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History of Autoette
A Brief History of Autoette
Information provided by Larry Fisher, Oct 30th 1960 to Nov 22nd 2019
The very first Autoette was built by Robert Tafel around 1936 in Long Beach California.In 1938 Robert Tafel applied for a US Patent for the name Autoette. His first ad for his cars came out in 1939. Around 1940 a person named Newton Blood approached Robert Tafel to become partners and invest in the Tafel Engineering Company. He became the President and Sales Manager. In 1941 Newton bought Robert's patents and the business and renamed it Blood Sales. The first Autoette ad under the name Blood Sales came out in 1941.
After WWII a welder by the name of Royce Seevers went to work for a rival car company of he Autoette named the The Electric Car Company of California which manufactured the Electric Shopper. Royce worked his was up into sales. Later on Royce went to work for Autoette. Royce worked his way up to treasurer and partner of Autoette and in 1952 he bought the company. Royce created a network of dealers that stretched as far as east as Florida. The company was later sold to Blood Sales Co for a short time before being resold to Wayne Manufacturing Co; a street sweeping company who moved the operation to Pomona, California. After some legal problems, the Autoette was then sold back to the Seevers family, lock stock and barrel in 1958. From then until 1970, they controlled manufacturing, distribution and sales of Autoette vehicles.
The Autoette vehicles were electric cars that came in a number of forms that range from pickup trucks (that could carry up to 1/4 of a ton), cars, and golf mobiles. Ranging from 2 - 4 seats, the Autoette had tiller steering and was powered by an electric motor which drew its power from large 24 volt batteries. Production ceased in the 1970s. To view images of many Autoettes as well as pictures of Tridents, Marketeers, Marketours, Mobilettes, Electra Kings, Sports Riders, Electric Shoppers, etc., etc., etc., click here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/autoette/ Also check out the incredibly detailed and informative lecture the late Larry Fisher did at the Historical Society of Long Beach on December 18th, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aug6HNRTPYg
