Stealth To Unveil New Electric Vehicle At ATA Show

Stealth 4x4 Utility Vehicle

Stealth Utility Vehicle will be using the Archery Trade Association show this January 6-8 in Indianapolis to introduce their latest electric utility vehicle, the Stealth 4×4.  in 2010 Stealth introduced a 64 volt model of their hunting UTV.  Learn more:  Ammoland.com

Kawasaki & John Deere Reach Production Milestones

A Teryx 750 FI 4x4 Sport is the 3,000,000th vehicle produced at Kawasaki's Lincoln, NE plant

The 3,000,000th vehicle recently rolled off the assembly line of Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing’s facility in Lincoln, NE.  In this case the vehicle was a Teryx 750 FI 4×4 Sport.  Over the 36 years of operation the plant has produced motorcycles, snowmobiles, jet skis, ATVs, UTVs industrial robots and rail cars.   Learn more:  Motorcycle-usa.com

Meanwhile John Deere’s Horicon, WI plant just produced the company’s 500,000th Gator utility vehicle.  The XUV825i, the fastest and most powerful Gator yet, rolled off the line seventeen years after the first Gator was produced in 1993.  Learn more:  ATVmagonline.com

Bulgaria Produced Electric Light Truck

The ETK 021 electric light truck from Di-Ven Ltd of Bulgaria

Di-Ven Ltd. , a manufacturer of electric and LPG forklifts based in Bulgaria, unveiled their first electric truck in May.  The ETK 021 is targeting delivery and service applications in urban environments and has a 1 ton payload capacity.  The vehicle operates on AGM batteries and has a range of 50 km.  Lean more:  Novinite.com

Bad Boy Buggies Recall LSVs For Acceleration Problem

Bad Boy Enterprises recently announced they were recalling 370 of their 2009-2010 Classic LSVs because of an acceleration problem.  According to reports “…water getting onto the accelerator can cause a voltage surge that will cause the vehicle to accelerate without the pedal being pressed.”  The company has also told the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) that based on what they have seen in these LSVs a fix to an acceleration problem for a previous recall involving 3,900 vehicles will not solve  the problem in those vehicles.  The company is investigating what additional steps may be needed regarded those vehicles.  Learn more:  Wheels.blogs.nytimes.com

CNG Mini-truck Launched In India

Hindustan Motors announced the launch of their compressed natural gas (CNG) powered mini-truck for the Indian market.  The vehicle is based on their existing Winner model and is compliant with the latest emission standards.  Local regulations in Dehli regarding the conversion of diesel powered vehicles is expected to help the company sell 2,000 vehicles by the end of the year in the city.  The  Intraco group of Singapore will sell the vehicle in Bangladesh. The vehicle is considered a light commercial vehicle (LCV) and management expects the market for these vehicles to grow from 240,000 to 450,000 in 2014.  Learn more:  Sindhtoday.com

GatorMoto Announces New LSV Utility Vehicle

Following an ongoing market trend of manufacturers producing street legal utility vehicles, GatorMoto Utility Vehicles recently announced  the Electro Bubble Buddy Mountaineer LSV.

With a 72 volt engine with DC converter to 12 volts, 5 speed electric transmission, front axle independent suspension, integrative rear axle with leaf spring and vibration absorber, rack and pinon steering with automatic rocker compensating function and front disc brake and rear drum brake with hydraulic system, this vehicle is the choice of municipalities, police, EMTs, fire departments and other applications which require more torque in the engine.  It can also be ordered with optional LED emergency light bars.  Other available options include custom graphics, custom body color, storage cover, quick charging system, DVD player with monitor, and back up cameras.

The Electro Buddy Mountaineer LSV features a Curtis Controller, Trojan 105 batteries, 12:49:1 axle ratio for climbing, AM/FM/CD with speakers, two-tone paint scheme, rear lockable trunk, DOT approved seat belts, AS-1 certified windshield, and 2 on board charger units.  Black vinyl captains chairs with adjustable backs and adjustable formed arm rests provide comfortable seating for up to four passengers.

