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ZENN Cars and the Miracle Battery
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| Nokturnal |
Is this all too good to be true? An electric car made in Quebec that you can't buy in Canada.
About The ZENN Car
http://www.zenncars.com/
What sets Zero Emission No Noise car apart from the crowd? Unlike other neighborhood electric vehicles, it has the form and features of a real car: it’s a fully-enclosed, three-door hatchback with a performance-proven, steel-reinforced body. That translates into a tremendous safety advantage.
ZENN not only looks like a car; it performs like one, too. Equipped with front-wheel drive, brisk acceleration and capable of achieving a regulated maximum speed of 25 mph (40 km/h), it keeps pace with traffic on local streets to get you where you’re going safely and in good time. And ZENN’s battery efficiency gives you the freedom to cover a lot of ground: approximately 35 miles per charge (56 kilometres).
At the same time, ZENN delivers the environmental advantages of an electric vehicle, generating zero greenhouse-gas emissions. Compare that to the 657 pounds of regulated tailpipe emissions produced by the typical gas-powered car every year.
And ZENN is protected by a comprehensive one-year warranty, the best on the market for its class. That warranty is backed by our commitment to fully support ZENN owners, day in and day out.
Here is a great clip from the Rick Mercer Report on this little car:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M88k6Ipp3c
About It's Battery
http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/18086/
The company boldly claims that its system, a kind of battery-ultracapacitor hybrid based on barium-titanate powders, will dramatically outperform the best lithium-ion batteries on the market in terms of energy density, price, charge time, and safety. Pound for pound, it will also pack 10 times the punch of lead-acid batteries at half the cost and without the need for toxic materials or chemicals, according to the company.
There is a petition on the ZENN site to help make the vehicles legal to drive in Canada: http://www.zenncars.com/letsgo/
And if you want to do even more than that, feel free to contact your provincial minister of transportation:
ONTARIO
- Jim Bradley, [email protected][/email]
ALBERTA
Luke Ouellette, [email protected]
MANITOBA
Ron Lemieux, [email protected][/email]
NEW BRUNSWICK
Denis Landry, [email protected]
NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR
Dianne C Whalen, [email protected]
NOVA SCOTIA
Murray K Scott, [email protected]
PEI
Ron MacKinley, [email protected]
QUEBEC
Julie Boulet, [email][email protected]
SASKATCHEWAN
Wayne Elhard, [email][email protected]
If they are safe, and keep up with urban traffic, I am all for them. And if they eventually make a highway speed vehicle, then that's great too, but if they can't keep up on the road then they could pose a safety risk. And if the battery technology lives up to it's claims, we could be looking at a massive revolution in the auto industry. |
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| SuspicionVandit |
| quote: | | ...ZENN not only looks like a car; it performs like one, too. Equipped with front-wheel drive,... |
O rly? |
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| Moral Hazard |
| I'm confused... if the maximum speed is 40km/h and the speed limit on city streets ranges from 50km/h to 70km/h then how is it that this toy, um I mean car, "keeps pace with traffic." |
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| SkyHigh |
| quote: | Originally posted by Moral Hazard
I'm confused... if the maximum speed is 40km/h and the speed limit on city streets ranges from 50km/h to 70km/h then how is it that this toy, um I mean car, "keeps pace with traffic." |
Maybe they mean keep the pace with the bicycles in china :confused: |
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| mezzir |
seriously, go watch who killed the electric car
they can do way ing better than that
25mph and 35 miles/charge tops, you kidding me? |
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| Moral Hazard |
| quote: | Originally posted by mezzir
who killed the electric car
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| lücid |
max speed of 25 mph is nothing. it might be okay during rush hour in really congested city streets in larger cities where you really can't go more than 25 mph, but how many people want to buy a car that will only be acceptable for that situation?
max speed of 40-50 mph would be a lot more logical, i think. you still couldn't drive it on freeways but it would at least be able to handle most city streets. |
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| Project-K |
| quote: | Originally posted by lücid
max speed of 25 mph is nothing. it might be okay during rush hour in really congested city streets in larger cities where you really can't go more than 25 mph, but how many people want to buy a car that will only be acceptable for that situation?
max speed of 40-50 mph would be a lot more logical, i think. you still couldn't drive it on freeways but it would at least be able to handle most city streets. |
It's being designed primarily for urban centers where the traffic is dense and slow, so that shouldn't be that big of a problem. Obviousely this isn't the ideal car for subburbs, but if everyone who drives in congested traffic at 25mph switched to this, it would make a big difference. The goal is to reduce smog where the problem is at it's worst, not to create a one-time solution that solves all the problems.
Last I heard, their research teams were working on getting a faster model. This is just the first prototype. If this technology proves itself on the roads, you can bet it will devellop and improve. That's why it's important that this car breaks into the market. |
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| blacknoizybox |
| despite the zero-emission feature, i don't like the idea of being limited to milage. what if i decided to go out of town all of a sudden.... it unless they invent a ultrahigh capacity battery (like 1000 miles/charge) |
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| Nokturnal |
It takes less than 10 minutes to recharge and you can simply plug it into any outlet, anywhere. So you would never be in a bind in the city.
Plus this is not a highway vehicle, those are future models. So you would not need that kind of range. |
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| mezzir |
i give you, the saturn ev1
seriously, watch who killed the electric car
they had a car that could go highway speeds for 80 miles and was rechargable (although i admit not in a regular outlet), and this was about a decade ago
plus, people have hacked hybrids to run off battery and charge with wall outlets |
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