The Garia Monaco road legal golf car will be on show at Salon Privé from 20th – 22nd June 2011 in London. The electric vehicle is a road legal version of the Garia golf cart. Intended as a run-around for city-dwellers, the Garia Monaco has a range of 110 miles.
The man behind the design, Anders Lynge took the time to speak to The Global Herald about electric cars, Nordic manufacturing and his own tastes in motoring.
1. Tell us about your early career
“The Garia Car project was initiated while I was finishing my Industrial Designer degree at the Design School in Kolding, Denmark, so it was my first post-school project. I have worked a little for a Danish Mercedes tuning company on an intern / consultancy basis in the early days of Garia, but since then I have spent all my time at Garia.”
2. Have you always worked with electric vehicles?
“I am generally more motivated by the idea / the concept than by the technology. It was the concept of Garia that dictated an electric vehicle, so I had no previous experience, but had to acquire it whilst making the car. Fortunately there are talented people around me who are much better at this than I am.”
3. What was the most difficult aspect of the Garia design?
“Without doubt, the most difficult aspect of the Garia design was getting the overall proportions right and making such a tall, narrow vehicle like the golf cart look sporty, dynamic, strong and firmly grounded on its wheels. Basically, the proportions of a traditional golf cart are the opposite of what you would want when creating an elegant, sporty and strong vehicle. We have used all the tricks in the book, and I am really proud of how it looks – especially in the “flesh”, when you walk around it / see it driving past you.”
4. How did you alter the basic golf buggy design for the road?
“The actual design is the same for the street legal and non-street legal Garia (the Garia Monaco and the Garia Golf Car). However, on the street legal Garia Monaco we added safety equipment such as 3-point seat belts and side view mirrors. There are also specific requirements to the lights, their function and position. All street legal equipment on the Garia Monaco is E-marked, ensuring that the products conform with the essential requirements of the applicable EC directives.”
5. How did the expertise of the Valmet plant inform the process of designing the car?
“At Valmet, they are used to manufacturing high quality vehicles, and they were part of the entire engineering process of the car to ensure that the final product benefited of all their expertise in order to ensure the highest possible quality in the assembly process.”
6. What car(s) do you drive?
“In the summer period, like now, I drive a Garia Monaco to and from work, plus I use it for all of my local daily commutes to the grocery store, to and in the city and when visiting friends. For longer travels I have a BMW 1-series.”
7. How do you see the future of electric vehicles?
“Being a regular user of an electric vehicle I am sure it has a place in the future. I charge my Garia at the office during the day and at home every night. Weeks can pass where I don’t need to use my other car – I simply don’t need to drive longer than what is possible with the range that the Garia has. The benefits are considerable: no CO2 emission, no noise, being able to take in the scenery and enjoying the birds singing while driving – and in Copenhagen where I live, electric cars are even allowed to park and charge for free! From the point of view of an everyday commuter electric vehicles are here to stay!”
