John Herou, a genial, avuncular gent with a graying mustache and a serious entrepreneurial addiction, built a miniature electric replica of a 1932 Ford Roadster for his kids back in 1988.

Then, encouraged by the interest in the back-yard toy, he started a company called Classic Golf Car Co., which built electric carts that replicated vintage automobiles and thrived until recession and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks sapped half of its sales and all of its profits.

The timing couldn't have been better for an outgrowth of that venture: As gasoline prices surged -- and our political sages continued ignoring the threat of auto emissions -- Herou shifted to producing compact-sized electric cars capable of carrying upwards of 1,200 pounds at speeds up to 25 miles an hour. Operating cost: about 1½ cents a mile.

Say howdy to E-ride Industries, which offers electric vehicles priced at $12,500 to $20,000, depending on your taste for such amenities as chrome wheels, CD players and special paint and graphics.

The business grossed $1.1 million in 2005, its second year of operation, a total that exceeded by a hundred grand the best year the golf-cart company ever had. And Herou is just getting started:. Interest has been shown by a diverse group of potential buyers.

They include the Air Force and the University of California, Santa Barbara, and he's looking to double sales this year.

"Government agencies are looking for more economical transportation for niche uses," said Herou, 62, who ran a large electrical-contracting business before the electric-vehicle bug zapped him. We're talking such uses as garbage pickups, security rounds and, in the case of Salt Lake City, simple errands around downtown.

The road was paved for electric vehicles in 1998, when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration created a new class of motor cars called the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV). Since then, more than 40 states have approved use of NEVs on roads with speed limits of 35 miles per hour or less, and a bill aimed at adding Minnesota to that list passed the state House last week. It awaits action in the Senate.

Picture got things started

It was a calendar featuring a picture of a 1932 Ford Roadster that launched Herou on his electric-vehicle journey.

"I can't help it, I like old cars," he confessed. But he had no idea of turning that interest into a business until a Wisconsin man happened by one day as Herou's children were gallivanting around the yard in their new toy; he offered to buy the machine on the spot.

One word-of-mouth customer led to another, and before you could say "Fore!" Herou was in the golf-cart business. His cachet: customized machines made of Styrofoam and sculpting plastic and carved into the shape of Roadsters, Phaetons and Landaus.

The carts, which could rev up to 14 miles an hour, boasted authentic, remanufactured Ford parts ranging from chrome bumpers, grill and headlight bars to windshield posts and door handles. The price: $18,000 to $25,000, depending on options.

But that wasn't enough for some of his well-heeled customers, including the king of Morocco, NASCAR luminary Richard Petty and Wendy's founder Dave Thomas. Soon there were ultra-custom models, including one that boasted gold plating, leather interior, CD player, oak dashboard with antique gauges and a handmade wood-and-leather steering wheel imported from Italy.

That baby went for about $35,000, which is more than the combined price tag for the first two houses I owned.

Herou lured customers with a display at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where signs in five languages encouraged visitors wanting more information to leave their business cards. In that fashion, the company grew to a peak of $1 million in the mid-1990s before leveling off at about $700,000 a year, with half the sales coming from overseas.

Then came the terrorist attacks, and much of the export business disappeared. But by that time, Herou had noticed that "about 85 percent of my golf carts never saw a golf course." Instead, they were being used in gated communities, in large warehouses and on college and corporate campuses for short-run transportation.

Switching gears

Late in 2001 Herou hired a fabrication company to engineer the chassis for what was to become E-ride's two- and four-passenger electric cars -- full-sized vehicles with sharply defined, boxy contours.

Herou designed the electrical system; its nine 8-volt batteries that can be recharged at a standard 110-volt outlet. The vehicles have about a 55-mile range between charges.

At first, he financed the start-up himself, pumping in about $400,000 from savings, second mortgages on his home and office, and income from his contracting business, which is down to a handful of employees compared with about 50 workers 15 years ago. A key investor, who prefers to remain anonymous, later put about $3 million into the business.

Herou started selling in mid-2004, with the first vehicle going to an Air Force base in Texas. By the end of 2005, E-ride had seven dealers in six states, including one in Minneapolis.

Based on current sales trends, funds budgeted by several government clients and negotiations underway with 12 more dealers, Herou expects 2006 sales to top $2 million. Better yet, after two years of losses, he's looking for the business to turn cash-flow positive by mid-year.

Dick Youngblood • 612-673-4439 • yblood@startribune.com