Search This Blog

Saturday, October 22, 2005

"Plug 'Er Up" Electric Cars - No More Gasoline






While Nancy toiled away at the FAME convention, I was free to do things that I liked. I spent way too much time in the town of Celebration, Florida.

Celebration is the evolution of Walt Disney's original idea of EPCOT - the experimental prototype community of tomorrow. The town was designed on a clean slate - it is about 5 miles from Disneyworld proper. It is a town with streets, restaurants, homes, stores, hotels, apartments, shops, and a post office. Everything is tastefully landscaped and there are plenty of ponds, lakes, walking trails, bike paths, and even rocks that play piped in music. There is no admission to visit the town - one can drive there, shop, eat, bike, or just walk around. The town also has free wireless internet in hot spots for you computer buffs.

One of the things that I liked most about Celebration was the electric cars. Since the homes here are relatively expensive, if one can afford a home here, they have extra cash for some neat toys. And one of them is the electric car.

In Florida, they have an NEV law which stands for Neighborhood Electric Vehicle. One is allowed to purchase an electric car and drive it on any streets that have speed limits of 35 miles per hour and lower. That includes all of Celebration. The electric cars are glorified golf carts with better lights and brakes. They go as fast as 25 mph and have a range between 20 and 50 miles on a charge. You plug the cars into a household 110 volt AC outlet. In Celebration the parking meters have outlets in them as shown in the picture.

No comments: