What in the heck is this thing?

A long while ago, I got the idea to get myself an electric car. I have been driving my old Honda Civic because my even older Volkswagen Bug was literally falling apart. And I didn't want to dump a whole lot of money into either car. A lightweight, cheap electric vehicle seemed to be the way to go. There is just one problem ... there is no such thing as a cheap electric car in the United States (we just have to f*ck up everything).

If I lived anywhere in China, or Europe, I could take my pick. But here in the States, I have to settle for the very few vehicles that have been imported. Heck, I would have imported a vehicle myself, if that sort of thing was legal (which it is not). What I found is that there are only a small handful of electric vehicles imported here. And most of those companies have failed. So sure, I could get a 5 year old electric car off of eBay, and start repairing it before I even get to drive it. But I really want something new. Something not yet rusted!

Zap Motors had long ago produced some electric cars (such as the Xebra) and they had a new, even uglier, four-wheeled beast called "the Urbee". Not to be confused with a 3D printed car which is also called "Urbee". But printed right there on the specifications page was "not available in the United States". After a lot of Googling, I found that this car is sold all over in China, and under dozens of different makes and models. And they are not all the same. Many of them have doors that swing the opposite direction, different sized motors, and even some with gasoline engines. 

Then I took some of those images that I had saved off and played the reverse Google image search game. To my surprise, I was actually able to uncover a few dealers in the United States who sell something *like* this car. Note, these are not the same car, but are obviously built from some of the same parts from China.

Something like a Biro?

Suicide doors?

At their roots were a car that resembled a little Italian car known as a Biro. This car was a bit more stylish, had a removable battery pack that rolled out of the back (cool), all clear door panels, very narrow tires, and a hug price tag!

But this car was a different sort of beast, no matter what you call it.

I found two reputable dealers, each with their own version of the vehicle. One, is Mullen Motors, and the other is Atomic Vehicles.  Both of these companies sell their own version of the car, and will likely tell you why their version is better! But make no mistake about it, they are not in cahoots with one another, and they each deal with their own independent suppliers. One of them even had two vehicles on-hand (in red and blue) but the price quote about knocked me over (don't expect these to go 'cheaply').

Luckily, I just happened to find a guy selling one in North Carolina, and he was asking "retail price" for it ($6,000). That's the price I like! And I went right to work buying it. It was sold to me as a Massimo Jonway MSE-220. The seller had bought it from Massimo and had only put 11 miles on it before putting it up for sale in his ATV shop. Don't bother trying to look up this model, you won't find it. And if you ask Massimo about this car, they will tell you that they no longer sell it, and to go away. Fair enough, Massimo. And while the VIN plate says that the car was made by Zap, that may also be a lie. I called and spoke with some engineers with questions about the controller and the motor, and the engineers told me that they hadn't imported these yet. What?

After a few weeks, my vehicle arrived. But I couldn't take it out on the road because I needed to get plates. And I knew this would not be fun.

At the title agency, I slid my "manufacturer certificate of origin" across the counter, and spent the next hour or so arguing with the clerks over the legality of this car. They didn't know the difference between an under-speed vehicle, and a low speed vehicle. In Ohio, if it goes under 20 miles per hour, it's an under-speed class, and you can only drive it on your own land or in some parks. If it goes 21-25mph, it's a low-speed vehicle and it can be driven on public roads where the speed limit it 35mph or less. This is all in Ohio Revised Code, and the Internet, and probably in the big damned binders collecting dust at the title agency. But don't take the laws word for it! Call the main State title office and waste my time!

An hour later, I finally had my title. It was just like any other auto title, except it said "LOW SPEED VEHICLE" in the notes area. Getting plates and registration was easy. And with that, I took to the road!  See my post about "driving experiences".