The GEM eS Car: Insight from Bob Andersen

The GEM eS Car: Insight from Bob Andersen

Bob Ander­sen of the Den­ver Elec­tric Vehi­cle Coun­cil shares why he loves his GEM car, a Neigh­bor­hood or Low Speed Elec­tric Vehi­cle. The GEM car offers func­tion­al­i­ty, ease, and a fun ride meant for short trips like going to the gro­cery store or drop­ping off mail across town. The GEM car is a sim­ple, afford­able, and effi­cient way to get errands done with­out ever need­ing to stop for gas. 

Bob bought his 2005 GEM eS in 2011 and has since added over 11,000 miles on it. The car orig­i­nal­ly comes as a base frame with­out doors and a motor that is con­fined to speeds of 25 miles an hour or less, but Bob has added soft doors and upgrad­ed to a stronger motor and bet­ter tires, allow­ing the car to coast up to 55 miles an hour. This “golf cart on steroids” is 2005 also equipped with a car­go flatbed on the back, mak­ing it per­fect for car­ry­ing gro­ceries home so as not to crowd out the 2‑seater space in the front. Bob has added a cov­ered car­go box to his, mak­ing his “truck­ette” snow and rain-free. The inte­ri­or is as sim­ple as it is func­tion­al, with a dash­board, speedome­ter, cup hold­ers, a small glove com­part­ment, and the basic safe­ty fea­tures such as seat belts, a horn, head­lights, mir­ror, and a wind­shield. The exte­ri­or offers the “grin” fac­tor and is sure to get many waves and smiles from onlook­ers. This isn’t an elec­tric car you can see everyday! 

Bob Ander­sen also owns a Tes­la and offered some com­par­isons between the two. While both cars are street-legal, licensed, and insured, the GEM car acts as more of a neigh­bor­hood EV with a short range of 25–30 miles, while the Tes­la is bet­ter equipped for longer trips up to 200+ miles. Both EVs can be charged from home, but the GEM charges at .5 miles per hour at a 120v out­let while the Tes­la charges 24 miles an hour at a 240v out­let. The Tes­la is also a much larg­er car with more fea­tures and faster accel­er­a­tion, but it comes at a price tag much high­er than the GEM. Both cars have regen­er­a­tive brak­ing and are envi­ron­men­tal­ly friend­ly alter­na­tives to gas-pow­ered vehicles. 

The GEM car is per­fect for those who want a mix between a golf cart and a truck. It’s eco­nom­i­cal, sus­tain­able, and high­ly func­tion­al for short trips. Bob loves his GEM car for these rea­sons, but above all, it’s fun! Check out Bob’s GEM here.

Watch this virtual ride and drive to get a sense of the GEM car in motion!

https://vimeo.com/464429606