Golf carts are no longer just for cruising the country club. In fact, these days, they’re more commonly found zipping through neighborhood streets or joy-riding around beach communities. These smaller, more efficient alternatives to traditional cars might just be a good choice for your ‘second car’, believe it or not.
Thanks to US golf cart maker E-Z-GO, which partnered with National Calendar Day to help establish National Golf Cart Day in celebration of the brand’s 70th anniversary, we can now all celebrate these pint-sized car replacements with their own holiday.
Once powered by polluting combustion engines, these days, most golf carts use quiet and emissions-free electric motors, charging up their batteries for mere pennies and offering plenty of around-the-town range. Several manufacturers have also created street-legal versions of their golf carts, usually signified with “LSV” in the name (for the Low-Speed Vehicle designation), which can be legally driven on most public roads posted with speed limits of 35 mph (56 m/h) or lower.
Here are 10 compelling reasons why golf carts might just be the better choice for your local transportation needs.
1. Eco-friendly transportation
Electric golf carts produce zero emissions during use, making them an environmentally friendly option. They also use less materials, produce less tire particulates, and generally score higher on just about every environmental metric, even compared to electric vehicles. Ultimately though, these ARE electric vehicles, they just aren’t $50,000 Teslas.
And with many golf carts available for a small fraction of the cost of a new electric car, this is one of the most cost-effective ways to get into a four-wheeled electric vehicle. This is especially true for those who choose not to ride an e-bike or must carry several children or other passengers.
2. Cost-effective operation
Golf carts are significantly cheaper to operate than cars. The cost of electricity for charging an electric golf cart is much lower than the price of gasoline. A typical 5-7 kWh golf cart battery can be charged for less than one dollar in most states.
Additionally, golf carts require significantly less maintenance, which translates into major savings on repairs and upkeep.
While most golf carts aren’t cheap, usually between US $8,000 to $12,000 depending on luxury features, they’re still much more affordable than a new car. Buying used can help lower costs, but there are also interesting new additions to the market such as the Kandi Mini golf cart, priced at just US $3,999. I’m currently testing that model, seen below towing my kayak to the lake.
3. Ease of parking
One of the biggest advantages of golf carts is their compact size, which makes parking a breeze. You can easily maneuver and park golf carts in tight spaces, avoiding the frustration of finding a large parking spot for a car.
My parents live just a few miles from a golf cart-friendly community (we’re talking about homes with an extra half-sized garage door so people can park their golf carts in the garage too). When I visit them, I regularly see golf carts from the nearby community at the local stores, often parked in areas where cars wouldn’t be able to fit, or sharing parking spaces with each other.
4. Ideal for short distances
Golf carts are perfect for short-distance travel, such as going to the local market, visiting friends in the neighborhood, or commuting within a residential area. They usually have battery ranges of dozens of miles, not hundreds, meaning they would be plenty for around-the-town trips, but the smaller batteries than traditional electric cars help save significant costs.
Their design is also optimized for low-speed travel, ensuring safe and comfortable rides for short trips. The low speed might put a limit on which roads they can take, but of course no one wants to take a golf cart on high-speed roads anyway due to the open-body design.
Another trend I’m seeing more often in the US is parents waiting in their cars at school bus stops. These parents often idle their engines while they wait to pick up their child and then drive them two minutes through the neighborhood back home. If you’re going to be a helicopter parent, or are overly worried about Timmy getting snatched in their own neighborhood, at least you could do it while driving a smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicle like a golf cart.
5. Lower speed, higher safety (seriously)
I know, I know. Most people will inherently assume that golf carts are “less safe.” But that’s not the case. Sure, they aren’t going to do as well as a Model 3 in a front crash test. But they also likely won’t be in a position where they need to perform like a Model 3.
With lower maximum speeds, golf carts are inherently safer for local travel on smaller roads where they’ll be mixing it up with less traffic. The reduced speed limits the risk of serious accidents, making them a safer option for transporting children and elderly passengers.
