Its a niche market but Im hoping they are getting situated for a ramp up when eestore completes their their third party verification.
These cars are only half the vehicle weight that funcar is lcensed to produce.The starting capital they provided eestore would give them the subcompact market.Eestore would then be free to license the technology to other automakers for the rest of the lines.
Stipulating that their claims are all true what could they accomplish.All electric sedans,suv's ,can some engineers project for us what they could manufacture with all their claims accepted as true.
I dont have the background to know for sure but my gut tells me it would be a true game changer.AFS trinity has some news out but they are still at least a couple of years out.If Kleiner Perkins & Caulfield are involved I believe they must have some demonstration to back up their claims.Well,lets pray that its true.

When are the investments going to come in for the TANGO. If ONE major automobile manufacturer would step up to the plate we would'nt be talking about these oversize overpriced golf carts we would have a real electric car alternative that would blow away most hybrids and all the electric vehicles now offered.

Anyone else recall the Chrysler LSV prototype auctioned off after the California ZEV mandate died? Max speed: 45mph. Was there a proposal attached to this prototype to broaden the LSV rules?

Zenn may be marginal, but a company which developed the market with legislation that upped the speed of LSVs, might have an edge.

NEVs and ZENNs are a good idea, however, it is hard to see them become a huge salllin item because of all those issue related to speed, safety and yes...price.
Some poster here says that EVs are a joke, but he doesn't know that they are coming very soon. I can't repeat this enough times; there are several new start-up EV companies [mostly based in California] not affiliated with Detroit which are going to be the real deal/answer to gas consumption in a short year or two.
These vehicles are going to be freeway capable and very attractive and mostly reasonably priced.
The secret here is for these companies not to be in any way affiliated with Detroit, but rather to be indipendent and free of building a market which in California alone is currently valued at about 250,000 units sold per year. Fleet EVs could be reaching from 20,000 to 50,000 of unit sold/leased per year as well.
I owned a GEM for a while and it was fun, but what truly bothered me was the fact that when I needed to quickly "jump" on the freeway, I had to go home first and exchange vehicles. To me, that is one of the major factor why NEVs are limited to a very small niche market. Perhaps, they will sell very well in Catalian Island off the coast of California, where everyone drives a golf cart and ICEs are absolutely not allowed!

Fred Sands, Ph.D.

I have heard about the Cheese from California, but
(EV)Cars from California?
I need to replace my car in three years, for the last time(getting too old), so thanks for giving me hope.
Hopefully it will be a four seater and cost less than 20K.
But unless it is made in China, just the cost of the battery(6k-8k) will push it over 20k.
If no EV cars by that time, I'll take the money and install about 3KW of solar on my roof.
I know God is for Green.
Buying an EV or installing solar should increase my chances of entering Heaven.

So it IS an electric golf cart? Will they pass FMVSS?. Cant believe we're gonna see those POS Crown Vics for another 10 years.

car companies selling new, highway-capable battery electric vehicles (BEVs):

Venturi Fetish - based on the acpropulsion drivetrain
http://www.venturi.fr/us/fetish/specs/specs.php3
$200k

Commuter Cars - they have sold one, i think. but they will make one for you if you have the dosh. they want to mass-produce and sell a slower version for less than $30k, but it appears they haven't been able to prove there is a market yet.
http://www.commutercars.com/
$108k

The Happy Messenger from China mentioned here previously, but it was only sold to fleets, so it doesn't really count. If I can't theoretically buy one, it doesn't count.

Then, of course, tens of companies that will convert or custom modify your ICE car to be a BEV, but that hardly counts. I mean, who wants a car with unproven engineering, no warrantee, no test drive, nobody to sue when it explodes in flames or the brakes prove ineffective because of the 800lbs of batteries.

So, $108k or $200k for a two-seater to tool around town?

I'll believe in Fred's mythical Ca companies when they produce something for the market. Until then, I will continue to believe that battery costs will push vehicle prices into Bently territory.

Rather than Eestor, Firefly energy seems to me to be the best hope. If Firefly can deliver close to what they promise it could make the plug-in hybrid economical.

Go here http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm

Compair the 2001 Rav4 EV to a 2001 prius.

They give estimates on MPG on both vehicles, as well as # of tons of GHG produced per yr.

I was surprised to see that the prius was rated at 3.8 tons per yr where the rav4 was actually higher at 4.2 tons.

I find that pretty funny.

So while electricity might be cheaper than gas, the electric vehicle to use it is not, + the cost of replacing expensive batteries every so often.

So it is hard to argue that an EV is cheaper but worse yet it you might not be able to claim it is any cleaner either.

