The story of the Dale begins with the meeting of Liz Carmichael and Dale Clifft, both of whom worked at the United States Marketing Institute (USMI) during 1973, the year of the first OPEC oil embargo that brought about the first gas crisis. Seemingly the right car at the right time, Clifft’s vehicle was a sleek, minimalist, three-wheeler with two seats and motorcycle-like engineering. Sensing an opportunity, Carmichael convinced Clifft to leave USMI with her and form a business partnership to build a version of the car that she believed would sell in the millions.
Thirty-seven years old at the time, Geraldine Elizabeth “Liz” Carmichael was a self-described widow and mother of five. At six-feet tall and weighing a robust 200 pounds, she was an imposing figure that commanded attention. And whatever attention she could not attract with her persona, she attracted with an impressive resume that included a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Miami. She was the widow of a NASA structural engineer, a mother of five, and a woman of great personal charisma who wasted no time establishing the automobile company she said would enable her to “rule Detroit like a queen.”
The company Liz Carmichael founded was Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation (TCMCC) in Encino, California, to bring the Dale to the public. A prototype was built and a press release dated November 1974 announced its arrival. Unlike any other car then on the market, it was touted as being an advanced, space-age vehicle said to be "dollar for dollar, the best car ever built." The Dale had three wheels, two seats, got 70 miles per gallon, weighed under 1,000 pounds, and cost less than $2,000. Deliveries of the innovative new car were scheduled to begin in June of 1975, the perfect time for a nation just beginning to come to terms with a lingering fuel crisis. The National Observer and countless other periodicals and newspapers reported favorably about Liz and her new concept car. The automotive press was also interested in the Dale, but for a very different reason. Collectively, they wondered how high-volume production could possibly begin in June of 1975, as claimed, when the only running car built up to that time was an untested prototype, which they were not allowed to drive or even get close to. They also questioned the little car’s ability to obtain government certification for crash worthiness and to meet EPA requirements. But the most difficult challenge facing Liz came not from the press, but from the government entities she claimed were conspiring against her.
Before long, the California Department of Corporations issued a “desist and refrain” order charging that TCMCC was selling stock shares without a permit. At the same time, the Department of Motor Vehicles began to investigate the company for selling dealerships and yet-to-be-built cars without a manufacturer’s license.
We believe the vehicle owned by the Petersen to be the vehicle displayed in the 20th Century Motor Car showroom and depicted in HBO's The Lady and the Dale.
