Flextronics, a global company with dozens of high-profile clients and decades of electronics and manufacturing experience, has been chosen to build Electric Motor Cars.

“We went with Flextronics because we knew they had the knowledge and reputation to build the quantity and quality of Electric Motor Cars that we need to get this product on the road and get consumers behind the wheel,” said Gene Gabus, president of Gabus Automotive Group and owner of Des Moines Motors, exclusive dealer of Electric Motor Cars.

In operation since 1969, Flextronics has built an impressive portfolio, including Microsoft, Eastman Kodak, Motorola, Dell and more in industries such as aerospace and defense, computing, industrial, medical, and mobile and consumer devices.

The company also recently ratcheted up its automotive division, signing with Brammo, Inc., to produce and distribution of plug-in electric motorcycles and components. Flextronics now boasts an expanded list of clientele in the field of battery-powered vehicles, putting to use its experience in high voltage and energy recuperation into the automotive world.

The company, with a manufacturing plant in West Columbia, S.C., can now count Electric Motor Cars among its diverse patronage.

Flextronics also touts its cost-savings abilities through its design and vertical integration capabilities, low volume/high mix services and advanced supply chain management. This all leads to an economically friendly vehicle from Electric Motor Cars.

Consumers continue to cringe as gas prices across America continue to rise. However, forward thinkers like Des Moines Motors’ Gene Gabus and Electric Motor Cars continue the journey to bring more electric cars to market to reduce dependence on oil, advance American-made technology, and get people where they need to go in an economically and environmentally responsible way.

In an op-ed published in the New York Times, contributor Seth Fletcher notes President Obama’s goal of putting 1 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015 and calls the plan “more realistic than critics maintain.” In spite of some opposition and cynicism, Nissan, Chevy and Tesla have all put drivers behind the wheel of electric or hybrid cars, with Ford, Toyota and Electric Motor Cars all planning to roll out electric cars in the near future.

Federal funding has been set aside – to the tune of $2.4 billion in stimulus money – to incent customers to buy electric cars. EMC vehicles are eligible for full federal tax rebates, to the tune of $7,500, plus state incentives as well.

The author makes two other important points. One, government assistance could lead to an electric-car rollout large enough to lower our oil consumption from 9 million barrels a day to only 2 million, making an EV like the Electric Motor Cars wagon even more environmentally appealing.

Two, gas prices have skyrocketed beyond customers’ norms in the past few decades, and electric-car initiatives increased at those times, but when gas prices fell, so did U.S. interest in EV technology, putting countries like China and Japan ahead of U.S. pace in that category.

But, as evident by the hard work Electric Motor Cars – led by the vision of Gene Gabus – has put into the inner workings of the EMC line, U.S. productivity looks to increase dramatically and smartly in the next few years, putting even more drivers in the seat of an electric car and keeping that gas money in their pockets.

Gene Gabus recently offered a video walk-around tour (http://sellelectricmotorvehicles.com/) of the Electric Motor Cars wagon prototype, showing viewers under the hood, inside the seat, and behind the back door.

The EMC wagon will come “fully loaded,” explains Gabus, with power doors, power windows, a CD player, and even movable headlights. “There’s really no options a customer needs to pick,” Gabus says.

Opening up the back doors shows how much room a folded-down third row allows. Even a trip to “the lumberyard [or] the hardware store” is “no problem” when it comes to putting cargo in the car.

Under the hood, Gabus shows off the electrical box and the orange “high voltage” cable so when “first responders … come to this, they know it’s an electric car.”

Gabus also describes the battery and explains that, whereas some EVs require replacement of the whole battery, Electric Motor Cars’ batteries come in individual cells, “so all you do is replace a cell at a time.”

More information can be found by filling out the form at http://sellelectricmotorvehicles.com or by visiting http://www.facebook.com/desmoinesemc or http://www.twitter.com/desmoinesemc.

With any emerging technology, maintenance is always a concern.

Gene Gabus, president of Gabus Automotive Group, home of Des Moines Motors, the exclusive dealer of Electric Motor Cars, realized this and, in preparation for the release of a new product line, insisted on the simplest and fastest diagnostics software for Electric Motor Cars.

According to Jerry Lande of Des Moines Motors, the battery management system to be used to diagnose EMC battery issues is top of the line and easy for trained technicians to use.

With more than 100 cells powering the vehicles, an intricate diagnostic program is needed to test the car’s operation.

Electric Motor Cars has that: According to Lande, the battery management system will allow EMC technicians to hook up a laptop to the car and see how each cell is performing, so if one cell is going bad, it’s easily replaced, and at a much lower cost than the thousands of dollars it would reportedly take to replace an entire battery in another EV.

EMC’s prototype seven-seat wagon will go through a few more changes to get the car’s functionality up to speed, but given the great technological head start, Gabus and Lande are working hard to roll out Electric Motor Cars to both businesses and consumers.

This Friday, the environment will be major news, as Earth Day comes around once again. And with gas prices averaging $4 or more in five states in the U.S., both the environment and the economy should be of concern to many.

If the upcoming holiday has you considering a vehicle with zero carbon emissions, and high gas prices make you wish you could just plug in and drive, keep Electric Motor Cars in mind.

Of course, with an all-electric vehicle (not a hybrid like the Toyota Prius or Chevy Volt), using no gasoline means no carbon emissions, something in which Electric Motor Cars takes great pride.

