How cute! AMKAR is a wheelchair accessible conversion of the GEM (Global Electric Motorcars, LLC, a Daimler Chrysler Company) . This set of go wheels operates for pennies per day and has a driving range of up to 30 miles. It charges from any 110-volt outlet and can be juiced and fully charged in six to eight hours.

The top end speed is 25 mph so this road bunny won’t be allowed on any streets where the speed limit is 35 mph or more. That’s a tough break for the suburban and rural wheeler but it should work out for city center cruisers.

The AMKAR has a powered ramp, a wheelchair/scooter tie down system, an optional trunk, and push-pull hand controls. It’s designed to do double duty and can be driven by the wheeler or a driver’s seat can be snapped in to allow a TAB behind the wheel. Conventional controls are all there.

If you are thinking that AMKAR looks a tad small to accommodate a mobility scooter, well, you’re right but you’re wrong. There’s a neat solution for scooters. The scooter enters on the ramp but remains sideways in the vehicle. The scooter user rotates the scooter seat to face front and then ties down and hooks up to the driver harness/safety belt system, and you’re good to go. There’s only one small thing for the scooter user to remember. Be sure your scooter has a rotating seat.

Some of the "I like" elements of the AMKAR. These are aside from those related to fun and turning heads. As opposed to many of the micro-cars, there’s room for more than one person in the vehicle. Being able to accommodate a scooter user as passenger or driver is a big step up for users of those devices. Being electric powered makes it environmentally friendly or greener than your gasoline burner.

A few of the "Don’t likes" on this vehicle. I understand the low speed limitations but I don’t have to like it. 25 mph really limits where you can legally cruise. The open cabin design is going to tear hell with users who live in areas where the climate heads to the hot or cold end of the thermometer. The original GEM vehicle has doors, but I’m sure they fell victim to accommodating the side mounted wheelchair ramp. The optional trunk appears like it might be out of reach from a wheelchair or scooter. Unless of course you are 8′ tall or have gorilla length arms. The trunk on the AMKAR is mounted in a similar fashion as on the GEM below. I think the pre-conversion vehicle (image below) is much cooler looking, but accessibility almost always involves trade offs.

As for the cost of the AMKAR? I have no clue at all. An unmodified GEM starts at around $10k but I’m sure that the mods drive the price way up over that number. You can get pricing and more information on AMKAR from the conversion company- Mobility Products & Design.