GEM’s new app shows every road in a city where you can drive a low-speed vehicle
GEM, a low-speed vehicle (LSV) manufacturer in Anaheim, California, has just released a new app to make it even easier to use those small vehicles. The GEM Go app shows users a map of all roads in their area and highlights the streets with posted speed limits of 35 mph (56 km/h) or lower.
Low-speed vehicles (LSVs) are a federally regulated class of motor vehicles in the US. They often look like micro-cars or golf carts, but must meet a certain set of safety requirements that go above and beyond golf cart regulations.
LSVs that meet those requirements are allowed to travel at speeds of up to 25 mph (40 km/h) and are allowed to operate on roads with speed limits of 35 mph (56 km/h) or lower.
GEM’s new app is designed to make it even easier to plan trips and determine which roads are accessible by LSVs.
Some areas have a limited number of roads with speed limits of 35 mph or lower. In other areas, like apparently Venice in Los Angeles (as seen in the app example below), pretty much any asphalt you can find is fair game.
GEM Go is a free web-based, mobile-friendly, interactive mapping app available at go.GEMcar.com. It is designed to be easy to use anywhere, even on your phone when heading out for a trip.
It of course works for planning trips with any LSV, not just GEM’s vehicles, and cyclists may even find it handy in a pinch to help avoid faster roads that are less friendly to bikes.
Playing around with it myself, it’s apparent just how much of the US is accessible by low-speed vehicles. Every city I look at is covered by a sprawling network of blue lines, showing me everywhere I can legally drive an LSV.
In fact, more than half of the roadways in the US have speed limits below 35 mph, and that number is actually growing as cities make the responsible decision to reduce speed limits for the safety of all road users. Washington, D.C., for example, has a default speed limit of 20 mph (32 km/h). LSVs can thus reach any part of the city. Heck, they could get a speeding ticket if a cop is having a bad day.
The CEO of GEM’s parent company Waev, Keith Simon, explained that he hopes the availability of the app will help encourage more people to use LSVs around the country:
GEM has been leading the charge in LSVs for more than 25 years. We created the GEM Go mapping app to help current and future GEM owners understand the breadth of places LSVs can actually operate – it’s eye-opening and we expect it will drive even greater adoption of LSVs across the country.
The number of LSVs on US roads is growing, even if they remain a small minority of total motor vehicles in use. There’s been a push toward smaller vehicles in many cities, with golf carts getting their own boost. Unlike golf carts though, which aren’t street legal outside of a few specific cities that have passed golf cart ordinances, LSVs contain more federally regulated safety features and are street legal almost everywhere.
Their safety can’t be compared to that of typical passenger cars that are rated for highway use, but their intended use in lower speed environments around slower moving traffic means that they usually don’t face the same collision risks faced by larger cars.
Simon believes that LSV numbers will continue to grow in the US, explaining:
Although we have an extensive installed base with GEM, it represents a very small fraction of what LSVs can become in the market when you keep breaking down the barriers like the lack of understanding of where GEM vehicles can be driven. With our recent launch of the all new MY24 GEM and now GEM Go we are on the leading edge of driving the LSV category forward.
Electrek’s Take
Anyone who knows me will already know I’m one of the biggest proponents of LSVs out there. Heck, google “LSV” and you’ll probably find that half the bylines are mine.
And so I love the idea of this new app to make it even easier and safer to find LSV-appropriate roads. If it actually mapped a journey for you, that’d be even better. But knowledge is half the battle and so even just showing you all of the roads you can use is a great asset.
As someone who loves LSVs and advocates for them, I can already tell you that the biggest argument against these handy vehicles is the misconception that they aren’t safe. You’ll certainly find people in the comments section below this article saying that a 25 mph vehicle shouldn’t be on a 35 mph road (they inevitably didn’t read this far). And I understand that sentiment – trust me, I do. I use LSVs all the time and I get it.
