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Post-Standard,
The (Syracuse, NY)
June 19, 2003
Section: Local
Edition: Cayuga
Page: B1
ELECTRIC CAR COOL TO TOOL AROUND TOWN IN, REPORTER FINDS
REPORTER: ELECTRIC CAR COOL TO TOOL AROUND TOWN IN
Beth Beer
The city of Auburn, Cayuga
County Soil and Water Conservation District, Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES and the
Sterling Nature Center are receiving donations of electric cars, so The
Post-Standard decided to have a reporter test the zero-emissions vehicle.
Barry Carr, east zone manager of Global Electric Motorcars, and
Gregory Lattimore, Burdick Automotive's business manager, lent staff
writer Beth Beer a four-passenger electric car, which she used as her
vehicle Monday and Tuesday. Here's her report: The Global Electric Motorcar -
GEM - looks like the offspring of a union between a golf cart and a
Volkswagen Bug.
It possesses the typical car necessities such as turn signals,
headlights, windshield wipers, cup-holders. It also has a few parts other
cars don't: It runs on six batteries, two underneath the front hood and
four underneath the back seat.
Barry Carr, east zone manager for GEM, a DaimlerChrysler
company based in North Dakota, instructed me to buckle my seat belt when I
stepped into the passenger side of the car. The seat belt kept me from
possibly being ejected from the doorless GEM when it cut a quick
corner.
Carr had transported the white, four-passenger vehicle in a trailer
from Syracuse to Auburn. On Monday, he lent it to me for a few days to get
a feel for what it is like to drive around in an electric car.
Carr showed me the plug on the base of the back seat where I could
charge the car using an extension cord and a regular 110-volt outlet. He
pointed out the switches for forward and reverse, and turf and road modes.
Turf mode kept the car at a speed of 15 mph. Road mode was where you could
really open it up - all the way to 30 mph.
After a ride around downtown Auburn, it was my turn at the wheel.
I was handed the key to a privileged status where a lack of license
plates went unnoticed and I could park on the sidewalk with no complaints.
(I parked on the sidewalk in front of The Post-Standard's Cayuga
bureau mainly for easy access to an electrical outlet.)
The GEM turned heads everywhere it went. Pedestrians and
motorists displayed their approval with thumbs-up signs and proclamations
of "cool car!"
A few had queries, such as "What the hell is that?" and "Nice car,
but don't you need license plates?" (You do, by the way.)
I felt as if I was the parade queen in a one-car parade, waving
back to people as I drove by.
A few drivers seemed not to accept the GEM as real -
therefore, rules of the road didn't apply. They had no trouble passing me
on one-lane roads, or using a turning lane to get ahead of me at a light.
But for the most part, I felt accepted. I felt a kinship with
motorcyclists who were equally unprotected from SUVs.
The ride was surprisingly smooth as long as potholes were avoided.
And the car is much easier to maneuver than a golf cart, which in the past
I have had trouble mastering.
The GEM has a quick pickup at traffic lights. I cruised up
to 35 mph going down hills and stayed around 20 mph chugging up them.
I tried to recharge whenever I stopped, remembering the warning
from Carr that if the battery went down to 20 percent, the GEM
would conk out. Fully charged, it can travel up to 30 miles, although I
didn't risk it.
I gave co-workers, family members and friends rides through the
city. Staff writer David L. Shaw made it a point to thumb his nose at gas
stations as we drove by. Staff writer Dave Tobin said riding in the car
transformed Auburn into a theme park.
My grandmother, Teresa Foster, 83, instantly proclaimed her love
for the vehicle, which was easy to exit and enter.
It did have some cons, which I noticed when I was stuck behind a
garbage truck, but the pros definitely outweighed them. I could live with
messy hair, garbage smells, a tangled extension cord and sunscreen
dripping into my eyes as opposed to $20 fill-ups at the gas station, oil
changes, radiator flushes and air pollution.
Illustration: PHOTO
Jamie
Cohen/Contributing photographer
NATHAN WAYNE,15, of Auburn, (left) and
Harvey Simmons, 14, of
Skaneateles, check out a Global Electric
Motorcar as it recharges
Monday outside the offices of The
Post-Standard in Auburn. Color.
GRAPHIC: GEM New York facts
Costs 2 cents a mile
Runs on six batteries, two located in front, four
under the back seat
Has five horsepower motor, located in
front
Takes six to eight hours to charge, using a 110 volt electrical
outlet
Can travel 30-35 miles, with speeds averaging 25-30
mph
Operates in two modes: "turf" (speed won't exceed 15 mph) and
"road"
(up to 30 mph); controlled by pushing a button on the
dash
nHas a turn signal
Does not have power steeringn Needs no gas,
oil or water
Can go in forward or reversen Has an emergency
brake
Can be equipped with canvas doors
Has a horn and
headlights
n Has a windshield wiper with fluid
Can pull a trailer or
other attachments; trunk holds as much as 100
pounds.
Has seat
belts
Can't go on roads that have speed limits greater than 35
mph
Is charged by plugging heavy duty extension cord into the base of
the
back seat and then into an outlet (110 volt)
Can be equipped
with a heater, defroster and radio
Costs about $7,000 for a two-
passenger model, $8,900 for a
four-passenger model
Has aluminum
frame and plastic or Fiberglas bumper
Uses gel batteries, a
maintenance-free alternative to the standard
flooded lead acid
battery
Source: Global Electric Motorcar, a DaimlerChrysler
company
The Post-Standard.
Copyright, 2003, The
Herald Company