2008 ZENN First Impressions

nice article. eestor is supposed to be completing independent 3rd party testing of its capacitor within a few weeks. (or announcing results) that is where the news is at (or would be)

 

Yeah, I would like to hear about EESTOR progress too.
If they don't start producing something in 2008 (already a one year slip) I will tend to believe that it is a scam.

 

Going to the corner store for a quart of milk is exactly the kind of wasteful driving that could be avoided by a little planning. Why don't they recommend consolidation of trips out with the car?

 

Every human being comes equipped with an environmentally friendly fuel saving device. It's situated between the ears and is called a brain. Most just don't bother to use it.

 

I've seen the ZENN at $19k+ , tops out at what, 35mph?

$15k + $55k for an ACPropulsion Ebox electric car

$109K for Tesla Roadster ...

Love the idea, but can only afford one car, not a 2nd electric car. I use a bicycle for some trips to store, haircut, etc...

 

Tops out at 25mph, not 35. It is a NEV, and does not have the safety features for speeds higher than 25. Oddly enough, if it just had three wheels, it would have no speed limits. How do you spell "loophole?"

Cycledru - while it might sound rude, I'm glad that you cannot afford a second car, and use your bicycle for the short trips! Seriously. I get tired of hearing about how wasteful people can be because they can "afford it."

 

The Zenn is not street-legal in several Milwaukee suburbs.

 

the capacitor work is useful but Im afraid the vehicle may not be for most drivers. Where *is* that flux capacitor storing 1.21 Giga watts when you need it?

 

I heard about this car recently, and was very interested. Since it is small, has limited range, only seats two, and maxes out at 25mph, I would have to purchase it as an additional (commuter) vehicle for our family, rather than a replacement to one of our current vehicles. That means the full price (~$20k with air - not an option in Houston) comes out of my pocket. (I.e. no trade in or old car to sell.) If I had the money lying around, I think this would be a great idea, to help the environment and lower my gasoline usage. However, I don't have that kind of money. If the car would save me a significant ammount of money over time, I would still consider it. But I crunched the numbers and was very surprised. With my current driving, it would save me only $1000 per year, and that's compared to our gas guzzling SUV, not our Prius! Now that I read the article, I see that there is also a significant expense for batteries every other year.

I'm sad to say that for me, in order for an electric vehicle to make sense is if it was either cheap enough to be a third vehicle, or if it could replace a current family vehicle.

I guess I'll just have to wait for a plug-in Prius.

 

definitely not an option for everyone. before i got mine, (this post is NOT INTENDED to change your mind!!) i looked at what our distance requirements per trip were and what we drove. i have a 1991 F-150 pickup, 1988 Corolla (which has since been transfered to another needy family) to go along with the Pri. obviously the truck is used very infrequently and is currently shared with me immediate and extended family so it does not waste away. all in all, one thing i realized that even at a very modest price, i wasnt willing to get one unless it could be used EXTENSIVELY

now, both of us have short all in town commutes. because of work schedules, the Zenn could be used for that 6 days a week. add to that, an average of 11½-13 short errand trips a week (before it was about 6-8 because of combining trips in order to get better mileage. a bit inconvenient...)

so it was apparent that the Zenn would not spend a lot of time sitting in the garage. that we could ultilize it pretty regularly...

so then i looked at the range...in summer, there is no issues, i can go 25 miles EASILY in the morning, come home (something i would have to do anyway since i always have my 15 month old son with me) for lunch, diaper change, etc... charge for 2 hours and have enough to go another 25 miles (have done over 45 miles in one day 6 times with max of 56 miles). but in winter, the range is greatly reduced.

now we are talking 20 miles on a good day and a comfortable usable range of 15 miles... so now with a midday charge im looking at 25-30 miles in a day...not a real issue, it still is enough for me to do nearly all i need to do...(90% of my trips are less than 6 miles RT) but winter driving does have plusses, no more does my Pri have to suffer with trips getting 25-30 mpg because of short trips in winter.

so now we talk speed... if 25 mph was max here, i would never have considered an EV...but its 35 mph here, (hopefully the rest of the country will get in the game soon!!) and i am lucky enough to live in one of the first states to allow that.

seating is an issue. since getting my Zenn, there has been 51 trips (average of 6 a month where the Zenn would have worked if it had more seating) and each one of those trips really bothers me for some reason... now the Miles, another EV is out, its a 4 seater, looks like a mini SUV, and i wish i would have gotten that one now... (its about $23,000 and i just could not justify the price...my Zenn i got a deal on...it was $14,500....but i got mine when gas was still 2.99 a gallon!@!) the only thing was that the Miles did not have a 35 mph version when i got my Zenn, so it wasnt a real consideration.

so in your case, i think you should wait. there will be MUCH better options for you and they will be available within the next 18 months. with gas prices the way they are, i know its tough to wait that long...

as far as how much you will save if you had one. it all depends on how much your electricity costs are and how often you can drive it, etc. but it costs me around $14-16 a month to drive the Zenn (that is the TOTAL COST!!) and it replaces a car that was costing us around $55-60 a month (that is for gas alone and at $3 per gallon!@!) so i think, in real world situations, your savings might be more than you think. in my signature, the savings i am tracking are WORST CASE senarios for the Zenn...iow, i calculated the savings based on top of the line fuel economies which simply would not happen since the Zenn replaces situations in which a gas vehicle would be performing at its worst. and once again, maintenance costs are not considered.