When I’m doing 25 mph on a 35 mph road with other cars doing 45 mph around me, it’s…. less than ideal. So I don’t do it very often (crossing the Brooklyn Bridge above was a rare example for me). While LSVs can legally be on 35 mph roads, I like to stick to even slower roads when possible. But so many cities these days have safer, slower speed limits. Washington, DC, defaults to 20 mph. Boston, New York City, Seattle, and many other major cities default to 25 mph citywide speed limits. It’s easier than ever to get somewhere in an LSV, and that is only improving.
And if I may say so from my own experience, it’s also more fun to go somewhere in an LSV. It’s novel and creates a more engaging experience. It’s simply fun.
Sure, you’ve got some of the same downsides of cars, such as often being stuck in traffic and not getting the same kind of exercise I get on my e-bikes. But I can also travel with more people, carry more things, have lockable storage, and have a roof over my head keeping me dry (and use the air conditioning in some models). Plus, I’m arguably a bit safer than if I was hit by a car driver while riding my e-bikes. So even though it has some downsides, LSVs are just a lot of fun to use, cost less than “real” cars and take up less space in a city. So anything that makes them even easier to use is a good thing in my book.
Now just don’t ask me to talk about my opinion on increasing the federal speed limit for LSVs. That’s another article for another day.
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BMW Motorrad’s futuristic electric scooter just got its first real refresh since beginning production in 2021. The BMW CE 04, already one of the most capable and stylish electric maxi-scooters on the market, now gets a set of upgraded trim options, new aesthetic touches, and a more robust list of features that aim to make this urban commuter even more appealing to riders looking for serious electric performance on two wheels.
The BMW CE 04 has always stood out for its sci-fi styling and high-performance drivetrain. It’s built on a mid-mounted liquid-cooled motor that puts out 31 kW (42 hp) and 62 Nm of torque. That’s enough to rocket the scooter from 0 to 50 km/h (31 mph) in just 2.6 seconds – quite fast for anything with a step-through frame.
The top speed is electronically limited to 120 km/h (75 mph), making it perfectly capable for city riding and fast enough to hold its own on highway stretches. Range is rated at 130 km (81 miles) on the WMTC cycle, thanks to the 8.9 kWh battery pack tucked low in the frame.
But while the core performance hasn’t changed, BMW’s 2025 update focuses on refining the package and giving riders more options to tailor the scooter to their taste. The new CE 04 is available in three trims: Basic, Avantgarde, and Exclusive.
The Basic trim keeps things clean and classic with a Lightwhite paint scheme and a clear windshield. It’s subtle, sleek, and very much in line with the CE 04’s clean-lined aesthetic. The Avantgarde model adds a splash of color with a Gravity Blue main body and bright São Paulo Yellow accents, along with a dark windshield and a laser-engraved rim. The top-shelf Exclusive trim is where things get fancy, with a premium Spacesilver metallic paint job, upgraded wind protection, heated grips, a luxury embroidered seat, and its own unique engraved rim treatment.
There are also a few new tech upgrades baked into the options list. Riders can now spec a 6.9 kW quick charger that reduces the 0–80% charge time to just 45 minutes (down from nearly 4 hours with the standard 2.3 kW onboard charger). Tire pressure monitoring, a center stand, and BMW’s “Headlight Pro” adaptive lighting system are also available as add-ons, along with an emergency eCall system and Dynamic Traction Control.
BMW has kept the core riding components in place: a steel-tube chassis, 15-inch wheels, Bosch ABS (with optional ABS Pro), and the impressive 10.25” TFT display with integrated navigation and smartphone connectivity. The under-seat storage still swallows a full-face helmet, and the long, low frame design means the scooter looks like something out of Blade Runner but rides like a luxury commuter.
With these updates, BMW seems to be further cementing the CE 04’s role at the high end of the electric scooter market. It’s not cheap, starting around €12,000 in Europe and around US $12,500 in the US, with prices going up from there depending on configuration. However, the maxi-scooter delivers real motorcycle-grade performance in a package that’s easier to live with for daily riders.
Electrek’s Take
I believe that the CE 04’s biggest strength has always been that it’s not trying to be a toy or a gimmick. It’s a real vehicle. Sure, it’s futuristic and funky looking, but it delivers on its promises. And in a market that’s still surprisingly sparse when it comes to premium electric scooters, BMW has had the lane mostly to itself. That may not last forever, though. LiveWire, Harley-Davidson’s electric spin-off brand, has teased plans for a maxi-scooter-style urban electric vehicle in the coming years, but as of now, it remains something of an undefined future plan.