Anti Grav, you spoke like a prodigy.

Altough I know that out there there are many [hundreds of thousands] Americans who strongly believe in EVs and would love to buy EVs if there was a choice of them.

But all these skeptic/negative posters are driving me crazy!

To Mark A; Yes there are at least five if not more new EV start-ups in California. The ones I personally know, are not trying to build a $100K+ type of car, but a more accessible $25K to $45K type of vehicle.
To those guys who are saying that there's no EV market unless the [EV] cars prices are at around $15K to $20, I say forget it... but like Anti Grav says... if there's more SERIOUS effort from the public and private sectors to invest in battery technology to lower prices, then I think it is going to be hard to beat it!

Last night on CBS's 60 Minutes, Rick Wagoner [CEO of GM] said that Ethanol is the [almost] only way out from oil addiction. Why you ask? Beacause they [Big Detroit Automakers] have already so many billions of dollars invested in ICE technology and infrastructure, that AC or DC powered vehicles make no finacial sense for them! Only new [small & stealth] start-ups can make this a reality... stay away from Detroit altogether!!!
Those guys [Detroit] exsist only to manipulate the market and sell [mostly] horrible cars that break all the times and cost a lot of money for not reason!

Do you know what Ford did to the City [fleet] of SF?
Sold them thousands of CNG vehicles and shortly after [one year or two] discountinue the production leaving SF and probably many other clients with a usesless pile of Ford engineered scrap metal!!!

If I was the Mayor of SF at the time this matter broke into the public arena, I would have demanded justice and ask the State Attorney to file a huge suit against Ford for basically...flat out fraud!!!

But that's me...

FS, Ph.D.

Fred, I am all for EVs. But you still have not provided us with any of these five companies names, that are shooting for $25K-$40K priced ev vehicles. And as someone else said, its all about the battery. Anyone can build a car, but developing the powerplant energy is the key. There were viable electric cars at the dawn of the auto age. But the battery technology wasnt there. Still isnt in many respects.

Like I said before, I know of only one Cali based maker, I think its a Wrightspeed. It a roadster that will sell for $100K. It does have two seats, but in an open cockpit, much like an indy car. It doesnt say anything about AC or heat, but with an open cockpit, whats the use right? It doesnt even have a front bumper!! Much less any luggage space, or storage. Try putting your xmas shopping in it at the mall while going back inside, and see if its there when you get back! Not very practical for average Joe commuting to work in Phoenix, Arizona in July, or average Jane driving to the supermarket in Nome, Alaska in January.

Keep in mind that these vehicles will have to pass all the current crash standards, including side impact and windshield head injury tests to be viable. They must drive through standing water and cross mud or snow, without shorting out. I hope someone can deliver. But the point I am making is that I dont think some startup company is going to leapfrog the major automakers (including the Japanese/Germans here, since everyone seems to think major automakers only mean Detroits GM and Ford) in this way with a viable alternative. I hope I am wrong. I will be one of the first to buy if someone does, in addition to offering financing and a high mileage warranty!

GM and Ford, and all the automakers, have alot of unseen R&D work going on, with electrics and the like just like these startup silicon valley companies. Probably with a much larger budgets to boot. Just because its unseen doesnt mean its not there! Mitsibishi has been fairly open with their MIEV concepts, which have electric motors in the wheel hubs. They have been doing rally race tests with them recently. But that being said, they are not ready to introduce them into the market yet, due to them not being fully developed or ready. I am optimistic about what will come.

HI All,
The TANGO T600 at commutercars.com while currently priced at over 100k, needs an investment of about 50 mill to develop their much cheaper T200 and T100. That is what I meant about some investment. The T600 is already NHRAA cerified safe does 0-60 in 4 seconds and has a conservative range of 70 miles. The T600 is really expensive because it cannot be produced at economy of scale. If a significant investment were made by some visionary, people will buy these. While I am encouraged by the ZENN it propagates the myth that electric cars are slow, not powerful, and ugly and for that I vociferously call for the potential of EV's to be realized like the TANGO.
Regards,
Jim

We're looking into ev's and are considering the Zenn car, because we're tired of all the BS with the car companies Not giving us the choise. My concerns are getting up hills as we live in VT, and going at least 30-40 mph to be safe on any streets but downtown. A car dealer that I spoke with about this car says most people unhook the governor, but even then, does this car have the power with only a 5 hp motor? And is it the battery or the motor that gives it the final push up the hill? Somebody's gotta take the leap and do it or we're all just blowing hot air here. Who's ready to go for it?