In fact, many studies have shown that all cars would be safer if speed limits were simply reduced in cities. Speed is the real killer. So while I wouldn’t want to go into a head-on collision with a semi while driving a golf cart, I’m also not likely ever going to be in a position where that would happen.
6. Quiet operation
Golf carts operate quietly compared to the louder engines of cars. This is particularly beneficial in residential areas where noise pollution can be a concern. The quiet operation of golf carts ensures a peaceful environment for you and your neighbors. Even the smaller wheels and tires result in less noise than a full-sized electric car’s tire roar.
This is another reason why they are so popular in beach towns and island communities. In addition to avoiding traditional forms of pollution, they also reduce the sound pollution of larger vehicular traffic.
7. Reduced insurance costs
Insurance for golf carts is typically much cheaper than for cars. Since they are primarily used for low-speed, local travel, the risk associated with golf carts is lower, leading to more affordable insurance premiums.
Theft premiums are also usually lower. If a golf cart ever has damage, the cost to repair is usually much lower than for “real” cars.
8. Convenience and accessibility
Golf carts are easy to get in and out of, making them highly accessible for people of all ages, including those with mobility issues. The open design and lower step-in height make them convenient for everyday use.
Whether it’s kids hopping on to get to practice or elderly riders using them to navigate a retirement community, golf carts are easier for everyone!
9. Customizable and fun!
Golf carts can be highly customized to suit your personal style and needs. From adding storage compartments and custom paint jobs to installing comfortable seating and advanced tech features, the possibilities are endless.
Customizing your golf cart can make local transportation not only practical but also fun. It may get fairly pricey when you look into packages for lifted suspension and major lighting accessories, but the same can be said for the entire automotive industry.
10. Community and lifestyle integration
Using golf carts fosters a sense of community. As more neighbors adopt golf carts, local travel becomes more social and interactive. The slower pace and open design of golf carts encourage friendly interactions and help build stronger neighborhood ties.
I see this often in golf cart-friendly communities, where folks tend to interact more, stop and chat on paths, and generally spend more time socializing with their community members
While cars are essential for long-distance travel and certain tasks, golf carts present a versatile and efficient alternative for local transportation. No one expects golf carts to completely replace cars, but they sure can replace many car trips, and potentially replace the need for a second full-size car.
Their environmental benefits, cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and safety make them an attractive choice for short trips around the neighborhood. By embracing golf carts, you can enjoy a simpler, greener, and more connected way of getting around. So next time you need to run a quick errand or visit a nearby friend, consider hopping in a golf cart – you might just find it’s the perfect fit for your local transportation needs.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk is to officially join Trump’s administration as the co-head of the new US Department of Government Efficiency – a second federal department with the goal of making government spending more efficient.
You can’t get more ironic than that.
Throughout the elections, Musk, who is already CEO of Tesla, and SpaceX, a well as the defacto head of X, xAI, Neuralink, and the Boring Company, has been floating the idea to add to his workload by joining the Trump’s administration to lead a new department aimed at making the federal government more efficient.
He has been calling it the “Department of Government Efficiency”, which spells out ‘DOGE’, a meme that Musk appears to enjoy.
Well, now Trump appears to want to be going through with this idea.
He announced the new department and Musk as head, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, in a statement today:
I am pleased to announce that the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”). Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies – Essential to the “Save America” Movement. “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” stated Mr. Musk.
What’s most ironic is that there’s already a federal department with the goal of cutting government waste and ensuring efficiency: the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The GAO’s main objectives are:
auditing agency operations to determine whether federal funds are being spent efficiently and effectively;
investigating allegations of illegal and improper activities;
reporting on how well government programs and policies are meeting their objectives;
performing policy analyses and outlining options for congressional consideration;
issuing legal decisions and opinions;
advising Congress and the heads of executive agencies about ways to make government more efficient and effective
It sounds similar to what Musk described when talking about his DOGE, but Trump hasn’t gone into many details other than it will “cut waste.”
He also has a confusing message as he compares the initiative, which is supposed to cut government spending, to “The Manhattan project”, a massive and expensive government project.
