Whats the deal with the "new" type of charger?

[dougmcp]

Originally Posted by mikesmotortoys

I remember when the JOYNER vehicles first came out. The sales people were on me like prom date. I had plenty of sales info, yet not vehicles. Nice stereos, ITP wheels, Carlisle tires, etc. First units showed up with Chinese copies of each item I considered as a plus - you know, the stuff in the brochure

They're still in business, mainly ATV type gas carts. They must be doing OK as they have 13 dealers in California alone. The Chinese carts get better every year and I wouldn't be surprised if they take a big chunk of the business some day. It wouldn't be hard if a dealer network were developed

That's how Yamaha established itself here and it seems like Fairplay is coming along too with it's traveling roadshow.

In my opinion, I think the Zone is a blow and go deal. DE will milk it then dump it. Getting into the parts and accessory business for them doesn't fit their business model. It's too labor and cash intensive to return the profits they want.

[YellowSled]

yea, but I would bet that 99% of the Star and Fairplay parts will be interchangeable with the zone..

[mikesmotortoys]

Originally Posted by YellowSled

yea, but I would bet that 99% of the Star and Fairplay parts will be interchangeable with the zone..

Only one way to find out - When is someone bringing one to my shop!!!!

[dougmcp]

Originally Posted by YellowSled

yea, but I would bet that 99% of the Star and Fairplay parts will be interchangeable with the zone..

I agree completely. Being built as basically an EZGO copy, there will be a lot of parts that are interchangeable with many Chinese nameplates as well as EZGO.
As I have mentioned before, these carts are available to anyone who wants to place an order. If you order enough, they will put any name you want on it or you just have stickers made up and stick them on when you get it. The Zone name was likely ripped off from the eZone electric cars that are built in Korea.

[DealMaker8378]

I'm not sure about that Doug.......according to the NHTSA WMI listings, Zone Electric LLC dates back to 2000. I may be wrong but has e-Zone been around that long?

Originally Posted by dougmcp

The Zone name was likely ripped off from the eZone electric cars that are built in Korea.

[YellowSled]

is it Drive Electric that has been around since 2000 or Zone Electric?

[zimme333]

Originally Posted by YellowSled

yea, but I would bet that 99% of the Star and Fairplay parts will be interchangeable with the zone..

I would add Sky to the list. They seem to be out of Conroe, TX with a few dealers carrying them in that area.

Mike, curious if you have seen any of these?

Search google for Sky 100 golf car for more info.

[DealMaker8378]

Don't know about Drive Electric, their not listed on the NHTSA manufacturers site since they are a distributor. Earliest date on record for Zone Electric Car LLC, manufacturer #5F8, is 28 September, 2000. I believe DE has always been an exclusive distributor for Zone Electric Car LLC, so they've probably been around just as long. They've just been waiting in the wings for this "welfare" giveaway to come up!

Originally Posted by YellowSled

is it Drive Electric that has been around since 2000 or Zone Electric?

[mikesmotortoys]

Originally Posted by zimme333

I would add Sky to the list. They seem to be out of Conroe, TX with a few dealers carrying them in that area.

Mike, curious if you have seen any of these?

No Sir - Never heard of them. Probably the same as all the others. If you order enough for the manufacturing plant, they will make any name plate for you!

[dougmcp]

Originally Posted by DealMaker8378

Don't know about Drive Electric, their not listed on the NHTSA manufacturers site since they are a distributor. Earliest date on record for Zone Electric Car LLC, manufacturer #5F8, is 28 September, 2000. I believe DE has always been an exclusive distributor for Zone Electric Car LLC, so they've probably been around just as long. They've just been waiting in the wings for this "welfare" giveaway to come up!

Drive Electric started in 2000 and was a dealer for Western Carts. This was when all the NEV thing started up.

Back in around 1998 to about 2002, the auto makers, GM, Ford and Chrysler were being forced to produce an average amount of MPG's in their fleet. If they had a certain amount of electric/no gas required vehicles, they could then sell the gas guzzlers so they all embarked on a cart program to claim the credits. GM got together with Club Car and sold the Pathfinder cart, Ford sold the Think cart and Chrysler sold the GEM cart. EZGO was not in the mix and a company was formed called Western that sold NEV's.

Back to the story about Drive Electric. They sold a couple of hundred carts during this time and has remained relatively dormant until they re-emerged as the Zone dealer. I'm not really sure why they are listed as the exclusive distributor of Zone carts as it is the name they chose to put on the carts.
The Zone Electric cart name never existed until Sept, 2009. The relationship between Drive Electric and Zone is for tax and liability purposes, they are all owned by the same people.