I went to the library on Wednesday and pulled into a parking space next to a GEM e2. It looks pretty golf cart-ish, but for drivers who live on an island it might work as long as you don't want to drive on a freeway.
Classified as low-speed vehicles by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), GEM cars are street-legal in nearly all 50 states on most public roads posted at 35 mph or less. With a top speed of 25 mph and a range of up to 30* miles on a charge, GEM passenger and utility vehicles are ideal for driving on campuses, work sites, or just around the neighborhood.
The interior looks surprisingly roomy, but if you want to carry anything and you've got a passenger, you'd need an optional trunk box for $465 on top of the MSRP of $7,395 plus Destination & Handling charges of $945. That would make the bare-bones cost $8,340 plus local taxes and registration fees. A new gasoline-powered Honda Civic has an MSRP of $15,505, while a new Civic hybrid has an MSRP of $23,650.
You sacrifice a lot of comfort with the GEM e2, and it looks like you also sacrifice some safety features like airbags. Nonetheless, for a certain group of people who live in suburbs and make short trips, it might work.
Posted by Linkmeister at May 8, 2009 08:24 AM | TrackBack