By Rita Sherwood
Boys and their toys! If you ask Scott Lightsey of ECCO Motors what prompted him to get into the golf cart business, he’d tell you about the first electric car he and his friends built back in 1997. His friend had an electric car back then, and he wanted one too. Little did he know that after everything was built from a mere fiberglass shell, that it actually would go 110 miles per hour! But no fuel tank, no turn signals, no taillights? How could this be? Who knew? There in lies his love for electric cars. So much in fact, that they would drive it from Manhattan, New York, to Washington D.C., to educate and show it off to kids along the way.
With over 30 years of automotive service experience for Japanese cars in Tallahassee, Scott was pretty burnt-out by 2002. But by 2004, the memory of building his first electric car ignited his passion for ECCO Motors, which started out as a golf cart repair center, and then expanded into sales and service. Soon0 after, a golf cart rental business started within Sandestin, and then ultimately it became a full service golf cart business with sales, service, rentals and even storage facilities.
The locally grown business began in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and then ultimately expanded to Destin. A small business mentality has served Scott well for the last 14 years. Ask this Local Pro how he built his foundation for his business, and he will tell you “It’s built on service; I’m looking to develop long-term relationships with my customers, and not just make a single sale. Service is always first.” He tells the story of an older couple who bought their first golf cart from him 10 years ago, and had come in recently to trade it in for a new golf cart. He talks about how fun it is when multiple family members come in and buy different golf carts from him. He enjoys getting to know his customers and maintaining those relationships for years to come. Whether it’s sales, service, customization, or storage of that golf cart, ECCO Motors does it all. Scott says one of the best service components that he offers to his customer base is the pickup, cleaning, maintaining and storing of their golf carts that ECCO Motors then delivers when those customers return to town.
Scott talks about the differences between driving a golf cart vs. a car. He says instead of being trapped in a closed environment with passengers in a car, it’s much more fun to be in an open environment driving a golf cart where you’re sharing that experience with others around you. He alludes to a study that revealed that in a traffic situation, the open style cockpit of the golf cart coupled with the speed of only going 25 mph, actually became a calming device which made people slow down, and ultimately made them more relaxed.
And what does the future hold? “Technology will probably continue to get better,” he says, “which means longer batteries and faster speeds.“
And what’s the new trend? “How about the electric bikes that are all the rage in Europe? You should see all the people at the trade shows gravitate toward them,” Scott says. ECCO Motors has these, too. With wider tires that would work well even on the beach, and the capability to go 25 mph, these bikes are on the cutting edge. What’s the down side? Well, if you run out of battery, you have to ride it back. That’s not so bad, after all, it’s just like riding a bike!
Call Scott at (850) 837-2600 or better, stop by their new location at 36058 Emerald Coast Pkwy, Destin, across from Regatta Bay.
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