Having said that, the GEM (Global Electric Motorcars) car is classified as a NEV. In 1995 the Federal Government created the NEV vehicle classification to encourage enviormentally friendly forms of transportation. The idea coming from the statistic that something like 60-70% of the mileage traveled with a household's second car is 10-15 miles. The NEV classification creates a vehicle to serve this statistic. It is for people who travel & stay locally - taking the kids to school, daily errands around town, the short commute to work, etc.
An NEV must meet these requirements:
- Headlights
- brakelights
- seatbelts
- back up beeper
- turn signals
- windshield & wipers
- horn
GEM is a specific make of NEV. It is made in South Dakota by Glogal Electric Motorcars, which is a division of Chyrsler. It is the most popular NEV. There are many other manufacturers of NEV's as listed on the parent website of this blog - Zenn, Big Man, etc. Some look more like conventional cars.
GEM car pros/cons
PROs
- From a safety perspective it is an eye catcher - other drivers see you
- Obvious savings on gas and greenhouse emissions
- Safety issues
- hair gets attcked by wind (can add doors)
- If it's cold outside, it's colder in a moving GEM, although a heater is a factory option as are hard doors
- range - "up to 30 miles" this is in a perfect enviorment. If you live in a relatively flat area you are probably looking at 25, with hills about 20
- Battery life and charger updates. The batteries need to be maintained if they are the classic "flooded" batteries - maintain the water level. Earlier GEMs have an incorrect charging curve for the batteries and needs it to be updated. Sealed maintence free batteries are available but cost more. If you change battery types then the charger needs to be updated
Another thing to think about is that you must modify your driving habits. Even though the NEV is legal on streets up to 35MPH it is best to avoid these roads when possible, for safety reasons and as a curtisy to you fellow drivers. Let's face it most people don't want to get caught behind a car travel 25mph (at best).
Your travel time time frame must change too. Other then driving in rush hour traffic when everyone doesn't get very far you must allow more time for driving greater distances, that is if you plan on using the NEV much.
Several states (Montana come to mind) have recently introduced a new classification of MSV (Medium Spped Vehicle) that have a maximum speed of 35mph. This is a more practical speed
No comments:
Post a Comment