Lineville couple likely first to own electric car in Clay County
LINEVILLE — Lineville residents often see Pattye Sudduth in her car at the Piggly Wiggly. They frequently see her at the bank’s drive-through. One place they never see her and the car is at the gas pump. Sudduth fills her car up every few days, using an orange extension cord. Sudduth and her husband, Ronny, are likely the first people in Clay County to own an electric car, but they probably won’t be the last. They have driven their 72-volt, 5 horsepower Gem Car about 200 miles in the four weeks they have owned it and have drawn stares and curious looks during most of their trips. “They either look at you like, ‘What is that?’ or ‘Can I have a ride?,’” Sudduth said of her neighbors’ reactions.
Jake Shields said he and the rest of the staff at Q’s Southern Style Restaurant in downtown Lineville didn’t know what to think when they saw the silent, rounded vehicle drive by. “I seen it and we all went out and looked at it,” he said. “It seems like a good car.” The silent, red and white craft that looks like a mix between a Volkswagen Beetle and a golf cart is perfect for running daytime errands around town, and while Sudduth acknowledged that she won’t be making any 25-mile-per-hour trips to Birmingham in the car, she said the vehicle is a gas-saving alternative to the couple’s Chevrolet pickup. The company that produces the Gem Cars, a division of Daimler-Chrysler, estimates on its Web site that the cars can go about 30 miles on a charge. The estimate jives with Sudduth’s routine of charging the batteries for three or four hours every couple of days. In the four weeks she has owned the car, she had put about 200 miles on it. She said she has never run out of juice … yet. “I take my cord with me everywhere, just in case,” she said. The Sudduths first saw the Gem Cars during a vacation at Jekyll Island in Georgia, where they were rented out to island tourists. They bought a 2005 model, which the rental company had named Max, for $6,500 and estimated it will take only about three years to pay for the car with their gas savings. Jordan Frazier Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Bessemer is Alabama’s only retailer and service center for the car, and an employee said the cars are surprisingly popular. Service adviser Edward Reed said he had eight Gems in the shop Friday: two from a government agency, one from a company and five from private owners. Most of the vehicles were in for battery service because owners didn’t keep them charged properly over the winter, Reed added. He said most customers at the dealership are intrigued by the electric models. “They see them parked out on the side and they’re like, ‘Is that a real car?’” he said. The sight is becoming more familiar he said. He has one regular customer who owns five of the vehicles, and several customers have bought them to use at beach homes. Owning electric cars is becoming more common, especially with historically high gas prices, according to one expert. Don Francis, a member of the Board of Directors of the Electric Auto Association and the treasurer for the Electric Vehicle Club of the South, said electric cars of all shapes and sizes are becoming less unusual, especially in urban or resort areas. “The more in town, the less odd it seems,” he said. The cars’ popularity goes in cycles, said Francis, who drove an electric car for six years earlier in the decade. There was a boom of interest when gas prices jumped from about $1 a gallon to $2. Then the buzz faded, only to be resurrected right after Hurricane Katrina sent fuel prices up. This summer, the public and lawmakers seem to be interested in at least discussing the alternatives. “There’s lots of talk about alternative fuels, not a lot of action,” he said. Gem cars at a glance • Top Speed: About 25 mph. • Range: Up to 30 miles per charge. • Power: 72-volt battery system that charges from standard 110-volt outlet. • Curb weight: 1,120 pounds to 1,560 pounds. • Price: $6,795 to $12,495. Source: GemCar.com
|
||||
|
|
