Test-drove a GEM

[Daniel Olin Miller <dmille15@ecn.purdue.edu>]

Some insectoid things have been appearing of late at the local Ridgecrest
Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth/Jeep/Eagle/Mitsubishi/etc dealership.  I dropped
by to test drive one, just for grins, and have a look at the internals.

It really is a glorified golf cart.  72V system, pretty peppy since it's
so light.  Top speed is artificially limited to 25 per.  There's a current
limiter switch so you can drive it on grass without ripping it up.  :)
GE motor and controller, Zivan charger, six-pack of (IIRC) Interstate
batteries.  Only the one gear, with a switch for forward/neutral/reverse.
Who knows how fast it could go with a transmission and the limiter
removed.  It's not very aerodynamic...

The rest of it is nothing to get excited over.  Steering power is OK once
you get moving, but good luck even budging it at rest, those fat, stubby
tires have too big a patch, and the wheel is the size of a salad plate.
Fine control on the gas pedal is hard to get.  The brake has all of 1/4"
of travel, or at least that's how it feels.  The guy tells me it has
regen, but I haven't confirmed it.  From a top speed of 25 per, what's the
point?  It has turn signals but no ratchet in the column so you have to
remember to turn it off.  Speedometer and other info comes from a single
LCD in the hub of the steering wheel.

They have a nifty switch-out system for the tail end, and different
modules for different cargoes.  On the two "sedan" display models they had
a simple trunk and a golf-bag carrier.  Two golf bags on a four-seater...
heh.  The third one on display was a 2-seater "pickup truck".

$10k minus $2k rebate.  Speed bump to normal traffic on all but the most
residential of roads.  Is any neighborhood really that insulated to
traffic?  OTOH, around here, it might be attractive for jeeping around the
more rural areas, without kicking up much dust or making noise.  On the
gripping hand, for driving to work, forget it.  I can only afford to have
one vehicle, and this one won't cut it.


Daniel O. Miller

Here in my car,
The image breaks down,
Will you visit me please,
If I open my door,
In cars...