| The
following appeared December 13, 2005 in the
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"Boca
man gets a charge out
of his second all-electric car". |
By Dale M. King
Boca Raton News Staff Writer
Published
December 13,
2005 |
 |
While
bureaucrats haggle about the expediency of automobiles powered
by hydrogen, electricity or gasoline-electric combinations,
Richard
Newman of Boca Raton is far ahead of the pack.
He
just took delivery of his second totally electric car, a
purple, 2006 one-seat vehicle called the NmG-1 that can travel
up to 75 miles an hour for up to 40 to 50 miles on a single
charge. The car plugs into an standard electric outlet outside
his home.
Actually, Newman, a local philanthropist, long-time science
buff, collector and owner of a vast collection of scientific
artifacts, has a couple of the cars. The gold one is a 2000
model - the sixth Corbin Sparrow to roll off the line at the assembly plant in Hollister, California. That firm built only
255 of the one seat vehicles before folding on March 31, 2003.
Myers Motors has picked up where Corbin left off. It bought
out the electric car company, and after a couple of years of
retooling and revamping, it has brought the vehicle back to
life.
The first of the Myers built cars - vehicle Number 001 - now
sits in Newman's driveway, next to it's golden predecessor.
Newman's gold colored car bears the Florida tad "ELCTRC"
The newer one has a temporary plate now, but will eventually
have "No Gas 1" on the plate.
For their size, the cars are loaded. His gold Sparrow is
equipped with power windows (standard), a rearview camera, a
combination AM-FM-CD-DVD player and an XM satellite receiver.
He said he designed the rearview camera and the audio-video
player.
You might see the owner of the only fully electric cars on the
East Coast driving around the neighborhood. But you can find
out a lot about him, his cars and his collections at HighTechScience.org.
You might also have seen them on the silver screen. He noted
that the original Sparrows were featured in several movies, including
Austin Powers' "Goldmember".
Newman owns both the gold Sparrow and the purple NmG. But he
had (also) been taking care of another Sparrow, a blue one
which he arranged to be lent to the South Florida Science Museum for a
display. That one is heading back to Myers Motors in Ohio to
update it's operating systems.
Newman said the gold Sparrow has already undergone
modernization so it's electrical system is on par with the
2006 model.
He
said Myers Motors plans to manufacture only 30 of the Sparrow
successors, making them the most limited edition vehicle ever.
Then, the company will retool for it's "next generation
all-electric vehicle due out in late 2006 or early 2007"
he said.
Newman, owner of High-Tech
Productions, a videotape and disc
duplication company, said he loans many of his collectables to
schools and museums for educational purposes.
As
part of his business, he also distributes videotape, boxes and
labels to government agencies, school systems, the military
and police departments coast-to-coast.
He
said HighTechScience.org
has helped Myers Motors with many design improvements with the
NmG vehicle. "We are proud and satisfied just being able
to help a company bring a cleaner, non-polluting vehicle to
the market" he said.
Newman's home is a haven of alternative energy sources. He has
a 50,000 watt, dual fuel generator that runs on either natural
gas or propane. The Newman house was cut off from Florida
Power & Light during Hurricane Wilma. But the generator
kicked in three seconds after electricity stopped - and kept
going.
He
said he and his wife drove around in the electric cars without
worrying about getting gasoline.
He
also has a massive grill, pool and party area outside his
house. He opened it up to neighbors who visited, ate and
enjoyed pinball and video games during the eight days that
electric power was off following Wilma.
"Everyone has a blast" he said.
For more information
about Newman’s electric vehicle and science centers visit www.HighTechScience.org
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