Longboat Key couple's mini Mercedes is a neighborhood staple

Tom and Norma McCarthy are known for their sweet ride. 

It doesn’t go very fast, and it won’t go very far, but it will turn heads. It’s their Mercedes Benz … wait for it … golf cart. 

“If it’s ever been on a golf course, I don’t know,” Norma said. “We just drive around here.” 

The McCarthys got their unusual ride about 12 years ago from a fellow in their Gulf Shores neighborhood on Longboat Key, said Norma. The man they bought it from, a collector, had bought it from someone who made custom golf carts in Sarasota. At that time, he’d been working on a series of Mercedes golf cart replicas. The golf cart even has the iconic logo on the front, but that was added after the original maker was done. The maker had to stop making his carts when Mercedes stepped in, saying they looked too much like its sports cars, said Norma. 

“We know that there are three of them still in existence,” Norma said “Our friend at the time bought three … one is here and two are in Indiana.” 

The cart is equipped with a radio, headlights, cigarette lighter, trunk and glove compartment paired with soft fuzzy seats and a carpeted floor.

In Gulf Shores, the couple is known for their ride, which they mostly just take on jaunts around the community. During the St. Patrick’s Day parade, their Mercedes has the all-important job of carrying the green beer.

“I mean, people love it,” Norma said. “Little kids come and we let them and their parents take it and they just think it’s the most wonderful thing.”