Golf Car Options Magazine March 2020 GCOptions Mar20 MAGZTER | Page 28

Inside The Gated Community
...Continued
that will take the PTV to the next
level of automotive comparability.
Doug Ballenger, Dealer Devel-
opment Manager for Tomberlin,
indicated that his company was
giving the enclosure issue serious
thought and he ventured that the
question that arises with regard
to doors, is should they be half-
doors or full doors or somewhere
in between?
In a way of paraphrasing the
issue, is the PTV an open air, fair
weather vehicle with easy in-
gress and egress—or should it be
more weather resistant and at
the same time less open air and
more restrictive? The open air
version answers to the PTV’s golf
car roots and a traditional market
in mild climates. The enclosed
solution readies the PTV for the
urban/suburban mobility market.
Even in mild climates it does rain
once-in-a-while, and it can get hot
and muggy. The Cheeta answers
these issues. Pictured above
is the three-passenger Cheeta
Runner, a fully-enclosed LSV. Not
only fully-enclosed but comes
with all the bells and whistles to
include heating, air condition-
ing, turn signals, Bluetooth, and
backup camera. Note the wide
doors which allow easy access to
both front seating and to the rear
light haulage space. The price tag
is $6,100
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Typical fully-enclosed vehicle from
China. Is there a market in the gated
community universe?
Right now, Chinese manufactur-
ers lead the way in the category
of enclosure small vehicles. China
is, by far, the largest producer of
LSV-type vehicles. Put Global
Sources in your browser and you
should come up with the internet
marketing site that features such
vehicles. Another example of a
fully enclosed LSV is this vehicle
from Weihai PTC International
Co., Ltd.
It ‘s not a golf car or anything like
the PTVs we are used to inside
our gated communities. All else
equal with regard to quality,
would you be interested in such
a vehicle, were it offered by a
trusted dealer and had decent re-
views? Feel free to give me your
answer at smetzger@smallvehi-
cleresource.com .
My sense of where the industry
stands now is that with lithium
power and with the growing in-
terest in urban/suburban mobility
systems, we will see many im-
pressive small vehicle innovations
that seemed utterly far out and
unlikely as little as two years ago.
PGA 2020 marked a watershed
in that it marked the beginning of
much broader markets for small
vehicle—well beyond golf.
Small Vehicle
Resource is your
one-stop source for
information on small
task-oriented vehicles:
Utility vehicles, LSVs/
NEVs and Golf Cars for
commercial or
personal use.
smallvehicleresource.com
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