Iowa car buyers looking for a new way to go green soon will be able to do so via Romania - for somewhere between $34,000 and $38,000.
Des Moines Motors owner Gene Gabus on Friday took delivery of America's first-ever EMC pickup truck, a two-seat, plug-in electric vehicle that soon will be joined by sibling cargo vans and station wagons built on the same Renault chassis.
Gabus, a former Chrysler dealer who began looking for other things to sell when he lost his franchise during the carmaker's bankruptcy last year, said the vehicles - they will be sold under the Electric Motor Cars model name - are being brought to the United States by Envision Motor Co., an Ames firm that did not immediately return phone calls Friday.
Gabus, who said he has signed on to sell the cars in Des Moines and to act as a distributor in 28 states, said the electric vehicles are built on the same chassis as gas-powered versions of the Dacia Logan, a Romanian-made vehicle that's popular in Europe.
The new Iowa models, using what Gabus described as an American-designed motor, currently are being assembled in Romania with Renault-made bodies. Then they will be shipped to the United States.
For now, there are only three - the truck, which arrived in town Friday morning, plus a van and station wagon that are expected to clear customs in Chicago early next week. The three models will soon be available for test drives, weather and Gabus permitting. The dealer said a larger supply should arrive within 45 days.
"We have roughly 100 of them that will soon be ready to be shipped and come over," Gabus said. "Now we've got to find dealers to sell them. ... We will start calling on Monday and trying to get dealers to fly into town."
Gabus, one of three current distributors, said the importers hope soon to be able to assemble the cars in Florida and possibly Iowa using surplus factory labor. No deal for that is currently in place, however.
Gabus said he's seen some significant interest in the vehicles initially from a few unnamed corporations that are intrigued by the eco-friendly possibilities of a small vehicle that can carry up to 2,000 pounds of cargo.
Beyond that, dealers plan to market the vehicles as ideal for in-town driving by "eco-type people" and "anybody that wants to fight oil companies," he said. "It's for people that are in the metro areas, but it'll eventually get out to the rural areas."
The vehicles are projected to have a 260-mile range on a full battery charge. The van will come in 10 color options.
Gabus, who said he also remains on the verge of importing Chinese-made Noble automobiles, insists Iowans are ready for more options in their motorized transportation.
"Is it going to be different? Yes," he said. "You drive into your garage to fuel up your car."
By JEFF ECKHOFF (Feb. 6, 2010)
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