[lithium.paul]

To address the manufacturer problem...
We've been working closely with both the E-Z-Go and Yamaha dealers here. They're both really interested, but not the manufacturers. I've looked into it and here's the reason why I don't think they want to make a battery switch:

Most of the manufacturers' profits come from fleet sales/leases to golf courses etc. They have this cushy status quo going for them where courses are used to renewing a lease for a new fleet every 4-5 years. So if they start manufacturing carts with batteries that last 10+ years and the carts cost $700 - $1000 more, they lose on both counts! They'd have a higher bottom line AND they wouldn't sell new carts as often - no manufacturer wants that! But that shouldn't stop consumers from getting access to the best products available for their carts. That's why I think aftermarket lithium batteries are the way to go for now. If one of the big 3 (EZGO, CC, Yamaha) starts to see individuals and then courses seeking out lithium batteries, then one of them will make the proactive choice to make the switch. And once one does, the others will follow.

As for 6v and 8v configurations, there's nothing in the works yet with our manufacturer. There's no reason it can't/won't be done. It's just that the general population is way more used to 12v batteries than 6 or 8, so that's what they've gone to first.