At first glance, the plug-in electric Tomberlin E-Merge looks like a glorified golf cart.
But a closer look shows features one won't find on the fairways. Hydraulic four-wheel brakes, independent suspension, seat belts, a roll bar and turn signals make the E-Merge a street-legal, nonpolluting alternative for low-speed, short-distance commuting.
It's among a growing number of battery-powered "green" vehicles making their way into the automotive marketplace -- and this one is coming to Fresno.
Fresno businessman Bruce Lackey hopes the environmental appeal of an all-electric vehicle in the pollution-choked San Joaquin Valley -- and a federal tax credit of between $4,200 and $5,500 -- will spur interest in the unorthodox cars.
Lackey, president of Ritchie Trucking Service, is the owner of Low Speed Vehicle Co., a soon-to-open dealership in downtown Fresno. It will be the Valley's only outlet for Tomberlin electric cars.
James Haron steps out of an Anvil that is on display with other models of electric vehicles manufactured by Tomberlin on Wednesday at the soon-to-open Low Speed Vehicle Co.
The E-Merge Shelby GT can reach speeds of 25 mph and has a range of more than 30 miles. It is legal to operate the vehicle on surface streets with speed limits up to 35 mph.
The E-Merge, starting at about $7,000, can be driven on a golf course and modified to carry golf clubs. But -- unlike a golf cart -- it's legal on city streets where the speed limit is 35 mph or less. It has a range of about 30 miles per charge and a top speed of about 25 mph.
"Even though it looks like a golf cart, it didn't start out that way," said Steve Rhodes, Tomberlin's district sales manager. "It's our original design."
Tomberlin has assembly plants in Georgia and Palm Desert.
Lackey discovered the Tomberlin vehicles on a trip to Southern California when he was shopping for a new golf cart. He was impressed enough to not only buy an E-Merge for himself, but to invest in a franchise.
Lackey said he's only awaiting approval from the state Department of Motor Vehicles and hopes to open the dealership at Ventura and Van Ness avenues in about two weeks. In the meantime, he has a small inventory of E-Merge's stashed in a warehouse at his trucking business south of Fresno.
Lackey also hopes to sell the E-Merge's beefier electric brother, the Tomberlin Anvil. Both are powered by lead-acid automotive batteries that can be recharged by plugging into regular household current with an extension cord.
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