Meanwhile, BMW is delivering not just a concept bike but a mature, well-equipped, and ready-to-ride electric scooter that keeps improving. For riders who want something faster and more capable than a Class 3 e-bike but aren’t ready to jump to a full-size electric motorcycle, the CE 04 hits a sweet spot. It delivers the performance and capability of a commuter e-motorcycle, yet with the approachability of a scooter. And with these new trims and upgrades, it’s doing it with even more style.
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If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you combine a fruit cart, a cargo bike, and a Piaggio Ape all in one vehicle, now you’ve got your answer. I submit, for your approval, this week’s feature for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column – and it’s a beautiful doozie.
Feast your eyes on this salad slinging, coleslaw cruising, tuber taxiing produce chariot!
I think this electric vegetable trike might finally scratch the itch long felt by many of my readers. It seems every time I cover an electric trike, even the really cool ones, I always get commenters poo-poo-ing it for having two wheels in the rear instead of two wheels in the front. Well, here you go, folks!
Designed with two front wheels for maximum stability, this trike keeps your cucumbers in check through every corner. Because trust me, you don’t want to hit a pothole and suddenly be juggling peaches like you’re in Cirque du Soleil: Farmers Market Edition.
To avoid the extra cost of designing a linked steering system for a pair of front wheels, the engineers who brought this salad shuttle to life simply side-stepped that complexity altogether by steering the entire fixed front end. I’ve got articulating electric tractors that steer like this, and so if it works for a several-ton work machine, it should work for a couple hundred pounds of cargo bike.
Featuring a giant cargo bed up front with four cascading fruit baskets set up for roadside sales, this cargo bike is something of a blank slate. Sure, you could monetize grandma’s vegetable garden, or you could fill it with your own ideas and concoctions. Our exceedingly talented graphics wizard sees it as the perfect coffee and pastry e-bike for my new startup, The Handlebarista, and I’m not one to argue. Basically, the sky is the limit with a blank slate bike like this!
Sure, the quality doesn’t quite match something like a fancy Tern cargo bike. The rim brakes aren’t exactly confidence-inspiring, but at least there are three of them. And if they should all give out, or just not quite slow you down enough to avoid that quickly approaching brick wall, then at least you’ve got a couple hundred pounds of tomatoes as a tasty crumple zone.
The electrical system does seem a bit underpowered. With a 36V battery and a 250W motor, I don’t know if one-third of a horsepower is enough to haul a full load to the local farmer’s market. But I guess if the weight is a bit much for the little motor, you could always do some snacking along the way. On the other hand, all the pictures seem to show a non-electric version. So if this cart is presumably mobile on pedal power alone, then that extra motor assist, however small, is going to feel like a very welcome guest.
The $950 price is presumably for the electric version, since that’s what’s in the title of the listing, though I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. I’ve bought a LOT of stuff on Alibaba, including many electric vehicles, and the too-good-to-be-true price is always exactly that. In my experience, you can multiply the Alibaba price by 3-4x to get the actual landed price for things like these. Even so, $3,000-$4,000 wouldn’t be a terrible price, considering a lot of electric trikes stateside already cost that much and don’t even come with a quad-set of vegetable baskets on board!
I should also put my normal caveat in here about not actually buying one of these. Please, please don’t try to buy one of these awesome cargo e-trikes. This is a silly, tongue-in-cheek weekend column where I scour the ever-entertaining underbelly of China’s massive e-commerce site Alibaba in search of fun, quirky, and just plain awesomely weird electric vehicles. While I’ve successfully bought several fun things on the platform, I’ve also gotten scammed more than once, so this is not for the timid or the tight-budgeted among us.
That isn’t to say that some of my more stubborn readers haven’t followed in my footsteps before, ignoring my advice and setting out on their own wild journey. But please don’t be the one who risks it all and gets nothing in return. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; this is the warning.
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