The Golf Cart Isn’t A Golf Cart Anymore

Brue & Yin

The topic of low speed vehicles or neighborhood electric vehicles brings us to Brue & Yin, a newer company out of Sycamore, Illinois.  Wenlong Yin and Robert Brue met when they were both in the Northern Illinois University MBA program.  Yin had attended Ohio University as an undergrad, and he’s a Chinese national. The two decided to form a company to sell ether injection systems for diesel engines.

As Brue explained in a phone interview, the ether injection helps get engines started in cold weather.  Their customers include the military and Caterpillar, but as Brue told me, commercial US distribution was a bit of an accident.

"We were going to distribute them in China. We were over there for meetings for a month, and we went through a city where all these little electric vehicles were driving around, and I saw them and immediately thought, Oh my God, that’s a great product for the US."

When he found out they had both air conditioning and heat he put in an order for four demos.

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US distribution began in the southeast but is moving west as the company opens markets in Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington.

The manufacturer of their electric vehicles isn’t a fly-by-night operation. They currently produce vehicles for domestic production in China, Europe, Russia, and Mongolia.

Brue & Yin has four models, the 2-seater and 4-seater All Electric Golf Cart/Low Speed Vehicle ( EV2-28 and EV4-40), the 2-seater All Electric Truck ( EV2-40) and the 4-seater All Electric Golf Cart/Low Speed Vehicle, which looks like a mini SUV (EV4-60).

What is shocking is the price.  The EV4-40 is just $11,500 and comes with a bevy of extras including the necessary AC.

Even more shocking is their latest model which is great not just for trips to the grocery store and golf course, but has ramifications for those who want to live in big cities where parking can be a nightmare.  It is called the EV4-60 and looks like someone shrunk your SUV a little. All the features you’d expect in a car seem to be there, and the price is just $13,500.

When it comes to range, the EV4-40 will go 90 miles on a charge, 74 miles with the AC blasting.

However, there’s a built in regenerative braking. Brue explained to me:

"Depending on how the driver is operating the vehicle, we’ve got regenerative braking, so if you let it roll to a stop instead of slamming on the brakes, and lightly touch the brakes when you are rolling to a stop, that actually charges the batteries and you can get even a higher mileage than we claim."

The EV4-60 will go 125 miles on a charge and with the AC turned up all the way, it goes 110.

Brue described an incredibly sophisticated vehicle to me:

"We’ve got power steering, power brakes, power windows and a large system on an EV4-60 so we’re really moving towards trying to convince people that you don’t need a gas vehicle to drive down the street to the grocery store. You can save money and save the environment at the same time just using an electric vehicle."

They have a dealer in Wildwood, Florida, close to The Villages, and they are continually working on their dealer network.  The best way to find out where to get one of these vehicles is to visit their web site and request that information. Service, they know, is important.

The trucks, EV2-40 models, Brue said, are popular with guys because of the storage they offer and because the storage back compartment locks.  (Also $11,500.)  Brue & Yin also modifies the trucks to be beverage carts.

The small, 2-seater, All Electric Golf Cart/Low Speed Vehicle is $9,500.

So with Brue & Yin, Streetrods and other manufacturer sure to be out there, if you live in a low speed limit all-golf-all-the-time area or if you are in a very congested city, this may be the way of your future.

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For sure, the golf cart isn’t just a golf cart anymore.