Posted on 02/28/2010 10:02:37 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
Marc Korchin thought he had found his mission in life: to benefit the environment and save his fellow Bay Area residents money by selling zero-emission all-electric cars. Two years later, after burning through his life savings, he was forced to close his Berkeley dealership.
And Korchin is not alone. The Bay Area's independent electric car dealerships are in perilous shape, even as electric cars are being hailed as the next big thing by major auto manufacturers.
A number of dealerships, including Zap of Concord, Davis Electric Cars in Davis and EcoMotors in Santa Rosa, appear to have closed within the last two years or so. Ethical Approach Electric Vehicle Center of San Jose has given up selling electric cars and switched to electric off-road vehicles. ELV Motors, in Santa Clara, now markets electric bikes and motor scooters
The phenomenon extends to dealers of conventional brands who offer electric cars on the side. Anthony Batarse, head of the otherwise-thriving Lloyd Wise dealership in Oakland, purchased 10 electric cars in 2008, sold only three and ceased selling the cars. Alameda's O'Connell Electric, the electric division of successful dealership O'Connell Volvo, is barely surviving, said owner Mike O'Connell.
"From the beginning, they were doomed," said Will Beckett, vice president of the Central Coast chapter of the Electric Auto Association. "You can't take them on the freeway. That's why Marc Korchin and his ilk went out of business," said Ed Thorpe, past president of the East Bay chapter of the Electric Auto Association.
"People would come to my dealership and they would see what the car would and wouldn't do," said Korchin. "I'd say, 'Don't you want to help save the planet?'
They'd say, 'Let someone else save the planet. I want something with good speed.' "
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Lots of broken legs, from folks trip'n over them!
They don't pollute... the location of the stupid liberals making such claims. They pollute elsewhere, wherever the NIMBY minded liberals can't see. Liberals want to take all the good stuff we produce and dump on us all their pollution in trade.
But you can always mod them for improved safety...
...or go the other direction and just use the back one-third of a Smart Car as your GayMobile...
Yep, judging from that picture I posted of the flipped smart car, it does not seem like there is much weight in the front end at all.
I also understand, although I am not 100% sure on this, that in an effort to reduce vehicle weight, mechanical linkages to the brakes and the accelerator have been replaced by wifi signal.
Considering interference, malfunction, hacking, and things like this, wireless linkages seem like a disaster waiting to happen...along with many other disasters waiting to happen in this poorly conceived, political vehicle.
Like I say, I’m amazed the thing is even allowed on the roads. Seriously, I wouldn’t let my wife or anyone of my family drive such an unsafe looking car.
That’s my wife... ;)
God Bless America!
Back ‘at ‘cha’! And Happy Trails to you partner! “Happy Trails to you, until we meet again...’’
That pic looks like a glorified golf cart.
“Seriously, if they can’t sell this homomobile in SF...”
Hah. Ironic. I’ve been calling them the same for a while now. They come with changeable body panels so that you can make your car reflect your mood and emotions on any given day.
Not tryin’ to stereotype or insult but that is genuinely, seriously female/homo there.
Old curmudgeons love Happy Trails...;)
You bet! Used to love watching Roy Rogers & Dale Evans as a kid. Man, that was a life-time ago.
No grade ability
they won t go up hill
I’ve seen some electric vehicles in gated retirement communities. They’re called golf carts. People can use them to drive down the private street to the supermarket and such. They’re convenient for people who no longer have a license to drive a conventional car.
LOLOLOL
That looks like fun.
Nice looking truck blackie. I miss my pickup truck. I would never buy a car unless it had a hatchback or was a station wagon because this mama hauls stuff and sedans aren’t ammenable to the lumberyard-specific projects I have each year. This spring it’ll be a new fence on the other side of the house to keep those pesky (but cute) deer from devouring my garden.
Time for another subsidy — free electric cars for everyone. You can pick it up with your Obama money.
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