On a particular Saturday morning, a couple weeks ago, we left the house early and headed towards Burlington, VT. At the red lights in Montpelier, corner of River Street, I happened to look over to my left, and at Walker Motors, I saw these little automobiles and trucks that had the notations on the doors that these vehicles were electric.
As my head swung back for a second look, Chad asked me what I was looking at – upon my description of what I had just seen, we turned the shinny black Vibe around and headed back on our tracks, only to stop at the dealership and investigate further.
Once we were out of the car, it took only seconds before a young lady by the name of Amanda Pelkey, a Master Certified Salesperson at the Walker Motors dealership, introduced herself, and began explaining about the cars, the two different models, how they worked, and even showed us the ins and outs of the vehicles. She went and retrieved a set of keys and Chad did not miss the opportunity to try the Xebra 3-wheeled electric utility truck.
Amanda, our go-to-girl, who has a wealth of knowledge on these electric vehicles, also explained that they are the first dealership to offer these all-electric vehicles in Vermont.
Chad said the utility truck was a bit on the small and compact side as far as the driver compartment goes, and said it was difficult to get used to as he’s used to driving a standard vehicle and the pedals were positioned very close together. Amanda explained that it was similar to driving a golf cart. The vehicles are virtually noise-free; however Chad said he did hear a bit of noise while at the wheel… Again, Amanda explained that was the tire-pavement contact.
These vehicles are great for zipping around town, however due to the low speed they presently obtain, it’s not a highway vehicle; by this I mean that it’s a great car to drop the kids off to daycare, get the groceries, etc… but for now, these two particular types are not meant for long highway usage.
However, Amanda did give us a sneak peak at a high performance electric sporty car called the Zap-X, which is engineered by Lotus Design. This will be the most advanced electric vehicle of its kind once it hits the dealerships.
This vehicle has it all – style, speed, advanced battery management, all wheel drive, and 644 horsepower. The car will have a 155 mile per hour speed with 0 to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds. And Zap claims that with a 10 minute recharge of the batteries you will be able to obtain a 350 mile range between battery recharge.
Seems like a car of the future, but the only downside I can see is that it’s been a concept car for quite some time now… and according to their website they still do not have a set date for getting this out into the marketplace. Back in January of 2007, Zap had officially made the announcement of the Zap-X Lotus-designed electric wonder.
Zap has been the leader for electric advanced technology vehicles and this since 1994 delivering more that 100,000 electric vehicles in more than 75 countries worldwide. With their headquarters in Santa Rosa, California, their strategy is to serve the ever growing amount of consumers who are seeking a more efficient vehicle.
With the high costs of gasoline, maintenance, etc., Amanda explained the money-saving opportunities by owning an electric vehicle; no more oil changes, no mufflers to replace, etc.
If you are traveling across Vermont, stop by and visit Amanda at Walker Motors in Montpelier, or if Amanda is busy with another customer, don’t hesitate to ask any of the Walker staff information on these vehicles.
I know when my present lease is up; I will be looking for a Zap dealer in the area who will hopefully be offering the awesome looking Zap-X.
Karen Eryou
July 15, 2008
