INSIDE
By Stephen Metzger
Managing Director
Small Vehicle Resource, LLC
[email protected]
www.smallvehicleresource.com
THE GATED
COMMUNITY
The Next Steps in PTVs
Are up to Us
T
his past week I attended the
PGA Show and, of course,
visited the exhibits of the
three major golf car manufactur-
ers—and then some. More than
ever, insofar as the manufactur-
ers are concerned, the Show has
become a venue for new offerings
of their personal transportation
vehicles (PTVs). One could say
that it is an uneasy venue, be-
cause while the Show is totally
oriented to the golf industry, as
it has been for years, the vehicle
models on display go well beyond
the golf segment.
Point A to Point B Versatility is
Growing
While the vehicles on display
are unmistakably golf car deriv-
atives, as PTVs they have been
upgraded in a variety of ways
from light kits, to lift kits, to four-
wheel brakes, to very cool touch
screens, connected to perfor-
mance markers in the vehicle, to
GPS, BlueTooth, and the internet
in general.
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WWW.GOLFCAROPTIONS.COM
Some of these features, of course,
are not so new, while others are
newly introduced. The important
aspect of these changes is that
PTVs are becoming more “auto-
motive”—that is, have the feel of
a conventional, on-road vehicle.
Not that you cannot tell the dif-
ference, but these enhancements
to golf car-type vehicles, to in-
clude air conditioning and heating
systems, audio, and LCD displays
on the dashboard—all molded
nicely into the driver/passenger
interior and meaning greater lux-
ury at stellar operational econo-
mies—strongly suggests the PTV
will progressively substitute for
your big car.
Manufacturers are Pushing the
Change
Manufacturers have turned the
corner on the fleet market and di-
versifying their model portfolios
with PTV offerings. They know
that this is now their big market
with significant growth
Club Car Onward now available with
lithium batteries. More enhancements
likely, getting away from the “golf cart”
look.
potential. The enhancements,
as noted, the strategic change
of direction by manufacturers,
and the overall context of the
clean energy movement point to
increased on-road use—whether
legal or not. And indeed there is a
gap here between market oppor-
tunity and regulatory reality.
Thus, the way forward is filled
with a lot of uncertainty. Chang-
es in vehicle look and feel and
performance are easier to accom-