New Ohio law makes it street-legal:
Thanks to a recent Ohio law change, three-wheeled vehicles like this prototype electric car designed by Applied Technologies Inc. can be built without some standard safety features.
By LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER
Craig Winn has been around the automotive industry long enough to realize that transportation revolutions aren't necessarily sparked in the boardrooms of giant automakers.
They often begin with ideas, and they usually flow from quirky, small companies.
This morning, Mr. Winn will roll another man's idea out of his Maumee engineering firm and give the world a four-hour sneak peak at the new ZAP Alias, a three-wheeled, all-electric vehicle that might just send a shock through automakers around the world. It is a prototype, and when completed, it will carry two people and be road-ready.
"This is a step to getting to an electric car," said Mr. Winn, a former executive with Chrysler and Magna Steyr International Inc. He now owns Applied Technologies Inc. in Maumee's Arrowhead Park.
"My company's been in engineering 20-some years with the auto industry and suppliers, so this gives us a chance to play with some other solutions."
The vehicle Mr. Winn will roll out this morning is an exterior representation of the Alias - the kind of model auto companies put on display at auto shows to pique interest in their designs.
It will have no powertrain or interior features when it is shipped this afternoon to its Santa Rosa, Calif. owners, ZAP, a 14-year-old, publicly held company that produces and markets alternative modes of transportation.
"A lot of people say [makers of electric cars] have been waiting for technology, but in truth, we've been waiting for high gas prices," said Gary Starr, 52, founder of ZAP, an acronym for Zero Air Pollution.
The Alias, which ZAP plans to sell next year for about $33,000, has two seats side-by-side, three wheels, and a power pack that relies on advanced lithium-ion batteries. The company claims the highway-rated vehicle will be able to travel in excess of 100 mph, and have a range in excess of 100 miles before needing a charge, which Mr. Starr said would cost less than a dollar in most markets.
"The larger automobile companies want us to think about range, but 20 percent of all fleet usage is under 30 miles per day, and if there's a second car in the family, 80 percent of driving should be under 30 miles per day," Mr. Starr said. "It's intended as a second car."
Families, Mr. Starr said, would only take a gas-powered car when they are driving long distances.
Because the Alias has fewer than four wheels, it's technically classified as a motorcycle, which means that it doesn't have a lot of safety features standard on a car, such as air bags. The designation saves on development costs and is the reason a number of electric vehicles, including other ZAP vehicles and a competitor made in Ohio - Myers Motors NMG, or No More Gas - choose the three-wheeled design.
Just this month, the Ohio legislature approved a change in the law that will make vehicles like the Alias and NMG legal on Ohio's roadways. The vehicles were illegal until the legislature changed the word "saddle" to "seat" in the definition of motorcycle in the Ohio revised code.
"That's good news for Myers Motors," said Ron Freund, chairman of the Electric Automobile Association, a California non-profit that advocates for electric vehicles like those made by Myers Motors of Tallmadge, Ohio. "That gives them a leg up, now that their vehicles are now legal in their own state."
Like the Alias, the NMG has two wheels in the front for steering, and a wheel in the rear that drives the car. Its fiber-glass body is hand-shaped and is available in a wide variety of colors, and the vehicle retails for $36,000. However, while it can travel at highway speeds, its range is limited to about 30 miles because it relies on more traditional batteries, according to the company's Web site, http://www.meyersmotors.com.
Dana Myers, owner of Myers Motors, could not be reached for comment, but the NMG has a fan in Mr. Freund.
"I've driven them and they're amazing. The cars are so cool looking," Mr. Freund said.
ZAP also makes lower-cost three-wheeled electrics, such as its Xebra Sedan, which has two seats, a range of about 25 miles, a top speed of 40 mph, and a price tag of $11,000. Unlike the NMG, the Xebra isn't legal on highways.
Electric cars aren't new. In fact, the earliest electric cars appeared on the market about the same time as did General Motors Corp. 100 years ago. The early electric cars were appealing because they contained fewer moving parts than cars with internal combustion engines and were far less prone to breakdown. The Anderson Electric Car Company sold Detroit Electric-brand vehicles in the United States from 1907 until as late as 1939.
Both electricity and steam were considered viable fuel alternatives for the automobile early on, but gasoline won out because it was readily available, easily transportable, and inexpensive.
Those electric vehicles suffered from two main problems: range and refueling. The key is the battery.
Efforts are under way to find new battery technology - such as lighter-weight lithium ion batteries - to high-demand uses such as automobiles while controlling costs. But recent electric efforts, such as GM's Chevy Volt, set to make its debut next year, are struggling with power requirements, weight, and cost.
ZAP's Mr. Starr said efforts are under way to secure a manufacturing facility for the Alias and the company's other electric vehicles, and he did not rule out bringing such a facility to the automobile industry's traditional home in Michigan and Ohio. The company previously purchased the rights to the Detroit Electric brand. Just last week, ZAP sold half of its battery systems business to concentrate the company's efforts more on electric vehicles.
"In April, we announced that we have already sold more than 700 vehicles for the year, and that's more than we sold for all of last year," Mr. Starr said. "We also announced that we've got back orders of more than $6.8 million. Every week is a record-breaking week right now for orders."
Mr. Freund sees large-scale acceptance of electric automobiles on the horizon, thanks to recent developments in battery technology.
"It looks like Silicon Valley is going to be showing Detroit how to do it again," Mr. Freund said. "Detroit was caught flat-footed once more."
Contact Larry P. Vellequette at:
lvellequette@theblade.com
or 419-724-6091.
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... /806160335
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