Laugh with, not at, ZENN cars
If you like to laugh at tiny neighborhood electric vehicles, take a look at the video above. It's got ZENN cars, Canadian comic Rick Mercer and a few good beer jokes. Of course, Mercer also makes the case for NEVs in this video, so don't expect simple ridicules of ZENN's vehicles. Instead, the Canadian government is the target of most of Mercer's wit. A Canadian government that doesn't allow Canadian-built cars to be sold in Canada deserves to be made fun of, Mercer figured when he recorded this bit back in November 2007. Of course, the legal situation is still in flux, as it's up to each province to declare whether these battery-powered boxes are OK on their streets. The comedy, though, is solid - especially the bit about what Canadians consider to be a week's worth of groceries.
The big question, though, is whether the joke may be on ZENN. In a recent interview, ZENN's CEO Ian Clifford is sticking with the updated EESTOR story, saying, "If they stay on schedule they are scheduled to deliver it in 2008." We've been waiting a long time for some sort of definitive news on this ultracapacitor, but nothing has materialized yet. Who will get the last laugh? Thanks to Domenick for the tip!
[Source: Alternative Energy]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim 3:40PM (2/19/2008)
I can't believe that Canada's "Nanny State" is even worse than in the US where you need a "license" from the state for almost everything from birth certificate through death tax. Thanks for bringing us this video. The little NEV looks like fun.
Top-down leftist Socialism/Liberalism/Progressivism SUCKS!
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Karen Pease 4:06PM (2/19/2008)
Re, EEStor: According to ZENN, it's not a delay; the six months was for "development", not "commercialization":
http://tyler.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/9/5/3210174.html#1024391
Not sure I buy that argument, though. Either way, delays are not uncommon among tech startups. In fact, they're pretty much standard. The question is whether they'll end up with anything at all. I'll give them 50-50 odds.
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Sayyad Glassford 4:57PM (2/19/2008)
The news is not good. It seems that the current bunch of idiots who run things up here in Canada want to change the definition of a Low Speed Vehicle from this:
"Low Speed Vehicles are designed for on road use, have a regulated top speed of 40 KPH and are restricted to roads with a posted speed limit of 50KPH."
To this:
"low-speed vehicle" means a vehicle, other than a restricted-use motorcycle or a vehicle imported temporarily for special purposes, that is designed for use primarily on streets and roads where access and the use of other classes of vehicles are controlled by law or agreement"
Basically, according to the people at EVCO (Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa), this will mean that LSEVs will only be allowed on private property (golf courses, farms, national parks etc.) and no longer on roads with other traffic. So you can forget about going grocery shopping in your Zenn. EVCO has a page up about it and their campaign against the proposed changes: http://www.evco.ca/lsev.html
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Randy C. 10:28PM (2/19/2008)
From what I understand there use to be 2 NEV manufactures in Canada. The first is ZENN and the second was Dynasty Electric Car Co. makers of the IT. Dynasty got so fed up with the bureaucracy they packed up and moved to where the market is, the U.S. If the Canadian government had blocked one more attempt by ZENN to get their car approved they were going to leave as well.
This also shows that the Canadian government has the same problem as the U.S. government. They are under the influence of the oil and car companies. Companies that would prefer that electric cars didn't exist. They trick the government into making decisions that are detrimental to society and pad their pocketbooks.
I would think that the Canadian government would be proud to have their own "made in Canada" car company and encourage its prosperity.
P.S. This is one of my favorite You Tube videos. Whenever I need chuckle about EV politics I watch it. I just wish the sound was better, I have to turn up all of the volume controls all the way up just to barely hear it.
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Sayyad Glassford 1:07AM (2/20/2008)
Hey Randy, check out the CBC's site:
http://www.cbc.ca/mercerreport/backissues.php
The episode in question is Season 5 Episode 7 (November 20th 2007), about two-thirds down the left side menu. It'll be the sixth clip from the top in the middle window when it loads. The CBC apparently doesn't understand these newfangled hyperlink things.
Anyways it's not a real conspiracy. Nobody's tricking the government. And this particular government doesn't have any made in Canada pride about anything.
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lark 11:36AM (2/21/2008)
@Tim:
'Canada's "Nanny State" ... Top-down leftist Socialism/Liberalism/Progressivism SUCKS!'
Uh, it's the CONSERVATIVE federal govt that was dragging its heels on this thing. BC approved it 7 years ago, and that was under an NDP (left) provincial administration.
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Michael 12:56PM (2/24/2008)
Hey. I would like to propose a public rally to shame the Ontario government into reversing their silly stance on electric vehicles. Does anyone have experience with this? Do I need to register somewhere for example to hold a rally?
Any thoughtful assistance is appreciated.
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