Just like millions of other Americans, I'm desparately but optimistically searching for an electric car that I can afford and that will be available before 2010 when most manufacturers are promising to be in production. No luck so far, but I'm learing a lot along the way.
For instance, I've learned another lesson from the book "If It Looks Too Good to be True." From the chapter I just read, we have promising news from a company called Spark-EV. They've been taking orders for their new all-electric SUV, the Zotye, a car that seems to offer everything other manufacturers are striving for and hoping to deliver two years from now. For a mere $25K the Zotye has room for four with cargo space left over. Its lithium polymer battery runs well over 100 miles on a single charge, and can do it at 75 MPH. And best of all, the manufacturer has been promising 60-day delivery.
All that and the Zotye is cute, too!
Unfortunately, the Zotye doesn't exist. The company's owner, Michael J. Papp, is sitting in prison after bilking Houston and Little Rock dealerships out of more than $100,000 for cars he never delivered. In fact, when Papp repeatedly failed to deliver the cars, the owners of the Little Rock dealership tracked him down and discovered he was running an internet scam out of his home and filing for bankruptcy.
The whole thing is infuriating, frustrating, and sad. But it's been an expensive learning experience for some people. For myself, I learned to look more closely and pay closer attention to details. If I had I might have seen the exhaust pipe on the Zotye's photo. Electric cars don't produce exhaust, so I guess this one is just for blowing smoke.