XML FeedsNEVs, low-speed cars dubbed "neighborhood electric vehicles" get ready for life in the fast lane
By CostBenefit on Sep 18, 2009 | In Air, Energy, Climate Change GHG Carbon CO2, U.S., Companies,CSR,Business,Finance, Transportation, Illinois, Newspaper/Mag/TV/Media Story, Savings, Costs and Benefits, Press Release (May be biased) | 1 feedback »
Link: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-golf-cart-north-zone-11-sep11,0,7940394.story
According to Robert Channick writing in the Chicago Tribune:
...Modified golf carts are headed from the fairways to the roadways in Illinois, offering an ... eco-friendly alternative for those satisfied with more leisurely travel.Dubbed "neighborhood electric vehicles" and retrofitted with safety features, the new category of mini-cars will be street-legal beginning Jan. 1. Operating for pennies per mile, limited to 25 m.p.h. and restricted to local roads, the battery-powered buggies are quietly generating buzz.
... Morris Clement, 62, ... is putting together four muscular prototypes in the fourth bay of his Fastlane lube shop....
Neighborhood electric vehicles, or NEVs, were born more than a decade ago in Sun Belt retirement communities.... As increasing numbers of seniors plied the streets in golf carts, the federal government stepped in to regulate the vehicles in 1998, imposing minimal safety standards. Mandating a speed of no more than 25 m.p.h., the law added requirements for seat belts, brake lights, headlights, mirrors, turn signals and windshields.
Nearly all states permit low-speed vehicles, with a range of restrictions....
Most golf carts have a top speed of less than 15 m.p.h., so require souping up....
Using a standard golf-cart frame, Clement drew upon his racecar design experience to reinforce the chassis, add independent suspension, large knobby tires and a 20 horsepower AC motor capable of producing speeds of 40 m.p.h....
"We have a switch on there for golf cart speed and then you flip the switch and it goes to 30 m.p.h.," Clement said....
Powered by six 8-volt batteries, the vehicle has a range of 40 miles and can be fully recharged within four hours by plugging an extension cord into any outlet. Clement, who hopes to begin marketing his vehicles in December, will join a growing field of manufacturers, led by Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), a Chrysler-owned company based in North Dakota.
With prices ranging from about $8,000 for a basic GEM to $20,000 for Clement's custom-built models, the market share for neighborhood electric vehicles may be limited.
...
A driver who logs 12,000 miles a year in a typical neighborhood electric vehicle will save nearly $970 over a 23 m.p.g. car filling up at the current average of $2.60 a gallon. Last summer, when average gas prices peaked at $4.11 a gallon, the annual savings would have been more than $1,650, according to the GEM Web site.
...
Safety is another concern ...
On May 8, 2009 Scott McCredie writing in the NW Autos section of the Seattle Times at - http://blog.marketplace.nwsource.com/nwautos/2009/05/meet_the_nevs_compact_quiet_neighborhood_electric_vehicles_are_moving_in.html - noted that George Robertson, a Beacon Hill architect and Zenn NEV owner claims that "the 80 percent reduction in his carbon footprint over using a gasoline-powered car is worth the reduced safety." The 50 cents' worth of electricity that it costs to recharge his batteries comes mostly from hydroelectric power, a relatively clean source of energy. When Robertson bought his car in 2008 for about $18,000 (other models can be had for as low as $10,000) he was surprised that the car fulfills roughly 90 percent of his and his wife's driving needs.
In an August 7, 2009 press release at - http://www.gemcar.com/enews/default.asp?ID=434 - GEM motorcars claimed that to date, GEM cars have been driven more than 350 million emission-free miles, and have saved more than 16 million gallons of gasoline. They also have prevented more than 180 tons of ozone-producing pollutants from reaching the air.
An August 20, 2009 release by GEM at – http://www.gemcar.com/enews/default.asp?ID=434 noted that all GEM battery-electric vehicle models have been certified to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the Qualified Plug-In Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit, part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Credit amounts are as follows:
* $3,751 for the GEM e2, GEM e4, GEM e6 (12-volt battery system), GEM eS, and GEM eL
* $5,002 for the GEM e6 (8-volt battery system) and GEM eL XD.
Universities and governments are increasingly looking to these vehicles.
By Robert Channick
FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-golf-cart-north-zone-11-sep11,0,7940394.story
Chicago Tribune www.chicagotribune.com
September 11, 2009
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