The Taylor-Dunn was an electric runabout in the classic West Coast idiom. The company was founded in 1949 by a Southern California farmer named R.D. Taylor Sr., who built handcarts for carrying feed on his chicken ranch in Anaheim. Fred A. Dunn joined the business in 1951, and four years later, it was renamed the Taylor-Dunn Manufacturing Company. In June of 1955, the new company introduced its Model PG, a three-wheeled, 24-volt electric car, mostly intended for neighborhood shopping runs. It had headlamps and taillights and tiller steering. The year 1959 brought the Model R Trident shopping car, again with full “road” equipment. It was produced until 1963. Interestingly, Taylor-Dunn continues to manufacture carts for industry; from ground support vehicles, to stock chasers and dump trucks.

The example presented here was completely dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up. Its frame was powder-coated, and fitted with all new bearings, tires and brakes. For the power train, it has a new AMD 24-36 volt electric motor and a modern speed controller and potentiometer. The car is set up as 24-volts as it was originally and it has a very nice on-board charger that hooks up to standard 110 outlet. In addition, it has a 24- to 12-volt reducer which powers a 12-volt fuse block and four brand new Trojan batteries and impressively, the fuse block powers the lights, horn and MP3 player with speakers. Definitely an interesting piece for the more eclectic collector, these Taylor-Dunn Tridents are rising in value with a recent sale of a similar example at Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum netting nearly $30,000.