INSIDE
By Stephen Metzger
Managing Director
Small Vehicle Resource, LLC
[email protected]
www.smallvehicleresource.com
THE GATED
COMMUNITY
Club Car Takes New A
Direction
W
hile I usually feature
vehicles for the con-
sumer market, this col-
umn takes somewhat of a differ-
ent direction, because you could
well see the Club Car 4ll utility
vehicle moving about your gated
community. It is ideally designed
for the typical maintenance and
upkeep chores required in the
community and has the benefits
of a smaller, less obtrusive foot-
print, compared to a pickup truck,
and being a plug-in fully electric ve-
hicle, it is quieter and non-polluting.
The genesis of the vehicle—with
the Club Car nameplate--is
also interesting and departure
from Club Car’s usual, in-house
product development and man-
ufacturing strategy. Here is the
overview, followed by an exclu-
sive interview with a major Club
Car dealer on the Westcoast,
Brian Rott, giving his thoughts on
how the vehicle fits into his sales
and service strategy.
Club Car 411 Overview
Earlier this year Club Car intro-
20
WWW.GOLFCAROPTIONS.COM
Is There More to
Come?
duced the Club Car 411 utility
vehicle, an all-electric vehicle
for cargo services and low speed
logistics. The 411 is the result
of a partnership between Club
Car and AEV Technologies, a
manufacturer of light-duty bat-
tery-electric vehicles. The part-
nership combines AEV’s expertise
in design and manufacturing with
the dealer network and brand
power of Club Car.
AEV Technologies also
produces the 311, a
three-wheeled “com-
muter” vehicle for the
consumer market,
pictured above, and the
511, a 4WD upgrade in
capabilities to the 411. Will the
Club Car connection extend to
these vehicles, as well?
Club Car 411 Target Market
The Club Car 411 is targeting the
space between full-sized trucks
and smaller golf car based utility
vehicles. The partners designed
the vehicles to have a lower cost
of acquisition, operation and
overall ownership while meeting