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Electric cars in Houston
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:07 am
by andrewjackson
I noticed a new business going into one of the warehouses near my loft in Houston a few weeks ago. Over the weekend they put up a banner with a website address.
http://houstonelectriccars.net/
They will soon be selling electric cars out of this old warehouse in East Downtown Houston. It seems very strange and their website is no different. Read the text and judge for yourself but the syntax and layout are very odd.
Their first model for sale is the Zenn. It is an all-electric plug-in car with the body made in France and then shipped to Quebec where the electric drive train is installed. It has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and will apparently retail for about $17,000 to $20,000. It supposedly has a range of about 40-50 miles.
They have two cars sitting on their lot right now behind a chain link fence so you can't get too close to them but both have big Slow Moving Vehicle triangle decals on the back. I'm guessing that might be a requirement for Neighborhood Electric Vehicles.
ZENN is also supposed to be coming out with a full-speed electric car soon with some new battery/charging technology created by a company here in Texas. This new model will supposedly go 70 mph, charge up in 5 minutes from an accumulator you have in your garage, and have a range of 250 miles. That one is projected to go on sale next year.
I'll be keeping an eye on this place to see if they get much business. It is a strange part of town for a retail business. The area is mostly warehouses and commercial businesses.
Re: Electric cars in Houston
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:14 am
by ulysses5019
andrewjackson wrote:I noticed a new business going into one of the warehouses near my loft in Houston a few weeks ago. Over the weekend they put up a banner with a website address.
Houstonelectriccars.net
They will soon be selling electric cars out of this old warehouse in East Downtown Houston. It seems very strange and their website is no different. Read the text and judge for yourself but the syntax and layout are very odd.
Their first model for sale is the Zenn. It is an all-electric plug-in car with the body made in France and then shipped to Quebec where the electric drive train is installed. It has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and will apparently retail for about $17,000 to $20,000. It supposedly has a range of about 40-50 miles.
[img]
http://houstonelectriccars.net/images/r ... ll.jpg.jpg[/img]
They have two cars sitting on their lot right now behind a chain link fence so you can't get too close to them but both have big Slow Moving Vehicle triangle decals on the back. I'm guessing that might be a requirement for Neighborhood Electric Vehicles.
ZENN is also supposed to be coming out with a full-speed electric car soon with some new battery/charging technology created by a company here in Texas. This new model will supposedly go 70 mph, charge up in 5 minutes from an accumulator you have in your garage, and have a range of 250 miles. That one is projected to go on sale next year.
I'll be keeping an eye on this place to see if they get much business. It is a strange part of town for a retail business. The area is mostly warehouses and commercial businesses.
Maybe the Nigerians found a place to invest their money other than spam.
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:25 am
by BackInTex
Good luck selling a car in Houston that only goes 25 mph with a range of only 40-50 miles and with no A/C. Espesially for that price. A golf cart is a much better investment.
The second vechicle shows some promising specs, but still, in Houston, A/C is required to be marketable. So we'll have to see how the second vehicle handles that.
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:34 am
by andrewjackson
BackInTex wrote:Good luck selling a car in Houston that only goes 25 mph with a range of only 40-50 miles and with no A/C. Espesially for that price. A golf cart is a much better investment.
The second vechicle shows some promising specs, but still, in Houston, A/C is required to be marketable. So we'll have to see how the second vehicle handles that.
The current model has A/C. Where did you get the idea that it didn't?
I agree that the market here will be limited but as a second car in some situations it might work.
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:39 am
by BackInTex
andrewjackson wrote:BackInTex wrote:Good luck selling a car in Houston that only goes 25 mph with a range of only 40-50 miles and with no A/C. Espesially for that price. A golf cart is a much better investment.
The second vechicle shows some promising specs, but still, in Houston, A/C is required to be marketable. So we'll have to see how the second vehicle handles that.
The current model has A/C. Where did you get the idea that it didn't?
I agree that the market here will be limited but as a second car in some situations it might work.
I, uh, just, uh, assumed. My bad. If they have A/C, especially the second model, it may do very well. I predict it WILL do very well if the specs prove to be reliable. 70 mph, 5 minute charge, 250 mile range... that is dream worthy. I would buy one.
Re: Electric cars in Houston
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 9:49 am
by Here's Fanny!
andrewjackson wrote:Their first model for sale is the Zenn. It is an all-electric plug-in car with the body made in France and then shipped to Quebec where the electric drive train is installed. It has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and will apparently retail for about $17,000 to $20,000. It supposedly has a range of about 40-50 miles.
That pretty much sounds like a really expensive Rascal.
Re: Electric cars in Houston
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:01 am
by TheCalvinator24
Here's Fanny! wrote:andrewjackson wrote:Their first model for sale is the Zenn. It is an all-electric plug-in car with the body made in France and then shipped to Quebec where the electric drive train is installed. It has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and will apparently retail for about $17,000 to $20,000. It supposedly has a range of about 40-50 miles.
That pretty much sounds like a really expensive Rascal.
Made me laugh.
Re: Electric cars in Houston
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:04 am
by ulysses5019
Here's Fanny! wrote:andrewjackson wrote:Their first model for sale is the Zenn. It is an all-electric plug-in car with the body made in France and then shipped to Quebec where the electric drive train is installed. It has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and will apparently retail for about $17,000 to $20,000. It supposedly has a range of about 40-50 miles.
That pretty much sounds like a really expensive Rascal.
And all models have "air" conditioning too.