Hello Everyone, Love the new site! I found it while cruising thru autobloggreen today. I have been an AltFuel guy for years (biodiesel) and have been in the EV arena for the last few. I get to drive either a Miles ZX40S-AD or a souped up ZENN 2.2 everyday. Having these two cars lets me only use 1 tank of biodiesel in my jetta wagon every 6 to 8 months! I look forward to this site getting up and running... David

Tell us about the "souped up" aspect of your EV. I'm interested in getting one but I need to be able to go faster than 35 mph to keep from getting run over in my rural Georgia area.

I went thru 2 phases with the ZENN.

First was reprogramming the GE controller that originally came with the cars DC motor, we were able to achieve 35-40 mph on the str8s, well over 50mph downhill, and about 24-28 uphill.

phase 2 was installing a HPGC performance kit which included a curtis controller and AC motor, it delivers 35 mph constant.

since the cars are restricted to 35mph roads or slower, I've been pretty happy leaving this kit the way it is, keeps me out of trouble. I do know however that folks are working on reprogramming the AC controllers and have approached 45 to 50 mph constant speeds. I have not heard however what that does to the cars range.

I'm also interested in the Zenn or other NEV cars. With the legistation change effective 7/1/08 here in Tennessee, we can drive them at 35mph and on all my local roads (now that they are permitted on any thing up to 40mph posted).

My most burning question about the basic Zenn 2.2 would be... What have you been averaging in range from the factory battery (when you are running the car at your slightly modified 35mph)?

It seems like these vehicles cost what a used car does, are just too slow for safe travel on my area roads and lack the the real world range necessary to pick up two kids and get to work and back. So, I'd love to hear from someone that actually commutes in one on those points! :)

The real issue I find myself trying to deal with is that if you buy a NEV for +$10k and then have to mod it immediately before you can effectively use it, why not just mod an ICE car and avoid the NEV rules headache? If you have to buy new batteries for range, controller and motor... couldn't you just convert a gas vehicle for less money?

Thanks!

Jonathan Douglas

my range is never a factor as I rarely drive more than 10 miles in any given day, I have heard that folks with the exact same conversion as mine get up to 40 miles per charge depending on their type of driving. remember these cars can be opportunity charged as their is no memory effect on the batteries, and they are capable of being pulse reconditioned when their effective life starts to be affected.

Don't confuse purchase price with TCO (total cost of ownership) sites like edmunds.com can give you the TCO of any car over 5 years, with an electric car you will only pay a fraction of those costs, ex. buy a small four seater great gas milage car for $15k the TCO would be close to $28k over 5 years, buy my ZENN at the same $15k the TCO over 5 years is about $18k.

These cars will work for the majority of folks out there, can you use them for everything, no... can you use them for most stuff yes. Your perception that the cars are unsafe due to their speed is from a lack of knowledge and real world facts. The cars I have experience with are super safe, we even had a ZENN "attacked" by a giant SUV in Santa Cruz and it drove home from the accident. In the case of the ZENN cars and the Miles cars and trucks, these chassis were designed for much higher speeds as they have diesel and petrol varients in Europe and Asia. I use an EV everyday. I do multiple trips on certain days that double what my normal range would be without ever having any issues. In our Area we have a bunch of these NEVs running around with all different types of commutes.

The costs of converting heavier ICE powered cars are usually much greater than buying an NEV, and you have to be a pretty handy person with a lot of time on your hands to get it done. If you decide to pay someone decent to do the conversion your looking at a minimum of $30k parts and labor not including the donor car.

Remember, people get EV's for many different reasons. Lately the financial aspect seems to take the lead but for a lot of us it is worth it to buy these vehicles to greatly lower our emmisions and carbon footprint and in my case I really don't want American kids to have to go to Iraq and die for me to get around in my daily life. My wife and I have been able to thrive with our NEV for the bulk (95%) of our daily driving, that last 5% is covered by our biodiesel powered wagon (go soy!).

That's fantastic info! I really appeciate your time in replying to my questions.

To clerify some of my points, I don't have an issue with the CAR's safety, but MY safety if the car can't get up the hills here in East Tennessee. People here drive like they just got off the dirt roads pursued by cops with moonshine in the trunk. It's really scary. I don't even ride my road bike here on the roads (too many A-holes that take time out of their busy lives to harass cyclists). :(

And for my actual daily driving needs, I think an NEV might work - which is why I am very interested in cars like the Zenn.

My need is for a vehicle that can handle some of the hills here n East Tennessee (specificially two around my house), travel at least 25 miles total per charge, travel at least 35mph (to avoid getting my butt run over by rednecks) and seat at least 2 (preferably 3-4).

That seems to be right at the limit of the top NEV's off the line and I would be willing right now (today) to purchase one if the cost were around $12k. But as soon as you go over $15k... I find myself balking. :(

I just need some encouragement I think! :)

Thanks, again, for your response!

Jonathan Douglas

johathan

Im not sure but i think with the government incentives ann the Zenn ambassador program you can be in a Zenn for around 10K. Check it out .

greetings from holland

mike lenis