With gas prices inching upward, those who have low daily distance needs can save some cash with a solar electric vehicle. Those driving the All American solar electric low speed vehicle (LSV), manufactured by Cruise Car (in other words solar golf carts) are reporting they can travel up to 10 miles per day without having to recharge their vehicles using external power sources. This means the onboard solar panels are producing enough charge to keep the LSV’s at full power throughout the day eliminating the need for remote charging stations.
“Particularly in this environment of rapidly rising gas and energy prices, being able to take a facility’s low speed transport needs totally off-the-grid represents a huge savings in not only fuel costs but also the vehicle support infrastructure – no remote charging stations, wiring, etc.,” said Ken Chester, president of Cruise Car Inc. “Our All American welded aluminum space-frame and aluminum-alloy extrusions not only eliminate rusting, a huge problem in seaside environments, but the lighter weight has yielded the additional benefit of extending the All American’s range. This off-the-grid capability is not just a valuable savings, but is also vital in instances where transportation is mission critical non-withstanding grid outages.”
These LSV’s are best suited for municipalities, military bases, college campuses, corporate parks, resorts, federal agencies, and planned communities. Today, there are 24 different models available ranging from light utility to 14 passenger transporters.
Adam Sulimirski, general manager for Cruise Car general manager noted, “Hearing from some of our customers that they have not needed to charge their All Americans since initial delivery was quite frankly very pleasant feedback for us,” “We knew that in addition to improving performance of vehicle systems and individual components – integrating more efficient motors and transmissions and more powerful solar panels – that we had also lightened the vehicles considerably.”
“The combination of all these factors has resulted in a real benefit for our users – allowing some of them to take their electric vehicles totally off the grid and reducing their transportation energy costs to zero. When you add in the 30 percent federal tax grants that are now available and our proprietary leasing program that allows tax exempt organizations to benefit from the grant, we are providing significant economies for users of low speed vehicles,” concluded Sulimirski.