Electric Cars and NEV's

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Electric Cars and Neigborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV's)

 The industry for electric cars is young, and is still realizing its full potential, but the persistent myth that electric cars are difficult to come by is a fiction that can be readily dispelled by the current market.

In fact, there are manufacturers who are now offering a variety of both new and used electric cars for sale; more and more are also offering leasing plans on new electric cars. With the global marketplace ever expanding, it will soon be possible to procure an electric car no matter your location.

Following are some of the cars that are available on the market today, or are in current production.

There are several categories of electric cars: The low speed Neighborhood Electric Vehicle, commonly referred to as an NEV; city speed and highway speed electric cars; tricycles and quadricycles. Each category is briefly described:

Electric Car Safety

Every new electric vehicle design that is being developed by vehicle manufacturers (except for Peapod and Chrysler's GEM) is classified technically as a car and must meet the same safety standards that have been set for traditional cars.

 Electric cars undergo stringent design safety regulations, with air bags and well designed crush zones that have been tested and proven. All electric cars must undergo crash testing and pass a number of tests and checks to be considered road worthy.

In Europe, the smaller electric car manufacturers who are building less than fifty vehicles each year can avoid crash testing through a Single Vehicle Approval scheme, where each car has to be individually inspected to ensure that the car can be certified roadworthy.

Some normal car safety regulations are not imposed on NEVs due to their restricted speed. As you view the following vehicle list, you will note the 25 mph top speed for all NEVs. These electric cars are purposefully designed to meet this speed, and unless otherwise reclassified, they must stay within that range as per their classification with the U.S. Department of Transportation as low speed vehicles.

In some U.S. states that have reclassified NEVs so that they can travel at speeds of up to 35 mph, the dealer can assist in adjusting the top speed limit of the car.

NEVs

In America, the most easily available electric car is the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle, or NEV, as it is popularly known. The NEV is a low speed car, hence its name, since it is only capable of driving in speed zones of up to 45 miles per hour – the typical highest speed on a city or suburban street. It is ideal for urban driving and for short distance travel. The NEV is simple to recharge, using only a standard electrical outlet with a recharge time of 6 hours.

Previously, NEVs raved only of 25 mph (40km/h) and were limited to driving on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less. This restricted their use to gated communities, estates, large parks, campuses and within the city.

Some states, such as Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Washington and Tennessee