Meet Jake’s newest ride, the GEM car: a battery-powered, electric hybrid vehicle produced by Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), a division of the Chrysler Corporation. Although they provide roughly the same horsepower as a Pinto, GEM cars produce zero emissions and run entirely on electricity. Equipped with a 72-volt battery system, the GEM cars are chargeable via a standard 110-volt outlet that reportedly can get up to 30 miles off of one 6-hour charge. 

Technically classified as Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV),  GEM cars max out at 25 mph and allow police officers to appear as intimidating as a Razor Scooter street gang.

Growing in popularity for their low-maintenance efficiency, GEM cars are favored by police departments in areas where vehicle inaccessibility causes a heavy dependence on foot and bicycle patrol officers. The Myrtle Beach Police Department currently uses GEM cars in their Special Operations Section, a unit responsible for patrolling Myrtle Beach’s most high-traffic area – the waterfront. According to the MBPD, the GEM cars have allowed beachfront officers to respond faster to emergencies than they could have otherwise, thereby increasing efficiency tenfold.

Headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, GEM has been quietly producing their clean little cars stateside for a decade, and now they’re branching out. According to the UK’s Daily Mail, the Sussex Police Department is currently testing the GEM under consideration of adding them to their fleet.