Grunion Gazette, The/The Downtown Gazette (Long Beach, CA)

Grunion Gazette, The (Long Beach, CA)
January 26, 2006
Naples Couple Plugs In To Auto Industry With Electric Cars
Author: Steve Irsay
Page: 12A
Estimated printed pages: 3
Article Text:

Jeanette Barsky drove to work in style Monday morning in her shiny red Dynasty Sport.

Compact and stylish, the unique four-door ragtop undoubtedly turned at least a few heads as Barsky glided from her Naples home to her Signal Hill office. With the pedal to the metal, she was doing 25 mph - tops.
When she got to work, Barsky wanted to make sure her car would be filled up for the ride home.
So she plugged it in to the wall outlet.

Barsky is the proud owner of a neighborhood electric vehicle, a slow-speed car with an electric motor that runs entirely on rechargeable batteries and plugs into a standard 110-volt wall outlet. It takes about 50-cents worth of energy for a full charge.
Now, she and her husband, Pete, are peddling the cars to the public through their Electric Car Company of Long Beach. The small showroom, located on Junipero Avenue near 27th Street in Signal Hill, opened earlier this month and is dedicated exclusively to neighborhood electric vehicles.

"We are not trying to replace the automobile," Pete Barsky said. "We are trying to supplement it and give people an alternative for the local drives."

While its gas/electric hybrid cousins made by automakers like Toyota, Honda and Ford are increasingly populating streets and freeways, the diminutive zero-emission neighborhood electric vehicles remain a niche market, relegated mainly to the limited grounds of corporate campuses, shopping malls and golf courses.
Only about 56,000 electric vehicles were in use in 2004 - up from about 3,000 a decade earlier. Those numbers include everything from neighborhood electric vehicles to buses. By contrast, there were nearly 190,000 passenger hybrid electric vehicles sold nationwide last year, according to the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA).
Pete Barsky, a long-time salesman who recently specialized in pesticides, admitted that basing his new business solely on neighborhood electric vehicles was a "big gamble."

"It will be a limited market initially," he said. "But we think it will grow."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration first recognized neighborhood electric vehicles as a form of transportation in 1998. California is among more than 45 states that allow the vehicles to be driven on roads with posted speed limits of 35 mph or slower. Onboard computers limit the car's speed.

"You have to be a little creative in terms of the route you take," said Jeannette Barsky, who said she weaved her way from Appian Way in Naples to Junipero Avenue in Signal Hill in about 15 minutes.
The Electric Car Company of Long Beach currently offers 12 different models from three manufacturers. It has about five models in stock ready for test drives.

With its open sides, small tires, and rear-mounted basket, the Cart-Rite Transporter looks more like a deluxe golf cart than an automobile. The two-seater, with a top speed of 20 mph, runs on six six-volt batteries and can travel about 36 miles on a full charge. The list price is $6,500. Larger, six-seat models sell for $9,000.

The IT line from Dynasty Motorcar Corporation is at the more street-ready end of the electric spectrum. With its 13-inch wheels, enclosed passenger areas and Volkswagen Beetle-inspired body, the IT Sedan runs on six 12-volt batteries and is "great for transporting the kids to school, or trips to the supermarket," according to Dynasty. The ragtop Sport model sells for $14,500, while others can go for as much as $19,000.

So far, the Electric Car Company of Long Beach has sold vehicles to three commercial clients: a Montebello shopping center that uses them for security staff and two real estate developers who use them for site tours. The company plans to market the cars to other local companies, as well as the Port of Long Beach, Pete Barsky said.

Beyond that, they also hope to attract individual consumers with the promise of a clean and economical alternative form of transportation.

That, and the occasional envious - maybe even curious - comments and looks from passing motorists.
"You hear people say 'look at that car,'" Jeannette Barsky smiled. "Sometimes, people just stare at it with their mouths open. It really is fun."

The Electric Car Company of Long Beach is at 2698 Junipero Ave., #106, in Signal Hill. The showroom is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and by appointment on evenings and weekends.

For more information, call 866-969-4545 or visit www.ecarco.com.

Copyright, 2006, Gazette Newspapers (Long Beach, CA)
Record Number: 10F796E60AE31C00