EVERETT – If the next decade brings electric vehicles zipping up and down I-5, consider the ZENN to be a small, 25 mile-per-hour step toward that future.
The funny-looking, French-bodied car is even stranger looking under the hood. No hulking engine block, no radiator, no place to pour in oil. Just a couple of big batteries and a smallish motor mounted underneath. The car’s name is an acronym for “zero emission, no noise.”
Oh, and around toward the back of the car, you’ll find a plug-in point exactly where most cars have a gas cap.
Which is the secret to the cost of driving the ZENN: a penny or two a mile, compared to at least 10 cents a mile in fuel costs alone for gas-powered vehicles.
Steve Ahmann, owner of Everett-based Pacific Power Batteries, shows off the car with a mixture of wonder and realism. While he’s hoping to sell a few, he admits it’s not the perfect solution for most drivers.
“It’s clearly not for everyone. It’s designed for people who are willing to make some changes in their life with how they want to drive,” Ahmann said.
People such as Kathleen Root of Anacortes, who ordered a ZENN through Pacific Power Batteries last week. She has been driving an Audi on her one-mile commute to work.
“For my regular car, it gets horrible gas mileage just around town,” Root said. “That kind of driving is what I do 90 percent of the time.”
Root, a part-time school counselor and small business owner, said she walks to work at times, but wet weather doesn’t make that practical all the time.
Ahmann said someone who lives in Everett or Mukilteo and works within five or 10 miles of home could similarly benefit by switching to an electric car, basically, anyone who doesn’t commute via a freeway.
That’s because the ZENN, classified as a Neighborhood Electric vehicle, is limited by law to go no faster than 25 miles per hour, though its speedometer actually tops out at 26. This year’s Legislature passed a law to raise the limit for such vehicles up to 35 mph.
Ahmann’s not transforming Pacific Power Batteries into a car dealership, but the cars attract interested customers, and he has a common concern for the environment. The company has tried to improve the energy efficiency of its stores and warehouse, and it accepts consumers’ lead and scrap batteries for recycling.
“We have competitors, and we want to distinguish ourselves from them. It helps us appeal to a different marketplace,” said Ahmann, whose business has four locations between Everett and Mount Vernon and may soon open franchises elsewhere.
In addition to the ZENN, the business carries other alternative energy devices, as well as an electric scooter called the Evader. Costing about $2,500, it can go up to 30 mph for up to 30 miles on a charge.
The store also carries electric utility vehicles – essentially, rugged golf carts that aren’t legal on city streets. Additionally, Pacific Power Batteries is working with Everett Community College to convert a conventional auto into an electric-powered car.
But the two-seater ZENN, retailing for about $17,000, is Ahmann’s head-turning vehicle. With a plastic body fitted over an aluminum crash-frame, it’s well less than five feet tall and just 10 feet long. It does run quietly, though the road noise is noticeable. There’s no gear-changing stick, just a control button for drive, neutral and reverse.
Canada-based ZENN Motor Co. says it has shipped more than 75 cars to date. The startup firm pledges to plant 25 trees each time its car gets a test drive and 250 for each car sold.
Ahmann said he obviously hopes to sell more electric cars, but he’s enjoying giving customers a peek into the possible future of cars at his store.
“Everyone expected the electric car to just appear and be a big step. It’s not going to be like that,” Ahmann said. “But this is a small step.”
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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