a good 4 seater electric car / cart??
 

After paying $40 to fill the tank of my little Acura, listening to the body count in the Middle East and reading about record oil company profits, I kinda sorta lost it.

I went to the local electric car dealer and tried out a Zap Xebra. I was ready to buy. Sadly, it was shit. I have shoe boxes that are more sturdily constructed. It was all I could do to keep my kids from literally peeling off pieces of the car. And it was uncomfortable. You pretty much sit on the floor to drive it.

90% of my driving is in town. I could get by with a car that never went more than 35 mph. I LOVE the idea that the Xebra plugs into a common household electrical outlet.

So is there a descent electric car/cart that holds 4 people, keeps the weather out and won't fall apart in a good fart? I'm going to look at the GEM next.

(Yes, I know batteries are full of evil chemicals, cars are mde of plastic and plastic is made from oil, etc.)

You could always wait for one of these:

http://www.zapworld.com/ZAPCMS/uploa...es/Side2LG.jpg

I'm not sure the GEM is legal everywhere. . . might want to check on that first.

it's a shame the electric version of the Ariel Atom is $100,000, because it's the best one out there. 0-60 faster than a Ferrari and has a 100 mile range ;)

The Tesla Roadster is a little slower (0-60 in a little over 4 seconds), but includes creature comforts missing in the Atom, like a windshield, a second seat, doors, sheet metal, a radio, and GPS. It's only $97,000


My point is that there is no such thing as a well made electric car that is also cheap. It simply doesnt' exist. If you want one even approaching the quality of your Acura, expect to pay higher-than-Acura prices for it.

Might I suggest a motor scooter instead? They cost about 3-4 bucks to fill up and get astonishing gas mileage.

I live in a place where city council members drive GEM's as a perk(?) of office. Ya. They are legal here.

Can I fit my wife and two kids on a motorscooter? Rock on!

Oh, and I have serious wood for the ZapX. They had me at "Photovoltaic glass."

I saw a thing on tv that talked about this some
http://www.calcars.org/priusplus.html
its a prius hybrid car that has been modified with bigger batteries and the ability to plug into the wall.

on most city trips it uses nothing but electricity

Yeah, the failing of the PriusPlus system is the cost. Again! You are taking a $25K car and putting another $20K into it just for some bigger batteries and a charging adapter. No thanks. If they could do it for $5K which is a lot closer to the actual cost of doing it then they would have a lot more customers. It is still not a full electric, but it is a step in the right direction.

There are a few plug-in electric vehicles in the pipeline. Ford is working on the Volt (not that I'd buy a Ford) and other manufacturers are stepping up to the plate as well.

If you are willing to swallow your disgust at pump prices and morally questionable wars and wait a few years, you might be able to buy a more reasonable plug-in.