Gail Lucas (1942-2024)

Longtime EV discussion list contributor Gail Donaldson Lucas passed away on 29 October 2024, after a short illness.

Gail was a consistent presence on the list from the early 1990s well into the 2010s. In the spirit of the EVDL, she helped at least as many subscribers as helped her, especially when they had questions about Citicars and Comuta-Cars.

Probably few current list members know that for many years Gail earned her living skating.

Gail was born in Guysborough, Nova Scotia, and was on ice skates by the age of four. Once she had real figure skates, there was no stopping her.

In high school she did well academically - partly thanks, she said, to the dimes her father gave her when she scored 100% on tests. She was also involved in athletics, including basketball, volleyball, track, and curling.

But, she said, "All I ever wanted to do was skate." She was brilliant at it. In her high school senior year she auditioned for the famous Ice Capades. When they offered her a contract, she almost quit school to join. Her parents convinced her to stick it out until graduation. Twenty years later, Gail was grateful for their insistence when she entered university.

After leaving Ice Capades, Gail skated with several other troupes. Her last gig was Ice Fantasy at the Hacienda Hotel in Las Vegas. In 1979, she enrolled in computer science classes at University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

Gail discovered EVs in the early 1990s, joining the then-new EV list and the Electric Auto Association.

In those days, EV mechanics were scarce, so owners had to work on their own vehicles. Gail had studied auto mechanics at UNLV, and became competent with basic EV maintenance - watering batteries, making cables, checking voltages, handling 65 pound lead traction batteries.

Once she'd given away her prized 1972 Cadillac Eldorado ICEV and gone electric, Gail stayed that way. "I do not maintain an ICE," she said in a 1996 EV list post. "If I can't get somewhere via an acceptable mode of transportation, I don't go."

Gail went all in for electric cars, buying some of them sight unseen through Hemmings. Her collection soon filled her garage and driveway. Among the many were a swoopy Aztec kit car built by engineer and EV pioneer Clarence Ellers, and a sporty Bradley GT II Electric formerly owned by actor Ed Begley Jr.

Those cars were pretty, she said, but her real favorites were the simple, boxy, practical, easy-to-drive-and-park Citicars and Comuta-Cars. She snagged almost any decent one that came her way. I stopped counting her C-Cars when the collection hit six.

When one C-Car stopped working, she drove another until she could either repair the disabled car herself, or find someone to look after it. When the weather was fair or no C-Cars were working, she rode her E-bike.

Gail was so taken with her C-Cars that when Citicar creator Bob Beaumont launched a new EV venture, she bought the rights to a Las Vegas dealership. Regrettably, it came to nothing; Renaissance Cars wasn't able to raise enough funding to produce more than a couple dozen Tropicas.

When her last ice show at the Hacienda Hotel closed, Gail gave up professional skating and switched to computer programming. She stayed in Las Vegas, working for Desert Research Institute, the research branch of the University and Community College System of Nevada. Her local EAA chapter met at the DRI offices. It was a 3 mile commute, perfect for her C-Cars and E-bikes.

Gail retired in 2005. She continued to skate for pleasure through the 2000s, and remained active, on the EV list and off, until the late 2010s.

Photos provided by Gail Lucas