Any motorist who has ever watched a golf cart-sized vehicle zip into a tiny parking space can’t be blamed for feeling a tinge of envy. One source of these nifty electric vehicles is San Diego Street Legal Golf Carts, Inc., located on the northeast corner of Cass and Loring streets in Pacific Beach. Owner Howie Strech and his crew offer five different models at their showroom. “They can’t go on highways, no, but they can drive on neighborhood streets up to a posted speed limit of 35 mph,” Strech said. “Just about any street here in Pacific Beach all the way down to South Mission up to La Jolla Cove.” A two-seater is about 7-feet long and the six-seaters measure 10-feet long, he said. They are all electric powered and can be charged by plugging them into a standard wall socket. A completely dead battery can be recharged in eight hours, so an overnight charge would have the vehicle ready for morning travel. A basic street legal golf car can drive on neighborhood streets up to 25 mph while a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) can drive from 35 to 45 mph. The basic golf car can travel 20 to 30 miles on a full charge and the California Roadster model has a 50-mile range, Strech said They cost from $3,000 up to $15,000 and they can be fully tricked-out at the higher price range. “That’s talking like a stretch limo, custom interior, custom sound system, suspension, undercarriage lighting, roll cage, higher end motor,” Strech said. “You could do stereo. You could do custom graphics, custom tire and wheel packages. I mean the customization opportunities are pretty much endless,” he added. The electric vehicles are easy on the environment and all the NEVs in stock qualify for a tax credit from $4,200 up to $5,400, Strech said. For example, the California Roadster model retails at $9,500 and the credit is $5,300, so the net cost is just over $4,000, he said. SAN?DIEGO?STREET?LEGAL?GOLF?CARS 5010 Cass St., Pacific Beach (858) 272-2577 sdstreetlegalgolfcars.com