If the Tesla Model S was built in 1978, it would have been this, the Endura electric car

Then, as now, recharging remained a lengthy process. Globe-Union promised the Endura’s “on board charger uses a 110-volt, 30-amp circuit and takes 14 to 16 hours to fully recharge a discharged battery pack,” while the “off-board charger requires a single-phase 220-volt, 30-amp circuit which will provided a 90 per cent recharge in seven hours”.

Aerodynamic efficiency for improved driving range was also high on the list of Globe-Union’s priorities, the Endura featuring, according to the company, a “small spoiler on [the] undercarriage, plexiglass covered rectangular headlights, recessed wipers and flush-mounted windshield reduces air flow resistance”.