The 2007 Santa Monica Alternative Car and Transportation Expo was one event that I just couldn’t pass up this year. Located at the Barker Hangar of the Santa Monica Air Center, I was treated with a conversation with the owner of a Zap Xebra Zero three-wheel electric vehicle who was just leaving to take his kids home 10 miles away. The car was powder blue and the design had the personality of an animated car by Pixar.
Many other electric car enthusiasts were also out in force for this event. Some of the electric vehicle vendors included Phoenix Motors, Miles, Zenn, Go-One and Good Earth. Perhaps the hottest electric car, however, was the Electrum Spyder that made its world debut. The Electrum Spyder is a hot sports car that will give the Tesla a run for its money and it’s starting price will be just $70,000.
A couple of hydrogen car manufacturers also made a showing at this event including Honda and DaimlerChrysler. As I’ve driven both vehicles before, I wasn’t inclined to stand in line for both this time, but did take another spin in the Honda FCX, which had a much shorter line than the DaimlerChrysler Mercedes F-Cell B-Class vehicle. For some reason I’m still not sure of people are fascinated with the Mercedes fuel cell car, even though the Honda FCX offers an equally good ride.
One treat that I do need to mention is that the Petersen Automotive Museum of Los Angeles brought out one of the few remaining General Motors EV1 electric cars that escaped being crushed a few years back. It was good to see hydrogen cars and electric cars coexist at this event and I think the future will be bright for both types of vehicles.
I suppose they brought out the EV-1 to show how NOT to build an electric car. Too bad GM didn’t crush all those pieces of crap, recently (and accurately) named by Time as one of the 50 worst cars ever built. How would YOU like to own a car that can’t guarantee to get you to your destination 35 miles away and back home again, and only costs three times as much as a superior Hoonda Civic and needs a new $20,000 battery pack every five years. Still wondering why GM wanted to crush the EV-s?
Oh, yes, they also failed Federal safety standards and also couldn’t
legally be sold.