of drivers who, in today's strangled traffic pattern, neither go very far nor very fast. This, he says, makes a ready-made market for the producer of a short range, agile vehicle.

Previous attempts to reach this marlet have have been unsuccessful because the conventional internal explosion vehicle is too heavy for the amount of batteries that can be stuffed in the trunk. A successful electric auto must be designed from the ground uo, and not be an adaptation of an existing auto, according to Mr. Sturm.

The "Allectric" is this kind of car. This "little red wagon" is a nimble, quiet performer that can do 50 miles an hour and has gone as far as 50 miles without a battery charge. Much of its success results from the use of specially designed solid state speed control and charging equipment.

"We don't know a think about building cars", says Mr. Sturm. "We did the best we could with our limited facilities. The possibilities would have been far greater if we had access to the know-how and facilities of battery makers, electronic experts, aluminium or plastic body builders and the like."

"We have registered the trademark 'Allectric'. When the car in front of you is an Allectric, you can breath easier. By the way, we think our plug-in parking meter has a future too. We think the electric car future is now."

source: official West Penn Power information.

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