Twenty-Six Miles Across The Sea

Autoetteers have long known of the legendary island that lies twenty-six miles across the sea from the coast of California where Autoettes are the vehicle of choice among the residents. Here's a few interesting bits from the Autoette archives.

The Union Pacific Railroad was responsible for the famed steamship service to Catalina Island, the "Island of Romance, Romance, Romance" as promised in the legendary 1958 song by the Four Preps.

The railroad was known for its beautifully illustrated posters advertising scenic destinations across the nation. Recently, a friend found this Union Pacific poster in the collections of the Orange Empire Railway Museum.

What is interesting is this beautiful lithograph is taken from an actual photograph immortalized in a postcard also issued by Union Pacific. Here you can see the card and, on its reverse, an eloquent description of the island.

Catalina was one of the first places where widespread use of autoettes occurred. The Island became a new market for the growing industry building small electric cars in the 1950's.


As golf carts came into use and popularity, they too, became a favored mode of transportation. As early as the mid 1950's autoette rentals were popular on the Island. Today, the #1 Tourist activity is to rent a (modern) autoette.

Since 1979 the use of motor vehicles, specifically automobiles, has been restricted on the Island. Residents must wait about ten or eleven years to get permission to bring a car ashore, and it is only granted after TWO existing cars leave.

Throughout Avalon, Catalina's only city, one can see unique vintage, custom, and modern versions of the cars that qualify as autoettes. Here's a cool example that borrows its styling from early Chevrolet trucks.

Today, Catalina Island is still listed in the California Vehicle Code as a location where autoettes may be licensed and driven on the road.

Here is the section of the code describing the vehicles:

California Vehicle Code

Section 175

An "autoette" is a motor vehicle, located on a natural island

with an area in excess of 20,000 acres and that is within a county

having a population in excess of 4,000,000, that meets all of the

following requirements:

(a) Has three or more wheels in contact with the ground.

(b) Has an unladed weight of no greater than 1,800 pounds.

(c) Has an overall length of no more than 120 inches, including

the front and rear bumpers.

(d) Has a width of no more than 55 inches, as measured from its

widest part.

And here is the registration requirement:

Registration of Autoettes

4000.5. (a) The department shall register an autoette, as defined in Section 175, as a motor vehicle.

(b) The owner of an autoette shall remove the license plates from the vehicle and return them to the department when the autoette is removed from a natural island, as described in Section 175.

Added Sec. 2, Ch. 322, Stats. 2006. Effective January 1, 2007.

Autoettes continue to be the vehicle of choice on Catalina Island. Here's a parting shot for the occasion when you just can't push it home.