But using no gasoline also means saving almost 90 percent on your fuel costs: Comparing the EMC wagon to a 2009 Chrysler Town & Country minivan, driving an average number of miles for four years would cost almost $10,000 in gas, versus only $992 on electricity for an EMC. And that was based on 2009’s gas price of $2.75 per gallon! Imagine the savings now!

Although currently in the testing stage, Electric Motor Cars’ prototype seven-passenger wagon has hit the road to great reviews. Jeff Eckhoff of the Des Moines Register called it “solid” and said the car “fractured” the interstate speed limit during a test drive. Others have touted its quiet ride, its roomy interior and its intelligent battery management system.

EMC wagons, vans and pickup trucks will come off the line during 2011. If Earth Day and high gas prices have you thinking about a car that won’t harm the environment or your pocketbook, remember Electric Motor Cars.

The folks from EnVision Motor Company recently took the Electric Motor Cars prototype wagon for a test drive around Ames, Iowa, the home of Iowa State University. As the video notes, the EMC wagon has a 190-mile-plus range and easily reaches upwards of 80 mph. At the 1:30 mark of the video, viewers can hear how quiet the car drives from an inside-the-car perspective.

More Electric Motor Cars videos — including an under-the-hood look at what makes the car run, the first EMC television commercial, and a behind-the-scenes look at the shooting of the commercial — are available at http://www.electricmotorcarofdesmoines.com/site/videos.

According to PlugInCars.com, Volvo intends to lease its C30 Electric car for $2,100 a month, hoping it can find 400 willing customers at that price (the target audience at this time appears to be corporate and government fleets, according to an Edmunds.com blog).

At the same time, Edmunds reports claim that Nissan has infuriated automakers by pricing its Leaf below cost — $32,780, with a $349 a month lease – in order to “undercut the competition” and with the hope that volume sales will begin to recoup costs after 3-4 years.

Numerous other EV manufacturers intend to put two-seat cars on the market for around $599 per month, a reasonable price point but not the most functional vehicle, particularly in the family-friendly Midwest.

While Nissan rolls out a loss leader in an effort to be “first,” and while Volvo prices itself potentially out of the market for the average driver, Electric Motor Cars has focused on going to retail slowly in early fall 2011, ramping up production by January 2012, and pricing its products at a point where, including federal and state tax incentives, drivers won’t need to break the bank to buy one.

Gene Gabus, president of Gabus Automotive Group, home of Des Moines Motors, the exclusive dealer of EMC, says after an extensive vetting process, batteries and electric motors will be on the way, at which point EMC will be able to assemble “more vehicles than the Leaf or the Volt” and yet keep wagons at an industry-standard price of $42,950. Figure in tax rebates, and more people could be driving budget-friendly Electric Motor Cars than any other make and model.

According to an article in the Des Moines Register, Electric Motor Cars have set prices for its seven-passenger station wagon, its pickup and its minivan. The van’s suggested retail price is $39,950; an EMC pickup will retail for $41,950; and the wagon’s price tag will read $42,950.

Subtract the $7,500 federal tax credit, and you’ve got an electric car that’s comparably priced to the Nissan Leaf. And the sticker price is right in line with the Chevy Volt, a hybrid car that utilizes both an electric charge and a combustible gas engine. Economy and environment combine to tip the scales in EMC’s favor here.

After extensive research to find the best manufacturer, and after a great deal of mechanical and electrical testing, EMC has chosen the best battery for the price and for the convenience of the customer. While this has altered the originally quoted price range, it has also caused a change in the distance the car will go on a single charge.

However, this number also falls in line with and actually surpasses the Leaf and the Volt. According to the same Des Moines Register article, the EMC wagon will last 150 miles in optimal conditions, while the Leaf will drive for 100 miles, and the Volt will go for only 40 miles before drivers must switch to the gas engine.

Despite changes from original estimates, EMC retains its industry-standard figures in price and range and has the all-important research to back up its decisions.

According to AltTransport.com, the Austin (Texas) City Council is considering offering electric car drivers an optional $50 annual fee to use electricity from public charging stations.

The plan would allow Austin residents unlimited use of Austin Energy’s “Plug-in Everywhere” terminals, located throughout the city, for a $25 six-month subscription. Without a subscription, users pay about $2 per hour of charging. The city council is looking at March as a kickoff date.

AltTransport.com believes that, while “drivers are expected to charge their electric vehicles at home,” this public charging scheme will help “reduce range anxiety.”

For a map of charging locations in Iowa and across the country, visit our Electric Motor Cars Web site (click here) and view our charging station map.

Jeff Eckhoff, reporter with the Des Moines Register, recently took Electric Motor Cars’ station wagon for a test drive (article here) and had a revelation: “It’s a real car.”

The article, including reviews of the features and the acceleration, noted that the Electric Motor Cars family, specifically Gene Gabus of Gabus Automotive Group and Thomas Gleisner of EnVision Motor Company, are excited to start the manufacture of EMC’s wagons, pickups and cargo vans in March.

Jerry Lande, of Gabus Automotive Group, explained to Eckhoff that the product’s suggested retail prices — $39,950 for the van, $41,950 for the pickup and $42,950 for the wagon — and the estimated range — 150 miles on a single charge — ticked up from original plans, but the new estimates came after rigorous testing of the electronic components and the batteries needed to properly charge all areas of the car.

Eckhoff noted that the EMC wagon “fractured the speed limit” on Interstate 35/80.

The article also references Gabus’ figures that say an Electric Motor Cars battery will charge in 14 hours on a 110-volt current but only 2.5 hours on a 220-volt current, and at current rates will cost about $1.75 to fully charge.