This $24,000 'E-Wagon' Golf Cart Is Basically a Power Wheels for Grown-Ups
OK, so aside from the fact that this is essentially just a rich grown-up version of a Little Tikes car, it's kind of fun. At a very quick glance, it could pass for a real Mercedes G-Class, at least until a human stands next to it, for scale. The proportions have clearly been tweaked for golf cart duty. Bodo has also traded Merc's three-pointed star logo for its own, but of course, anyone determined enough could always just change it out. Especially if they desire that badge as much as, or perhaps more than, the vehicle itself. Mecum
The E-Wagon (or 'G-Wagon'—the official name and even solid info on the company that makes it is, perhaps unsurprisingly, hard to find) is a bit more sophisticated than what golfers normally use from tee to tee. For starters, it's fully enclosed, with power locking doors and even power windows. As someone whose allergies would be running wild on a golf course, that sounds nice. Once inside, it has caramel-colored leather seats, heating, air conditioning, four-wheel disc brakes with a brake boost, a backup camera, and entertainment screens for backseat passengers. So it ain't just for looks—the E-Wagon is a genuinely luxurious golf cart. It's nicer inside than my actual car.
Speaking of actual cars, this E-Wagon is capable of driving on some public roads. Some states allow for low-speed vehicles (LSVs) to drive on streets with speed limits of 25 mph or less. That said, it's actually too fast for states like New Jersey, which only allow an attainable top speed of 25 mph, and this faux Merc golf cart can do 35 mph. But if you do drive it on the road, it has fully functioning headlights, turn signals, and even windshield wipers. Mecum
You can drive it pretty far, too. Its 10-kWh battery gives it an impressive 80 miles of range. That's about as much as the original BMW i3. Of course, it only has a 20-horsepower electric motor, and it's considerably smaller and lighter. Still, not bad at all for a fully loaded golf cart.
This specific E-Wagon recently sold at a Mecum auction in Glendale, but there are others available at Florida-based dealer Gulf Carts. And not only G-Class replicas, either; you can get Range Rover, Porsche Cayenne, and even Ram TRX-themed carts, too. Perfect for those kings and queens of the green who want to flex their pockets at the club.
Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com
Nico DeMattia is a staff writer at The Drive. He started writing about cars on his own blog to express his opinions when no one else would publish them back in 2015, and eventually turned it into a full-time career.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
People say it's not a Mustang, but they would be surprised. It's the real deal
Three years ago, when Danielle Hornby was shopping for a new car, her top priority was all-wheel drive. She also had an interest in EVs due to increasing gas prices. She's 'not a car person' and wasn't set on a particular brand, but ended up buying a white Ford 2022 Mustang Mach-E Premium Edition, an all-electric crossover named for the iconic Ford pony car. 'I had a leased Audi Q5 and the lease was coming up. Driving to work in winter (then Whitby to the Pickering nuclear plant, now Cobourg to Darlington), I have to deal with bad weather on the highway and having anything but all-wheel drive is not a consideration. I didn't know of many electric vehicles, other than the Nissan Leaf, but my husband Kent had done research and knew about EVs. I put a deposit on another EV, but it would not be in when I had to give up my leased car. You didn't have to wait long to get a Mach-E. The Ford dealership had one in the shop getting its software upgraded. I couldn't drive it, as it was someone's car, but I got to sit in it. It's the first car I've bought that I never test drove. I put my husband in the back seat, as he's six-foot-two, and my son is six-foot-four, so I wanted to make sure there was enough headroom for my oversized family and that it had adequate trunk space. It's one-pedal drive, like a Tesla, so there was a big of a learning curve. You put your foot on the accelerator and it moves off, you take your foot off and it brakes. It has its own sound when it backs up, and has an electric whine when it's running, but it's so quiet, some people don't hear it, so it's good that it has really good brakes. A few of my co-workers drive gas Mustangs. People who own those Mustangs say my car is not a real Mustang, and I don't call it that. I call it a Mach-E. It's not a sports car; it's a crossover vehicle. It's likely the most powerful vehicle I've ever driven. It has instant torque and all those who say it's not a 'real' Mustang would be surprised. (It can go from zero to 96 kph in 3.5 seconds.) It's handy when I have to pass slow people on the 401, or to get away from tail-gaters. It handles well in snow. It's 4,800 pounds, so it's heavy. I was at a stop sign and got rear-ended by a Honda Pilot minivan. My car didn't move, but the Honda spun around and almost hit me again. I thought it was impressive that a much larger car bounced off the Mach-E and it didn't budge. When we moved to a new house this year, we brought the Canadian-made Grizzl-E Level 2 car charger we had and had an electrician install it in the garage. There are chargers at my workplace, but you have to pay for them, but I never use them. EV owners typically follow the ABCs — Always Be Charging — but I don't charge my car every night. It has a 400-km range, although it's less in winter. When we lived in Whitby, I charged it to 100 per cent and we drove it to Niagara-on-the-Lake and back, and it still had 20-per-cent charge. Typically, I don't charge it to more than 90 per cent to preserve the battery life. I have no range anxiety and our other car is a gas vehicle, a Toyota Tacoma. The Mach-E is the commuter car. Last year, there was a fatal crash on the 401 on my way home from work, and my 20-minute drive took two hours. Running out of charge wasn't a concern. People have misconceptions about electric cars, but if you're not moving, you're hardly using any charge. I've never had so many people come up to one of my cars to check it out as this one. The car has dual electric motors, and one of the strangest questions I got was whether I got to pick how many motors it had. If it's after dark and I approach the car, welcome lights turn on, including a projection of the Mustang pony logo. I like the vehicle. It's got lots of headroom, it's fun to drive, it's easy to handle, and it's fun to leave someone in the dust. For a commuter car, I'd get an EV again.
