Why Mercedes-Benz is making a fancy golf cart for rich people
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Sometimes you have to take things on faith, never having experienced them in person. One of those things is that the folks at Mercedes-Benz have a sense of humor.
The second is that customized golf carts are a big deal inside gated communities. The reason those residential neighborhoods are gated, of course, is to keep outsiders—folks like me—out, so we haven’t witnessed this large-scale phenomenon.
However, friends tell us that there’s quite a niche industry in customizing those carts. Just for fun, we priced one on the internet.
Our choice was something that looked like the builders took an old-style Popemobile and put it in a Mixmaster with a 1958 Chevrolet. The resulting photo resembles a little kid’s 1958 Chevy pedal car with a huge greenhouse seating area for two adults. The list price is $9,156.
A 4×4 option (should you want to take it off-roading) is $2,299. A 25 miles per hour motor upgrade runs you another $599. But there’s more, such as the street-legal lighting package ($500), locking dashboard-glove box ($165), additional 12-month warranty ($150), and flat-bed delivery ($295).
If my math is correct, that totals $13,164. That’s a bit pricey for a second “car’’ that you’re not going to be able to take out on major roadways, street legal or not.
And that doesn’t begin to add on the special paint jobs and details folks use to individualize their rides.
Of course, if I were an insider in one of those communities, I might be driving one of these cars—maybe even one with solar panels for free charging.
About now, as regular readers wonder why we’re on this topic of golf carts, it’s time to bring the Mercedes-Benz sense of humor into play.
The M-B folks were certainly having fun when they put out a full-length (thousands of words) news story about putting a M-B star on a vehicle for the fairways.
It seems there was a collaboration with high-end golf-cart company Garia to build the Mercedes-Benz Style Edition Garia Golf Car—note they’ve dropped the “t’’—because they’re calling this a “real sports car.’’
“That’s because this high-end golf cart, which is absolutely unique, was specifically developed for sporting golfers,’’ says Jens Thiemer, M-B vice president for marketing. And yes, he used the “t’’ in cart.
As a concept—M-B only is building two prototypes—the M-B Style Edition Garia Golf Car will have a payload of up to 1,014 pounds. That seems more than enough for two golfers, their golf bags, and whatever they put in the built-in fridge under the seats.
Top speed will be 19 mph and charging time is 6 hours. There’s no word on price, figuring that if you’re inclined to ask, you probably can’t afford it.
The front grille is textured like a golf ball, and the cart has LED headlamps, rear lights, and directional signals.
Mercedes has done this style thing before, building a H145 helicopter and the Silver Arrow of the Seas, a 46-foot ultra-luxurious yacht.
So there we have it, two terms you never expect in the same sentence: Mercedes-Benz and golf cart (the “t’’ is optional).
Camino Real
The Northeast Region of the National El Camino Owners Association celebrated its eighth annual El Camino Night at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, NH, last Friday night. Something about the sight of 40 or more of these classics (they were built between 1959 and 1987) filling the 3/8-mile racetrack always makes me smile. Race fans enjoyed the scene, which included a burnout contest, between the night’s qualifying and feature races.
Etc.
Today marks the seventh edition of the Misselwood Concours d’Elegance at Endicott College in Beverly. The event begins at 10 a.m. with awards announced at 2:30 p.m. Lincoln and the Chrysler Imperial are the featured marques this year for the show, which has become a North Shore tradition. If it doesn’t break some double-secret code, yours truly has been asked to join the judging team … Today (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) is American Car & Truck Day at Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline with participants and spectators encouraged to wear red, white, and blue … If you’re up for a road trip, the 4 Seasons Rambler Club of New England is holding its 18th annual Rambler Regional at the Marriott in Windsor, CT (exit 38 off I-91). The show, dedicated to AMC vehicles, runs from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
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