EVLN(Some guys have bigger nEV egos)
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http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_NEWS_ncarts05.e7d0.html
Local News
Fancy golf cars parade from courses and into town
STATUS SYMBOLS: The costs of the customized vehicles can
amount to as much as the family sedan.
10/05/2002 By STEVE MOORE THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
RANCHO MIRAGE - You can get one that looks like a
mini-Duesenberg, a Jaguar or a Hummer.
But these battery-powered status symbols cost as much as a
family car.
Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Gerald Ford, Michael Jordan and
Walter Annenberg each bought one. Computer magnate Bill
Gates got his as a surprise gift. And the owner of a
trucking line paid $85,000 for a Kenworth replica.
Greg Vojtko/The Press-Enterprise
J.R. Thomas, president of Electric Car Distributors in
Rancho Mirage, with a Lido neighborhood electric vehicle and
other golf cars at the dealership. "There's a lot of money
spent here," Thomas says.
"There's a lot of money spent here," said J. R. Thomas,
president of Electric Car Distributors.
The classy, little vehicles with their swooped front ends,
headlights, big bumpers, fat tires and wire wheels are tiny
cars suited to the links and city streets. Aficionados
zipping around town and along fairways call their quiet,
sporty vehicles "golf cars" instead of carts.
They've become a sign of status like just second homes and
gala charity balls.
Customized golf cars come with air- conditioning, color
televisions, CD players, wood steering wheels, GPS satellite
systems, sun curtains to block harmful rays and rack and
pinion steering. There's even a six-passenger limo version
for about $20,000.
Now, the big sellers are earth-toned golf cars with all the
goodies, Thomas said.
"You're not going to see a retired CEO of a large
corporation driving a $3,000 cart," he said. "He's going to
have a $12,000 to $15,000 golf car.
"No doubt about it.
"Some guys have bigger egos than others."
Others like Larry Corando, 64, a retired food executive,
just prefer a comfortable vehicle for golfing. He has bought
three golf cars at Electric Car Distributors over the
years.
"I trade mine in every couple of years," he said Friday at
the dealership. "I don't buy a fancy cart to impress
people.
"I buy it because I like it."
He plans to spend $9,000 to $11,000 on a new golf car.
Carts to cars
It has been a long road from caddies carrying clubs to
luxury golf cars. And it started humbly.
In the early 1950s, squat, three-wheeled golf carts with
overhead canopies and tillers for steering popped up on some
courses. The battery- powered vehicles scooted along
fairways, speeding up play and eventually replacing faithful
caddies.
But it was bumpy at times, Thomas said.
Country clubs worried about damaging their manicured grass.
Caddies feared for their jobs. And in the 1950s, players
walked between holes unless they had a doctor's letter.
But golf carts finally proved their worth.
More rounds could be played so country clubs made more
money, Thomas said. Golf car owners now pay private clubs in
the desert up to $600 a year for the privilege of using the
vehicles. The Coachella Valley has about 100 golf courses.
The golf car customizing craze caught on in the early 1970s,
Thomas said. Players demanded fancy chrome grills modeled
after those on Rolls-Royces, Cadillacs and Lincolns.
Comedian Flip Wilson had a black and white television put in
a golf car he bought from the dealership in Rancho Mirage.
Links to city streets
Today, advances and new engineering have opened city
streets, especially in the desert, to golf cars.
The vehicles have carlike front suspensions with coil
springs, hydraulic struts and tie rods. They come with seat
belts, turn signals, a horn and rear- and side-view mirrors
and can do about 25 mph.
In Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage, about 500 licensed golf
cars are allowed on the streets, according to city
officials. Golf cars have been running on desert streets for
more than a decade.
Licensed drivers stop at the supermarket, the post office,
commute to work and visit fancy shopping centers like The
River in their golf cars.
"Golf cars aren't just for golf anymore," Thomas said. "I
look at them as small cars with golf bags attached.
Reach Steve Moore at (909) 849-4533 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Steve Moore can reached by email at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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. http://geocities.com/brucedp
. EV List Editor & RE newswires
. (originator of the above EV ascci art)
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