First street-legal Miles ZX40S on the road in Bellingham
The Bellingham Herald has published the story of the first family who have purchased a Miles ZX40S and is already driving it on the road. The car, which is classified as a NEV (although the mother quietly said she's driven it to 41 mph, which is a bit confusing, since most NEVs have an electrically-limited top speed), is considered enough for the family uses: a maximum of 50 miles round trip on roads where the maximum speed is 40 mph.
The family chose the car because, despite the low maximum speed, it runs on an AC instead of DC, which improves performance and it's actually a "real car" that seats four, has four seatbelts and a steel body. They also intend the car to be used for carpooling. The car is actually getting a lot of notice from the Bellingham locals in this quiet Washington town.
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[Source: Bellingham Herald (thanks to Rory for the tip)]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JACEE 5:46PM (2/13/2008)
HI,
My husband and I just bought one of these cars in Vancouver, WA but are having a hard time finding an insurance company to insure it and also DOL is having a hard time calculating the amount of tax to charge us since we bought it for 11,000 but with only 335 miles on it. Do you have any suggestions for either of these problems. Thank you.
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Chris M 8:00PM (4/23/2008)
One big difference between the Miles ZX40 and the Mealer Air Motor Car, is that the ZX40 is actually in production and available, but the MAMC is vaporware. Mealer doesn't even have a complete prototype.
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Simon 7:03PM (1/14/2008)
Oh wow. Something which isn't a hybrid or runs on ethanol. Oh wait, its a NEV *cringe*
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Geoff de Ruiter 12:11AM (1/15/2008)
I have an electric scooter bike (Kaishan 500WS) and it's electrically governed to 32 Km/h but going down hills I have gotten up to 50 km/h so it doesn't surprise me about the 41 mph. Ps if anyone is thinking of a alternative scooter, mine even has a secret off road button that increases the speed to 40 km/h. shhhh, don't tell the fuzz :P
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GreatGreenHammer 10:16PM (1/14/2008)
That is one ugly car. Looks like something driven in a former Soviet bloc country round 1982.
Wonder what the drag on that thing is..Sheesh.
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calebe 11:37AM (1/15/2008)
not bad. it's better than a GEM or some of the other NEV's. Yes, it is a ten year old Japanese design but it still is useful.
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Ernie 5:26PM (1/15/2008)
GreatGreenHammer:
When was the last time you saw a minivan that wasn't ugly?
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Marshall 5:05PM (1/15/2008)
As a former Bellingham resident, I am not surprised when earth-friendly things show up there first. We need more embracing communities like this one.
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