Putting thoughts to print is hard.

The purpose of this blog, is to allow me to put to print my thoughts and ideas regarding current technologies and designs related to a little reviewed area of clean Battery Electric driven transportation - Low Speed Vehicles - and the future possibilities of operational footprints and performance expectations.

It seems that in America at least, we will accept less than expected if the overall perception or result is a step toward a greener operations footprint, or at least the perception of that.

Apple polishing aside, Global Electric Motorcar, who was recently acquired by Polaris, was the first serious manufacturer to start making an acceptable LSV (Low Speed Vehicle) EV (Electric Vehicle) that could somewhat service the consuming public. 

Many Golf Cart makers attempted to follow suit to not lose market share, and tried to emulate the  LSV design guidelines, but failed in my opinion as all you got was a golf cart that went faster. Hell, I can do that going down a hill. 

Along with that, we started receiving an influx of inferior Asian overseas LSV configurations that in my personal experience were an entire waste, of money and time, spent repairing and living with the inadequate performance of poor or rushed design and manufacturing to fill the American demand for cleaner vehicles. I see it as an attempt to capitalize on readily available government cash set aside for greener fleet operations. Since it is a small market, many are not aware of what is a good or poor product, thus we all bought or are buying poor products.

I have consistently remarked on what could be done to make a better 'wheel' or vehicle to several colleagues in my frustration over seeing a great niche market being abused; explaining the visualized use of COTS component in integration design and mobility (Commercial Off The Shelf). I have hesitated to be more public until recently, set off by seeing yet more unworthy vehicles being imported into the US marketplace. I know full and well what they will be saying a few months down the road, and many of those words will be four letter in structure and meaning as were mine. 

At the urging and support of respected friends and family; several coming from Automotive backgrounds, I have decided to 'man up' and start putting down my thoughts, comments, and within reason, design ideas that I have taken steps to secure for future business, and accept the criticism or support it elicits.

In the next several weeks, I will attempt to articulate the experiences (and post links, websites, pictures and articles) that possessed me to start this blog and espouse my personal ideas on what can be done to offset this error of procurement and expectation in hopes of turning what I see as a nasty Red Tide.  

Why? It is in hopes that American Manufacturing  and consumers will step up and look long term at a marketplace that will do nothing but continue to expand into many areas of localized transportation. Vehicles that had not been considered or rudely dismissed. 

I hope to cajole or by consumer pressure, force companies to rethink, recommit, and build/design products with longevity, platform expansion, performance and quality, along with future technology adaptation, all without price tags that exceed production automobiles when the current LSV product lines are worth far less in value of the overall assembly (not performance), and especially when they cannot be legally operated on the vast majority of American roadways.

I hope I am worthy of the written task, and that you will appreciate the motivation, and the true desire to see Americans rise to the top in many areas of Cleaner and Greener transportation. 

I will attempt not to drag down any vehicle in particular. But at the same time, I will point out the shortcomings of such in attempts to reveal a positive alternative design application that can facilitate new vehicle design as well as retro-fit/upgrade less worthy products.

Hey - we all enjoy the freedom of wheels. Let's make more of it by doing it right.

So - Do we D.A.R.E.?