Zenn EV coming to U.S. in late July
The Zenn electric vehicle (read more here) will be available for sale in the United States in a few weeks, according to Autoweek. Feel Good Cars, Inc., based in Toronto has signed up 20 Zenn (zero emissions, no noise) dealers in the U.S., and expects to have about 45 by the end of the year. The tiny Zenn (its only about 10 feet long) will cost just under ten grand. That's a lot for a top speed of 25 mph and a range of only 35 miles. But for short city trips, that should do it for some people. If you want the same cramped quarters and diesel power, you can always drive the MC-2 in Europe, which is the same body coupled with a different powertrain. Feel Good Cars imports the frames and installs the electric engines.
[Source: Autoweek]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
starlightmica 5:01PM (7/02/2006)
The Zenn's pdf brochure is a little bit weird in that uses pictures of both the long and short wheelbase version of the MC1/MC2 but appears to be sold only in one length, looks like the long-wheelbase version, presumably to hold the loead-acid batteries. But where are the pictures of the electric motor/battery pack that all other EV's show off? Don't forget if you dent the aluminum space frame, the car is pretty much totalled - aluminum repair is expensive and difficult, especially given the car's MSRP of $10k.
There's a small fleet of EV's out there that conform to the low-speed (35mph max) vehicle laws available in most states that are in a similar price range - the Zenn, DCX GEM, Dynasty IT Car, Zap Xebra. Perhaps Car & Driver could do one of their snarky comparisons.
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PJ 11:31PM (7/02/2006)
I guess the appeal here is that you feel like you're driving a "real" car, as opposed to the golf-cart-style EVs that I saw so often in Davis.
But I imagine that impression kinda fades when you hit 25 MPH and find that you've maxed out. Most American cities have enough 35-40 MPH streets to make this car unfit for daily driving.
The usual anti-EV suspects will like that the Zenn's batteries are of the same lead-acid variety as a conventional car's, I imagine, since a massive recycling infrastructure already exists. But did they really have to name their company "Feel Good Cars?" As if environment-oriented cars already don't have a bad enough rap for being "wimpy" (an opinion I'll never understand).
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Glenn 11:41PM (7/02/2006)
I agree.
25MPH sounds dangerously too slow for most city driving. That is much worse then even those scooters. It would also be important for it to have pretty good pickup.
I would think 45MPH max, 40MPH cruise as a minimum. The range of 35 miles is workable; but as the batteries age, they maybe need better range initially.
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DP 1:16PM (9/22/2006)
All those cars can go faster than 25mph it's the federal gov that sets those numbers to restrict them to 35mph or lower roads... No crash testing or airbags required
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