A Ballard man is hoping to shape the future of electric vehicles and energy consumption in a big way and is about to launch his new electric car line.

Steve Leighty is President and founder of Ecocruise, an electric car company based out of Ballard. Leighty started a similar vehicle design company, Kasea Motorsports, in 1989. The company designed ATVs, motorcycles and scooters that were competitive in the industry for over 25 years. His office was based in Seattle.

From his experience with ATV’s, Leighty realized he wanted to make “cleaner” and more sustainable vehicles. He also saw a window emerging in the electric car industry, a new market for smaller electric vehicles.

Last week the Ballard News-Tribune caught up with Leighty and drove his Ecocruise Cruser Sport NEV around Green Lake. The car has a sleek design that caught the attention of pedestrians on the street. The car is fast and tops out at 45 mile per hour and has a strong eclectic motor that accelerates quickly. The suspension provides a comfortable ride and tough enough to absorb the impact of rough city streets. It’s also fully road-legal with seatbelts, lights and turn signals. The car also turns on a dime and is easy to park in tight urban areas. More importantly the car can go over 70 miles from a single charge and retails around $10,000.

After a long process of design, prototyping and manufacturing, Leighty will release his Eco-cruisers this month.