Industry News

Industry News – May/June 2012

UNIQUE NEW CABIN FROM GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA
Residents of states having communities permitting golf cars on the streets want a more custom, automobile-like fit and finish to their golf cars.

Gainesville, Florida custom homebuilder and low handicap golfer Paul Hirneise saw how to fulfill the need for a hard-body fully enclosed golf car cabin with modern features and the opportunity for personalization. His vision has given us the moderately priced First Class Cabin, made in Alachua County, Florida and marketed by his company, Sleekline, LLC.

With front top and bottom air dams inside and out, a rear interior air dam, sliding rear window and great finish, Hirneise claims the occupant of a First Class Cabin may well believe she is in an automobile. Being a golfer, Hirneise designed bi-fold doors that allow even the biggest of us easy entry into the cabin and easy rear access to clubs, sand bottle and club & ball washer.

Sleekline offers custom options, including décor panels and fender flares that can be painted to match the owner’s car or display a team logo, side-view mirrors and a SoundCom Panel encouraging use of GPS-enabled device applications for golf. Hirneise says that other options are being developed.

Sleekline’s First Class Cabin is presently available for the Club Car DS and Precedent. Models for Yamaha and other golf cars will soon follow. Learn more at www.sleeklinecabins.com.

LITHIUM BOOST TECHNOLOGIES RELEASES IT’S NEW BATTERY AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR LOW SPEED ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Lithium Boost Technologies, Inc., the leading innovator of lithium technology for low speed electric vehicles has released its first production of Lithium Batteries with their patented Battery Management Systems after two years of research and development in the US market this January 2012.

On January 18th, 2012 our CEO, Sam Lev; VP of Sales, Roger Manusav; and Chief Engineer, John Wade were on hand for the grand opening of Classi Golf Cars in Sun Lakes, Arizona, to unveil a fleet of Lithium powered golf cars. John White, owner of Classi Golf Cars and a key champion of Lithium Boost had this to say about our product:

“I have been testing and promoting lithium powered golf cars for over two years, and am firmly convinced that we are on the cutting edge with the latest technical advances by Lithium Boost Technologies. I have generated a lot of interest in my three Arizona locations, and am sure this product will soon be the norm in golf cars, both new and used. My personal golf cars is a Star lithium, and I will never have to worry about buying another set of batteries.”

Our battery and management system is powerful, durable, and ecologically friendly. CEO Sam Lev, who has spent the majority of his career developing green energy technology for automobiles states that, “By replacing the 100 year old lead acid technology with the same advanced clean energy technology from the automotive industry, you will enjoy a virtually maintenance free battery system.”

We at Lithium Boost Technologies are very excited to be the first company to offer this revolutionary technology to the low speed electric vehicle community. This is a great opportunity for dealers to have the latest product to offer their clients.

To learn more about our products please visit our website: www.lithiumboost.com.

CLUB CAR TO INSTALL PRO-FILL BATTERY WATERING SYSTEM ON ALL PRECEDENT ELECTRIC GOLF CARS
The Pro-Fill Onboard Battery Watering System by Flow-Rite will now come standard on all Club Car Precedent golf cars.  Pro-Fill replaces the water lost in golf car batteries due to evaporation during charging and daily use.  Pro-Fill is the only battery watering system specifically designed for “golf car” style batteries.

“We’re pleased to add the Pro-Fill system to Precedent’s standard offerings to enhance efficiency and safety for our customers,” said Tim Walls, Golf Category Manager at Club Car, a brand of Ingersoll Rand.  “Pro-Fill is one more way that Club Car helps customers reduce costs and manage their fleets more effectively.”

The Pro-Fill system works by replacing the battery’s existing vent caps with valves that are interconnected with tubing, allowing the user to fill all battery cells from one remote location. Each valve independently shuts off water flow to the cell when the proper electrolyte level is reached.

“Thorough testing is performed on all Pro-Fill valves to ensure the high quality expected by Club Car customers,” said Rob Brock, Global Sales Director of Flow-Rite Controls.  “We are honored to be selected as the watering system of choice by the golf car industry leader and look forward to our continued relationship with Club Car.”

For more information, visit www.flow-rite.com or www.clubcar.com.

