Cars Plus rolling out electric car

Guam - 2010 promises to be a great year for green technology. Whether they're ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel when producing power, ways to make recycling easier and more affordable or even ways to make your commute to work greener, it's all in store for 2010.

Later this week, Cars Plus will be unveiling a new line of electric automobile called the GEM or Global Electric Motor car a street legal, low-speed vehicle that can travel up to 35 miles per hour. Considering most of Guam's speed limits are set to 35 miles per-hour, the GEM fits right in on main thoroughfares as well as village streets. The GEM is fully electric, which means you don't need to buy any gas for it so if you get yourself into a GEM, the days of paying almost $4 a gallon for gas are over.

Cars Plus Sales Manager Vince Mafnas says there's already a big need for these green vehicles on Guam. "We feel that there's an opportunity for this car to be sold out here, there's going to be a lot of different agencies government or commercial that will be interested in this vehicle," he said.

The GEM comes in many different varieties. There's the standard 2-seater, a 4-seater and a 2-seater with a flatbed incase you'll need to haul anything around. The all-electric vehicles can get anywhere from 27 miles to 42 miles of drive time depending on how long you have it plugged in charging. To get the 6 12-volt batteries fully charged, you'll need to have it plugged in for about 8 hours.

But wait, it gets even greener. Unlike regular automobile batteries that need to be changed on an almost annual basis, Cars Plus Sales Consultant Eugene Rios says the GEM's battery life is an exceptional part of the electric vehicle. "The lifespan of theses batteries are between 2 to 5 years, now it all depends on usage," he said.

Rios says heat and humidity on Guam will play a factor in battery life, but with an open air environment for commuting, I don't think heat or humidity will play a factor, especially with added upgrades. Those upgrades include fans, a sound system and alloy rims, to name a few.

Back to Home