by a start-up in Sweden. This small electric vehi-
cle has a top speed of 80 m.p.h. and a range of
190 miles on a full charge.
OK, so its not a golf car, but it would be marvel-
ous way to get about the community and jump
into the outer world without a hiccup.
The Baro One Golf Car, pictured below, is a golf
car, with many New Age technical features that
put it in a different class from your granddad’s
golf cart. As an example, this vehicle is designed
without a steering wheel. Instead, it is guided by
a joystick, which allows human intervention when
needed. When needed?! Yes, this vehicle, pro-
totyped in the U.K. comes equipped with Level 3
autonomy—meaning a step just below full driver-
less capability.
Embracing the new vehicle class—Gated com-
munities may lead the way
Using the metaphor of the wineskin, we can liken
the wineskin to the overall context of the trans-
portation system in the United States. It is that
overall system which is slowly evolving to address
serious mobility questions found in virtually all
major cities and even in the suburbs. Part of the
issue relates to the new landscape for many U.S.
cities. Urban centers, from which the young of
a generation ago fled to find peace and a new
lifestyle in the suburbs, are now seeing a pretty
amazing rebirth, as today’s youth, the current
generation, are returning to take advantage of
high tech positions clustered in city center envi-
ronments.
Still, even this trend seems to be a far cry from
the gated community. Yet, I will make the case
that when it comes to transportation, there are
some remarkably similar requirements that will,
I believe result in new wine into new, not old,
wineskins.
Unfortunately, I will have to develop this thesis in
my next column, due to limited editorial space.
So, stay tuned!
Figure 2 The Baro One Golf Car
This is the “new wine” that for the moment must
be poured into old wineskins. Thus, there will be
problems and issues with the typical American
consumer used to large conventional vehicles
(and F150s) and with the typical gated community
resident, I would say, who is enamored with his
pride-and-joy golf car.
Contact Steve at smetzger@smallvehi-
cleresource.com. Or check out our web-
site at www.smallvehicleresource.com,
where you will find an extensive database
of vehicle models and can make side-by-
side comparisons of vehicles based on a
full set of specifications.
AUGUST 2018
19