Club Car takes its latest model to the streets

This Club Car mingles with cars.

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Club Car's new low-speed vehicle, called the Villager 2 2, will begin to ship out this week.

The golf car giant this week will begin shipping out its first electric, street-legal, low-speed, passenger vehicle, called the Villager 2 2.

The vehicle is based on an existing "people mover" Villager design with additions that make driving it on streets legal. It weighs less than 3,000 pounds and has a top speed between 20 and 25 mph. The vehicle will be produced at the company's Evans facility.

Last year Club Car introduced street-legal versions of two of its utility vehicle lines that targeted commercial and government markets.

Robert McElreath, Club Car's vice president of global marketing, said military bases, college campuses, residential neighborhoods and urban environments with congested driving and parking conditions are among the target markets for the new vehicle.

"Even when the purchase of (low-speed vehicle) does not replace a personal or commercial vehicle, it will certainly replace many of the miles a vehicle with an internal combustion engine is used for, and that's going to translate to fuel and energy savings as well as convenience," Mr. McElreath said.

The vehicle will have a base price of $8,876.

Its release was timed to allow buyers time to take advantage of a federal tax credit that expires at the end of the year. The credit is $2,500 plus $417 for each kilowatt hour of battery capacity in excess of 4 kilowatt hours.

Reach Tim Rausch at (706) 823-3352 or timothy.rausch@augustachronicle.com.