B&B PREFERRED CUSTOM BODY SYSYTEMS ANNOUNCES NEW DESIGNS & PRODUCTS FOR 2012

Jason Stella, managing partner of B&B Preferred Custom Body Systems takes pride in his products. “We offer the most complete and easy to install custom body systems—for the big three companies in the industry currently on the market today. All our front cowls and body systems are pre-fitted at the factory and include detailed installation instructions, all hardware/lights, and wiring schematics with all shipments. We also meticulously catalog and number all of our designs immediately following production resulting in the highest level of quality control in the industry,” says Stella.

New designs for 2012 include 3 new front cowls to fit the Club Car and EZ-Go platforms. Customers can expect the company to support its new product offerings with a full-color catalog, an updated website featuring virtual tours of all it’s products and also an image bank of photos to aid in customer sales efforts. “Our goal with the new website and image bank to is to assist our dealers with the promotion and marketing of their custom designs” Stella offers.

In addition, B&B is now offering custom seats and is also partnered with the Cool Breeze AC/Heater/Stereo custom canopies in response to customer demand. Stella continues, “The seats and Cool Breeze systems have been very popular for us and we are proud to incorporate these products at prices that significantly add to our customer’s profit margin on their custom vehicle sales.” The re-designed B&B website will include upholstery samples for the custom seats and also a new shopping cart feature for convenient dealer ordering.

B&B Preferred has been offering custom body solutions for all makes and models since 2004. All bodies are constructed of hand-laid fiberglass. As the industry leader in custom body systems, B&B continues to maintain the highest standards in production of all their custom designs.

Look for the launch of the new website sometime in April, www.bbpreferred.com.

BASE MODEL LEGACY – AFFORDABLE YET DEPENDABLE

What does the market need?  A base model vehicle that is affordable yet dependable!  “Dealers across the country have expressed a need for a qualify golf car priced right.  In order to meet the need we have taken off some of the upgrades found in our earlier models to meet the challenge,” says Keith Andrews, President of Evergreen Electric Vehicles, LLC

The 2 Person Model includes golf package and canopy top with a 48 volt D&D Motor, Curtis Controller and Delta-Q Charger.  US Battery packs are an option, allowing the dealer to select from 6×8 Volt or 8×6 Volts from the factory or installing the brand of their choice.  The Delta-Q charger is easily programmable to the most popular battery brands.

Like the other quality vehicles offered by Evergreen Electric Vehicles, they are fully assembled here in the United States. A Colorado company headquartered in Grand Junction, Colorado, with their production facility conveniently located near the port of Long Beach in Southern California,   a perfect location for receiving a variety of assembly parts and loading containers for export.

To learn more about the full line of Evergreen Electric Vehicles, visit www.evergreenev.com.

GOLF CART BUSINESS WANTS TO PLAY THROUGH
A Glen Allen golf car distributor has cruised down Interstate 64 to Hampton Roads to open its second location in Virginia.

Peebles Golf Cars this week opened a dealership in Chesapeake, cutting down the transportation time to Hampton Roads and opening up a bigger direct-to-consumer golf cart market.

“We have several golf courses on the other side of those tunnels and when we do deals there we move the cars from Richmond to Virginia Beach or Chesapeake so we won’t have to bring the used cars back,” said Bert Zajac, manager for Peebles.

Peebles leases carts to golf courses for several years and then sells them to wholesalers and individual buyers. The business works with 140 courses in Virginia, 18 of which are in Hampton Roads and a few local courses such as the Country Club of Virginia, Hermitage Country Club and Kinloch Golf Course.

Zajac said Peebles has been eyeing Chesapeake for two years. “(In Richmond) We’re south of Virginia Center Commons, so we’re not getting all of the traffic that the West End and Short Pump gets,” he said.  “We will be able to sell to new customers in Chesapeake.”

Zajac said Peebles sold 1,200 carts last year to other used cart vendors in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and a few in Richmond. The business also sold 350 carts direct to local customers, who used them for puttering around their homes/farms or for recreational use.

“We’re basically trying to cut out wholesalers to retail more cars and make more money,” he said. “What we want to do is get the retail numbers up and we’re doing that by moving out here.” The business sells Club Cars-brand carts that range from $1,000 to $4,500. Zajac said customers are moving to electric carts.

Peebles also rents golf carts to individuals and companies for $150 per weekend. “Churches, schools and people that are having weddings rent them out,” he said. “I have over 250 cars in rental and from July to September I’m out of vehicles.”

Zajac said rentals will do much better at the Chesapeake location then in Richmond. “There are a lot more festivals and events that we don’t have that they have here,” he said. “The beach cities are much more open to the use of golf cars than Richmond.” Peebles hired four employees to staff the new location, which increased its total staff to 16.