What I don't understand is why at this time there isn't more flag waving
golf carts out there . They are a good way to get EV's into Joe's hands now.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Rice" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, October 06, 2002 11:31 PM
Subject: Re: EVLN(Some guys have bigger nEV egos)
> Hi All;
>
> Good story! Yeah! Tell me there isn't any interest in EV's Yeah, right.
> There it is, these cars could come plain an' simple for Joe Sixchip, too.
> Faster an' longer ranged as folks get the EV grin, and find they are 'way
> cool, period. Souping them up to the point they are real cars like we
drive.
>
> My two watts worth
>
> Bob
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> > EVLN(Some guys have bigger nEV egos)
> > [The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV
> > informational purposes. Contact publication for reprint rights.]
> > --- {EVangel}
> > 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]
> > -
> >
> >
> >
> > =====
> > ' ____
> > ~/__|o\__
> > '@----- @'---(=
> > . http://geocities.com/brucedp
> > . EV List Editor & RE newswires
> > . (originator of the above EV ascci art)
> > =====
> >
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