Electric Cars Get Practical

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:27:28 EST

For the record, I'm not knocking the offering from TelsaMotors.com I think it is a Great piece of engineering. Powered by modern laptop batteries, and pounding out 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in 3.9 seconds, while getting 120 MPGe (the e is for equivalent), it is a dream sports car. Certainly it shows what an electric car can be.

Now maybe you have a spare $110,000 USD that is just causing a huge lump in your mattress. I don't. That is what you need to own one of these beauties.

That is why for years I have enjoyed an electric bicycle instead. However, for a good hunk of the planet, being exposed to the weather makes a bike a seasonal thing, with the car being practical choice.

For 2009 we have ZAP's New Xebra.

"The new 2009 Xebra Hatchback is a 5-door hatchback with folding rear seats, more than doubling the size of the rear cargo area with 34 cubic feet of space. More head and leg room was added and the styling upgraded inside and out to improve aesthetics. The steel body is sleeker, stronger and more durable than the original 2006 fiberglass model."

The Xebra is typical of most electric cars, which means no freeway speeds. And the range without re-charging is about 50 miles (80 KM). While this puts the Xebra and its kind out of the consideration list for a number of folks, it works just fine for others.

The other points of the Xebra that really entice me (outside of the price of about $30K USD) is the batteries.

They are nothing exotic.

When your batteries are worn out, you Want nothing exotic! The Xebra uses plain old sealed lead-acid batteries. In fact they are the same battery type I used in my eBike. My last replacement battery (before the bike was dying due to years of use), I bought from an eBay dealer.

(Side note: Experience has taught me to never buy batteries from a dealer that does not offer some sort of warranty. I was burned by a east coast dealer who ships bad batteries, then says, too bad, no warranty.)

Sure. 30 grand isn't exactly pocket change. And if like me, you don't need to do freeway driving, and don't have to commute long distances, the freedom from oil changes, anti-freeze, yada-yada can really bring some freedom to you life.

Sure, California is not the world. And I was rather happy a few years ago when I went to a local Fry's store. Right next to the blue disability parking was parking for electric cars only. With a free charger to use while shopping at Fry's.

I've not been happy with Zap for not improving their offerings for electric bikes. That is why my last 2 we're from the now gone eBike firm, founded by Lee Iacocca. A fact lost by Wikipedia on his page. I don't know what I will do next. And I'll let you know.

I should mention that in California, and prehaps other states, the Xebra is considered a motorcycle, not a car. That is a great advantage for using the HOV lane in many (all?) states. Http://XebraWorld.com is an independent site you may want to research further. And to me, if you get to sit down, inside a cab, its a car ;-)

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Electric Cars Get Practical