Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
You wanna know who killed the electric car?
Electric car makers did.
I just did some cruising on the net, and confirmed a few suspicions on the ZAP! Xebra:
...And so on. sigh.
Most of this is from xebraworld.com, which is nominally an enthusiast's site.
Now that I reflect on it from a little tiny bit of distance, it doesn't make much sense for me to drop $12k (or more, I haven't heard back from the dealership on what "other" charges like shipping, paperwork, dealer prep, etc. may be tacked on) on what amounts to a glorified golf cart. Granted, it's electric. Cool. But with a regulated top speed of around 32 MPH, it's not safe for the missions I have in mind, which require at least 35, and preferrably 40 or 50 MPH.
Having spent some time figuring out what exactly they're selling for their twelve thousand dollars, it's not really a winning proposition, at least for me. Too many problems, with a too-basic system, for too much money. I keep thinking to myself, "I could build something better for cheaper, and I'd have fun doing it." Not precisely true, in that I don't yet know how to weld, but given a year or so, I'd probably come up with a better vehicle for less total expenditure.
Each owner's site I've looked at so far has included the same third-world sounding description of squeaks and rattles (which sometimes correspond to major components trying to fall off the vehicle), and lots of little niggles which could have been prevented by spending another dollar or two in construction, or designing something better. Not encouraging.
The troubleshooting guide, which I flipped through, suggests some problems so fundamental as to make me question the assemblers' ability to do anything right. Did the parts get assembled in the right order? Did the welder bother cleaning anything, or just kind of weld over whatever corrosion was on the frame parts? What quality of components are in critical locations, like interconnect cables and cutoff switches?
So, overall, I don't think I'm willing to consider such a questionable expense. There are too many open questions about quality, and it's apparent that marketing at ZAP! is not too concerned about truth (which is the point of marketing, but they're usually closer to reality than this).
All of which is a pity, of course. I had high hopes for the Xebra, but what I know now suggests that they're charging too much for too little.
Posted at 16:32 permanent link category: /gadgets
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater