Design Article
Test drive: Zap's new electric car
Mark LaPedus
12/8/2008 1:43 PM EST
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- During a casual drive in San Jose, Calif. on Saturday, my wife and I stumbled upon the first electric car dealership in Silicon Valley.
This weekend, the dealership, Ethical Approach--Electric Vehicle Center, held its grand opening celebration. On display were the company's first products: an assortment of electric plug-in vehicles from Zap Inc., a fledging, publicly-held startup based in Santa Rosa, Calif.
The dealership showcased various models of Zap's new three-wheel electric car, a four-wheel small truck, an electric scooter and even an electric bicycle. Daniel Reuter, president and chief executive of Ethical Approach (San Jose), offered me the opportunity to take a test drive in the new and lime green Xebra Sedan, which claims to be the world's only ''city-class'' electric car in production.
The Xebra is a small, three-wheel car that runs on a lead-acid battery and boasts speeds up to 40 miles per hour. The car has a range of 25 miles before it needs a recharge. It has an onboard 110-volt AC charger.
The car itself has been redesigned. The 2009 version, which I test drove, 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. The steel body is more durable than the original 2006 fiberglass model.
The vehicle, which seats up to 4 people, is 290- x 142- x 154-cm and weighs about 2,805 pounds. The sticker price is $11,700, but Ethical Approach was offering a $1,500 discount on the vehicle.
Zap manufactures its electric vehicles primarily in the Shandong Province of China. Zap handles the final assembly in Santa Rosa as a means to ''control the quality,'' according to a spokesman for the company.
At present, Reuter said Zap has already sold some 1,000 Xebra vehicles. Zap and the dealership are not only going after consumers, but the entities are also forging fleet-car deals with major corporations. Zap has delivered vehicles to Coca-Cola and Domino's Pizza. The Xebra is ideal for corporate campuses, said Reuter, who took leave as a mechanical engineering student at San Jose State University to open the dealership.
Comments
BMN
12/8/2008 2:44 PM EST
I want to believe that this company has the products to meet the initial requirements for electric cars, but the below article makes me wonder:
http://www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-04/ff_zapped
caveat emptor
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AlexCampbell
12/8/2008 5:25 PM EST
Wired got the story wrong, trying to find dirt on ZAP. ZAP is a REAL company with a 14-year track record and last quarter pasted record electric car and truck sales. Don't believe the ZAP haters, visit the company, call them up, do your due diligence.
~ Alex Campbell, ZAP, 707-525-8658 x 241, acampbell@zapworld.com
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AlexCampbell
12/8/2008 5:26 PM EST
sorry, 'posted'
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GeorgeLewis
12/9/2008 11:00 AM EST
I like the low price of the Zap vehicles, the use of a 3 wheeler is to avoid the ridiculous Federal low-speed vehicle law (25mph speed) law... if mopeds can travel faster than 25mph, I think Obama should update the low vehicle speed law to at-least 35mph.
I'd like to point-out, that if someone wants to get a freeway-ready electric (with a modern AC motor and Lithium batteries and regenerative breaking (for just $22k!) - you can find out more at www.HiddenBuzz.com and search for TRIAC.
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msd1107
12/11/2008 12:52 AM EST
Electric vehicles do not make sense, and are environmentally bad.
A SI IC enging can achieve 40% thermal efficiency, and has done so for 50 years. A CI IC engine can achieve 50% thermal efficience, and has done so for 70 years. A carbon based electric plant struggles to achieve 40%.
An IC vehicle suffers inefficiencies at the low load factors in low speed operation. The electric grid suffers up to 10% losses in the distribution grid.
It is an engineering task to improve the operating load factors for the IC vehicle. Progress has been made, more progress remains. The electric grid has no headroom for improvement.
IC engines are highly regulated for emissions, often being below the ambient level of pollution. Carbon based plans are more loosely regulated, emitting high levels of CO2, particulate and heavy metals that obscure vision and pollute the area downstream from the generating plant. Other forms of generating electricity can be even more polluting.
The electric generating plants are transitioning from older highly polluting generating technologies (like coal or nuclear)to new generation lower polluting technologies (like solar, wind, wave, etc). However, all lower polluting sources of electricity are fully committed for the foreseeable future. Thus the source of electricity for vehicles can be assumed to come from the most highly polluting sources, since if the electricity is not needed, it does not need to be generated.
The xPrise committee (which is a competition to produce a 100 mpge vehicle) has simulated different technologies. The plug in hybrid (and other electric vehicles) generate higher levels of CO2 and other pollutants than an IC vehicle.
In addition, the IC vehicle pays substantial taxes to pay for the building and maintenance of our highways. Electric vehicles do not yet pay their share.
Thus electric vehicles generate more pollution and evade their proper share of road maintenance costs.
It is environmentally disasterous, and socially irresponsible to advocate electric vehicles.
This is not to say that research into electric technologies should not continue. Maybe the energy density of gasoline that routinely provides for ranges of 500KM per tank will be equaled by a new technology battery, or flywheel or capacitor.
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EmbedAI
12/11/2008 10:53 AM EST
People should read up on companies before doing an article on it. Especially a magazine dedicated to engineers. This really reduces my trust in this magazine.
It is not a new startup because it has been in business for 14 years and built a unique reputation. Fledging? Mark, did you write this article and not spell check it or is this one that that was provided by Zap and you added to it? Fledgling (the proper spelling) means brand new. A 14 year old company is not a fledgling. You must own some of their stock and are hoping to push the price up? I noticed you also wrote the eetimes article ( http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212300183&cid=NL_eet ) and also got called on it.
Readers go here and read the entire article before buying into this companys hype.
http://www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-04/ff_zapped
This verifies the article.
http://quicktake.morningstar.com/StockNet/Ownership.aspx?Country=USA&Symbol=ZAAP
I found it very interesting and it did bring up painful memories of working for a startup company like this.
How many of us engineers have been through a place like this?
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Mark Moulding
12/12/2008 9:30 AM EST
I wouldn't call ZAP the first electric car dealership in Silicon Valley; I believe that distinction belongs to the Tesla dealership in Menlo Park. And, at 0-60 in around 4 seconds, the car's at rather the opposite end of the performance spectrum...
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spppppppp
12/22/2009 3:33 AM EST
what is about look of car
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