The Verge
3 days ago
- The Verge
24,000 e-bike batteries recalled because the US can't get its shit together
The US federal government's consumer watchdog has issued a recall for 'about 24,000' batteries sold with cheap VIVI e-bikes at retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and AliExpress for prices between $365 and $950. At least 14 incidents of overheating batteries have been reported, with three reported fires. No injuries have been reported, but owners are urged to stop using the e-bikes immediately because the lithium-ion batteries pose a 'risk of serious injury or death.' The VIVI e-bikes and batteries in question — models listed here — were likely not certified to UL safety standards. That's not stated in the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recall notice, but it's a near universal truth for budget brands selling e-bikes at rock-bottom prices. Certification costs money and is entirely voluntary outside of New York City. VIVI also seems to have started appending a 'UL' to the end of its UL certified model names. Owners affected by the recall can contact VIVI to receive a free replacement charger and battery, though it's unclear if the new battery will be UL certified. The recalled batteries were sold with e-bikes between December 2020 and November 2023. Certification costs money and is entirely voluntary The recall deals yet another blow to the reputation of electric bikes in the US, where a preponderance of e-bike incidents occur despite its minuscule share of the global market. In the EU, e-bikes are viewed as safe, reliable, healthy, and space-saving alternatives to automobiles and public transportation thanks largely to strict regulations. The VIVI recall is unlikely to be the last while federal lawmakers in the US continue to ignore e-bike safety. VIVI's e-bikes are made in China, like 86.3 percent of the US bike market. Prior to May 2nd, 2025, Chinese imports were eligible for the de minimis exception, whereby goods costing less than $800 entered the country duty free. The impact of this on the price of gadgets from Temu and clothing from Shein has been well documented, but that seemingly inconsequential exception also impacted e-bike safety. First, it allowed those big lithium-ion batteries attached to cheap e-bike motors to be imported with minimal government inspection, as Consumer Reports warned back in 2022. It also incentivized e-bike makers to cut corners in order to beat that $800 cap. UL testing and certification has a one-time cost of between $30,000 to $100,000 per model, allowing companies like VIVI to undercut brands like Rad Power that willingly pay for the marketing that comes with a UL seal of approval. There are two main safety standards that apply to e-bikes in the US: UL 2849, which applies to e-bikes, and UL 2271 for e-bike batteries. Both certifications are recommended by the CPSC but remain voluntary everywhere but New York City which made them mandatory in 2023. As of September 30th, 2024, there were three deaths and 84 injuries from e-bike fires, down from 14 deaths and 114 injuries for the same period a year earlier. Tough e-bike safety laws like the one coming into effect for all of California on January 1st could convince more e-bike makers to seek UL certification. But only a federal mandate can guarantee a uniform approach and solve the battery safety issue once and for all. In the meantime, we can expect more e-bike battery-related injuries to persons and property in the US. And since President Trump is openly hostile to regulation and any form of transportation that doesn't require exploding dinosaur juice, there's little hope we'll see a federal e-bike safety standard during his reign. So, the best you can do for now is look for that 'UL Certified' sticker. If you're buying a new e-bike in the US, you should demand it. And if you already own a cheap Chinese import without it, well... maybe park it outside.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
GM Boss Knows What He Wants From A Future Chevrolet Camaro
GM Boss Knows What He Wants From A Future Chevrolet Camaro originally appeared on Autoblog. Is It Time For A Camaro Comeback? The very last sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro rolled off the production line back in January 2024, and although it was an aging car with some flaws, it was also one of the best to drive in its segment. General Motors hasn't totally discounted the idea of a Camaro comeback at some stage, and GM President Mark Reuss has now given his thoughts on what such a return would require. Speaking with GM Authority, Reuss said that a new Camaro would need to offer a little of everything to appeal to a market base that doesn't value muscle cars as much as it once did. "I think that formula of beauty, and a little bit of functionality and fun, all of that is important," said Reuss. "If we were getting back into Camaro, that piece of it is really important." Camaro May Not Mean What It Once Did Those who groaned reading the above know where comments like those from senior auto executives usually lead: a place where a singular focus on performance cannot live. Reuss reportedly mentioned GM's major rival, Ford, recognizing that the Mustang Mach-E all-electric crossover has often outsold the traditional gas-powered muscle car. The idea of a Camaro SUV has been rumored to be under consideration, and there have been hints that such a thing may also be all-electric, but in the current market, which is more enamored by hybrids than EVs, that may be risky. That said, an electric Camaro would take some time to develop, and when it's ready, the buying public's appetite for an EV may have grown. Reuss has previously indicated that the Camaro nameplate could find itself on a four-door of some description, so a sedan cannot be ruled out entirely, but the smart money says a crossover would be a bigger seller. Anything Could Happen View the 2 images of this gallery on the original article It's unclear what direction Chevy will ultimately take. In its last few years on the market, the Camaro received only mild updates while the Dodge Challenger was getting more and more powerful variants and numerous special editions, and only the Mustang challenged the HEMI recipe. Dodge did this as a glorious farewell to the V8 as it prepared to go all-electric in the segment (a decision that has since been reversed), while Ford chose to introduce the Mustang Mach-E while retaining the regular coupe, introducing a new S650 generation. GM and Stellantis appeared to be under the impression that EV demand would grow at a rapid rate. That's proven to be a miscalculation, and with EV incentives expiring soon, this is unlikely to change. Our best bet? If the Camaro returns someday - and it may well not - it probably won't be a coupe, and it probably will be a hybrid. But if it sticks to Reuss's formula of beauty, function, and fun, that may not be such a bad thing. GM Boss Knows What He Wants From A Future Chevrolet Camaro first appeared on Autoblog on Jul 17, 2025 This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
