dealernews
Golf Car Options
New Smyrna Beach company Gulf Atlantic Vehicles specializes in
custom golf carts
A fixture in the area since 1991, Gulf Atlantic
specializes in golf cars, an evolution of the bat-
tery-powered carts once relegated to transport-
ing weekend foursomes from tee to green. The
family-owned business is now in its fourth gener-
ation, a span long enough to witness an industry
transformation.
“He points to a Club Car Onward, a six-seat mod-
el that’s street legal. “You can take it on any road
with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less,”
Welsh said. “It comes with a heavier suspension,
kind of like a Jeep, higher off the ground.”
It’s also equipped with everything required for
a VIN from the state Department of Motor Vehi-
cles: a windshield that meets Florida Department
of Transportation standards, wipers, mirrors, a
lighted license plate frame and a slow-moving
vehicle emblem for the back.
The brand-new 2019 model lists for $15,995 and
it’s a popular choice for customers that have
kept Gulf Atlantic’s business trending upward in
recent years, Welsh said.
A lot of potential buyers are coming from new
developments that have contributed to a recent
home-building boom in Volusia County, especial-
ly the 3,400-home Jimmy Buffett-themed Lati-
tude Margaritaville 55-and-older community in
Daytona Beach, Welsh said.
“Probably in the last five years our business is up
30 percent,” he said. “It has been growing steadi-
ly. It used to be seasonal, so in April things would
slow down pretty much through September, but
now we’re busy year-round.”
For the Welsh family, the golf cart connection
goes back to the mid-1960s. That’s when Dale No-
land, Carrie’s grandfather, started selling them.
24
WWW.GOLFCAROPTIONS.COM
A decade later, her father, Jim Noland, started
Noland Car Company in Edgewater, a company
that supplied Pargo brand carts to Walt Disney
World and other resorts nationally and interna-
tionally.
Greg and Carrie met there as employees in the
early 1980s. He worked on fiberglass installation
and she assembled wiring harnesses.
Cushman bought the Noland dealership in 1987.
A few years later, the Welshes opened Gulf At-
lantic, after a stint of working in the sod business
on the company’s current site a few miles east of
Interstate 95 on Pioneer Trail.
Now, the family operation boasts a 5,000-square-
foot service center on three acres and employs
a 10-person staff, not including the Welshes’ two
ever-present Boston terriers, Lilly and Ivy.
The couple’s son, Jimmy, is general manager.
After earning a degree in environment horticul-
ture and turf science at the University of Florida,
Jimmy had considered becoming a golf course
superintendent until his parents offered him the
same “keep you busy” pitch that Carrie’s father
had once given her.
“If it’s something somebody can think of, we can
get it done,” Jimmy said. In equipment, the possi-
bilities range from back-up cameras to premium
audio components and seating to custom T-tops
resembling a boat accessory.
CONTACT
Gulf Atlantic Vehicles
3298 Pioneer Trail
New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168
386-427-9778
www.gulfatlanticvehicles.com