Trump said that DOGE will help the government “drive large scale structural reform”:
It will become, potentially, “The Manhattan Project” of our time. Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of “DOGE” for a very long time. To drive this kind of drastic change, the Department of Government Efficiency will provide advice and guidance from outside of Government, and will partner with the White House and Office of Management & Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.
The statement also noted that DOGE will only operate until July 4, 2026.
Musk has previously claimed that he could cut at least $2 trillion dollars of the $6.5 trillion dollar US federal budget.
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A pump jack in Midland, Texas, US, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024.
Anthony Prieto | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Oil prices may see a drastic fall in the event that oil alliance OPEC+ unwinds its existing output cuts, said market watchers who are predicting a bearish year ahead for crude.
“There is more fear about 2025’s oil prices than there has been since years — any year I can remember, since the Arab Spring,” said Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at OPIS, an oil price reporting agency.
“You could get down to $30 or $40 a barrel if OPEC unwound and didn’t have any kind of real agreement to rein in production. They’ve seen their market share really dwindle through the years,” Kloza added.
A decline to $40 a barrel would mean around a 40% erasure of current crude prices. Global benchmark Brent is currently trading at $72 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures are around $68 per barrel.
Oil prices year-to-date
Given that oil demand growth next year probably won’t be much more than 1 million barrels a day, a full unwinding of OPEC+ supply cuts in 2025 would “undoubtedly see a very steep slide in crude prices, possibly toward $40 a barrel,” Henning Gloystein, head of energy, climate and resources at Eurasia Group, told CNBC.
Similarly, MST Marquee’s senior energy analyst Saul Kavonic posited that should OPEC+ unwind cuts without regard to demand, it would “effectively amount to a price war over market share that could send oil to lows not seen since Covid.”
However, the alliance is more likely to opt for a gradual unwinding early next year, compared to a full scale and immediate one, the analysts said.
Should the producers group proceed with their production plan, the market surplus could nearly double.
Martoccia Francesco
Energy strategist at Citi
The oil cartel has been exercising discipline in maintaining its voluntary output cuts, to the point of extending them.
In September, OPEC+ postponed plans to begin gradually rolling back on the 2.2 million barrels per day of voluntary cuts by two months in an effort to stem the slide of oil prices. The 2.2 million bpd cut, which was implemented over the second and third quarters, had been due to expire at the end of September.
At the start of this month, the oil cartel again decided to delay the planned oil output increase by another month to the end of December.
Oil prices have been weighed by a sluggish post-Covid recovery in demand from China, the world’s second-largest economy and leading crude oil importer. In its monthly report released Tuesday, OPEC lowered its 2025 global oil demand growth forecast from 1.6 million barrels per day to 1.5 million barrels per day.
The pressured prices were also conflagrated by a perceivably oversupplied market, especially as key oil producers outside the OPEC alliance like the U.S., Canada, Guyana and Brazil are also planning to add supply, Gloystein highlighted.
Bearish year ahead for oil
The market consensus is that there’ll be a “substantial” oil stock build next year, said Citibank energy strategist Martoccia Francesco.
“Should the producers group proceed with their production plan, the market surplus could nearly double… reaching as much as 1.6 million barrels per day,” said Francesco.
Even if OPEC+ doesn’t unwind the cuts, the future ofl prices is still looking break. Citi analysts expect Brent price to average $60 per barrel next year.
Further fueling the bearish outlook is the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, whose return is associated by some with a potential trade war, said analysts who spoke to CNBC.
“If we do get a trade war — and a lot of economists think that a trade war is possible, and particularly against China — we could see much, much lower prices,” said OPIS’ Kloza.
For that to happen to retail gasoline prices, oil would need to drop to “below $40” per barrel, said Matt Smith, Kpler’s lead oil analyst.
Right now, retail gasoline prices are at a “sweet spot” at $3 per gallon, where consumers do not feel the pinch and input prices are still sufficiently high for producers, Smith added.