Saginaw dealer offers Chinese-built electric car

SAGINAW (WJRT) -- (01/03/08)-- How would you like to drive a car that doesn't use a drop of gasoline? A Saginaw car dealership is selling them.

When you turn the key on a new Flybo, you hear nothing until you press the accelerator. That's when you hear the whine of an electric motor.

"They're street legal. They do about 40-to-42 miles per hour," said Dave LaTarte from Great Lakes Auto Sales.

Great Lakes Auto Sales started showing Flybos in late October.  "In the country, I think I'm the only guy who's got them," LaTarte said.

The Flybo seats two and is powered by two banks of lead-acid batteries that give the car a range of 70 to 100 miles. It takes about two-and-a-half hours to charge those batteries.

There's no heater in the '07 Flybo, which makes it inconvenient for use in Michigan in the middle of winter. But the Chinese are working on a solution.

"The new ones, the '08s, will have heaters. I've driven them in the snow. They actually go through the snow pretty good," LaTarte told ABC12's Randy Conat.

It's fairly quiet. You hear the whine of the motor and the rumble of the 12-inch tires on the pavement. Because the top speed is limited, the Flybo isn't recommended for highway driving. But it could be used for short trips around town and in gated communities or trailer parks.

"I'm getting a lot of response from Florida and Arizona.  People down in the southern states are interested in them," said LaTarte.

The Flybo has power windows and an automatic transmission. It sells for just under $10,000.

"It's just something new. Nobody else has got it. I think it's going to be a good seller for me. I think this is what it's coming to."

With gas selling for more than $3 a gallon, potential buyers might be a little more likely to at least look at a Flybo.

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automotive, randy conat

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