Auto Bailout: Whither the ZENN Car?
Everyone is talking about doling out more cash to a bunch of lame-duck capitalists, and yet we’ve got a perfect Made-In-Canada solution.
The ZENN car , or Zero Emission No Noise car, is an electric vehicle that is being manufactured in Quebec for Quebecers. The sticker price starts around $15,000 and the extras (AC/radio/etc) would put you at about $20,000.
But we’re not supporting it. Nor do I think our current government ever will.
You can’t buy a ZENN car outside of Quebec and I don’t’ know what would happen if you bought one and then drove it to your home outside of Quebec.
Transport Canada is sitting on this thing, not approving the ZENN car for road travel. I guess they expect that electric cars will go the way of the dodo … or the GM EV1 electric car that was forced into extinction in the late 1990s. See "Who killed the electric car " for details.
Why is it that Transport Canada will not approve the ZENN car for personal use? Why is that people in Canada do not really have a choice when it comes to solutions, particularly when THEY’RE MADE BY A 100%-OWNED CANADIAN COMPANY?
Is this the Avro Arrow all over again?
I would imagine the infrastructure is not in place. Big rigs, tractor trailers would squash them like bugs if an accident happened. The death rate would rise significantly. Of course if the highways had of been built with even the minimum of foresight, this wouldn't be such an issue. Separate highways, not just lanes are needed for the future car.
Thanks for the links. The solution isn't ready to be rolled out until every last drop of gas/oil is used up. Big 3 begging for taxpayer money, even though they've had a heads up for a decade. They have to squeeze every cent out of the consumer first. They are not done milking us yet.
The CEO's of the big 3 won't take pay cuts, shareholder cuts, nor will CAW's upper management, it's like Cancer Inc.
While I could support some financial assistance to ZENN, I think government assistance should aggressively encourage the Big 3 to shift more of their production to mass transit, together with the development of the infrastructure it would require.
A large part of the North American problem is the ideology which links freedom to everyone owning a car. We should be shifting our thinking to include a much higher dependence on public transportation, particularly rail. We could save huge funds – not to mention, the environment – simply by having less roads that need maintaining.
I whole-heartedly agree. The Windsor-Quebec corridor will take a great leap forward if we can agree on a rapid transit system and more inner-city transit. Recently, I was in Europe and I noticed that another thing planners do there is that they buy substantially smaller buses. They have a smaller footprint, cost less, and always look more full (and therefore, attractive). All Canadian cities should have a mandate of investigating and buying similar vehicles.
One other thing that comes to mind in this whole discussion is that NONE of the auto companies (the 'big 3' or anyone else) are Canadian companies. If we want solutions, we have to think in terms of developing an economy that's reasonably independent of US decision-makers. I know it's a pipe-dream, but it's why I like ZENN.
Also, we should remind the public is that Honda is not doing badly. The Civic is the country's number one car for a reason: it's affordable, reliable and kind on gas consumption (although it could be better).
Last thought: GM and Ford are not doing as poorly in Europe and elsewhere. It's mainly North America where they're getting killed.
There is one 'but' in all of this: the auto makers are now using pension liabilities as financial blackmail with the province of Ontario. Because Ontario is obligated to support pensions for people who worked for companies that have gone (or will go) under, it will add a burden to the Ontario taxpayer, regardless of which direction we take.
We're damned if we do. Damned if we don't.
The thing that pisses me off about the pension liability is that some bone head somewhere thought 69% would be a good level for equity investment, compared to just 31% for fixed income. This seems like a definite no-no when it comes to prudent financial management.
Thanks for the comment Toe!
I'd challenge the notion with them getting 'squashed like bugs'. SMART cars seem to do OK. Motorcycles are allowed on the road and in my mind, they're 1000 times more dangerous. So why not ZENN cars?
It's because they're slow. No one likes a slow car in this suped-up testosterone-filled world!
Of course, if you work out the average amount of time people spend in their cars (about 600 hours per year) and the average amount that they drive (about 24,000 kilometres per year), that means the average KPH is approximately 40 KPH, which is roughly the top speed for the ZENN car.
Maybe we need to think in terms of range or applications? Maybe they should be permitted within certain boundaries of town where the posted speed limit is almost always less than 60?
Unfortunately, I agree with you about gas. We will have to wave bye-bye to carbon-based fuels before we actually think ahead.
Can I just say such a help to find somebody who really realizes what they are discussing on the internet. You certainly find out how to take an issue to light and make it critical. More people need to read this and understand this section of the story. I can’t believe you aren’t very popular because you definitely have the gift.