There’s been plenty of lip service paid to electric vehicles in recent years, but the fact remains that in many communities, they’re still more frequently discussed than actually seen.
Not so in several U.S. neighborhoods, however, where golf carts and other diminutive electric vehicles are part of the very fabric of community life writes trendspotter Springwise.
With many of the same gas-free benefits offered by larger electric vehicles–but considerably lower price tags–neighborhood electric vehicles, or NEVs, are the transportation of choice for residents of several large retirement communities.
Golf carts are a common sight on the streets and specially designed paths of The Villages community in Florida, for example–and not just the ordinary, plain-vanilla variety.
In fact, many of the community’s 77,000 retired residents “pimp their rides” to look like fire trucks, 1930s roadsters and stretch limos spending as much as USD 20,000 in the process of swapping in bigger tires or hacking engines to surpass the traditional golf cart’s maximum speed of about 20 mph.
Similar sights are apparently seen in other communities around the country, including the retirement mecca of Sun City, Arizona, and the all-ages suburb of Peachtree City, Georgia.
Driver’s licenses are not typically required for most golf carts, but full-fledged NEVs–which are street-legal in most states–require insurance and registration.
Photo by Gemcar.