The vehicle has an MSRP of $17,900.00 and the 5 kW model is eligible for the 10% federal tax credit.  Learn more:  Gatormotoutilityvehicles.com

What’s Cooking On The STOV

Highlighting some of the many applications for small, task-oriented vehicles

GEMs At San Diego International Airport

Airport Transport & Utility - As part of celebrating the upcoming Earth Day San Diego International Airport recently highlighted their use of electric powered LSVs and utility vehicles.  Their fleet of fourteen vehicles include 10 GEMs and 4 Taylor-Dunn vehicles in two and four passenger configurations, as well as utility configurations.  The vehicles are part of the airport’s overall “green” strategy.  Officials estimate that the vehicles save them 80% in fuel costs compared to using gas-powered vehicles for the same work.  Learn more:  Examiner.com

Vehicle Reviews

Here are a couple of electric vehicle reviews covering both ends of the STOV spectrum.

Tazzari Zero

The first is a review of the Tazzari Zero, a high end, sporty commuter vehicle.  Priced at $31,000, the vehicle is capable of highway speeds but has not completed DOT crash testing, and therefore is a high priced low speed vehicle.  Learn more:  Foxnews.com

The second review is of the Polaris Ranger EV, a recent entry into the electric utility vehicle segment.  The Ranger EV is based on the chassis of the gas powered Ranger 400.  It features a 11.5kw battery pack of Trojan batteries, a 30hp motor and a range of 25 to 50 miles depending on the driving mode selected.  Learn more:  Hortweek.com

News Briefs

Strong UTV Sales In Australian Farming Segment – An Australian farming magazine reports about the increasing demand for UTVs and the entry of new manufacturers like Honda, Case IH and New Holland into the market.  Learn more:  FW.farmonline.com.au

Platinum Group Acquires Tiziani Golf Car of Minnesota – The Platinum Group, a private equity fund that focuses on underperforming companies or those in need of turnaround expertise, recently purchased the assets of Tiziani Golf Car of Minnesota.  The company will be renamed Superior Golf Cars and will continue to be the exclusive distributor of Club Car vehicles in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin.  Learn more:  peHub.com

Phillips Develops Crosswalk System For Silent Vehicles – Phillips is developing an LED based crosswalk lighting system to warn pedestrians of approaching but silent vehicles such as electric buses, autos and scooters.   The embedded LEDs react to approaching vehicles the same way traffic lights do by changing color from green to amber to red.
Learn more:  Worldcarnews.com

Phillips Develops LED Crosswalk System

What’s Cooking On The STOV

Highlighting some of the many applications for small, task-oriented vehicles

Specialized Agriculture Applications – Oregon based manufacturer Barefoot Motors is selling electric utility vehicles for use in orchards.

Karen Lewis with Washington State University Extension in Ephrata, Wash., said many orchard owners are shifting to a two-dimensional and three-dimensional row setup, enabling human or robotic hands to access the fruit by any type of technology. They are looking for smaller, electric utility vehicles to harvest or apply pesticides, she said.

The electric UTVs are also well suited for the frequent stop and start nature of the work. Learn more: Capitalpress.com

Advertising Based Transportation Service – A pair of Florida State University graduates have launched Green Operated Transit Carrying Humanity Around, or GOTCHA, a free, environmentally friendly transportation service. The company has a fleet of five GEMs to service the FSU campus and plan for similar fleets for the University of Florida and the University of Georgia. The company generates revenue by placing advertisers logos on the vehicles. Learn more: Tallahassee.com

New GEMs for the Hoboken Parking Utillity

City Parking Department Application – Hoboken, NJ has taken delivery of two GEMs for use by the Hoboken Parking Utility. The vehicles will be used to put up signs, place bags over meters and install and remove boots. They replace pickup trucks which frequently needed maintenance. and their compact size are a good fit for the city’s tight streets. Learn more: NJ.com/hobokennow

Mobile Marketing Campaign – L’Oreal Paris is using two GEM vehicles as part of a mobile marketing campaign that will visit ten college campuses this spring. The promotion will…

…provide students with a range of brand engagements creating a motivating product trial platform while generating buzz. Utilizing a branded Airstream trailer and two battery-operated GEM cars, (Global Electric Motorcars) trained product specialists will invite students to use mobile face washing stations featuring Go 360 Clean, enjoy two-minute upper back massages and a professional makeup application.

L'Oreal Paris GEM promo vehicle

Learn more: Drugstorenews.com