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72 Build Your Own Electric Vehicleof the roadster. The Tesla Model S is planned for 2010 delivery. The estimated cost is$60,000 with a $30,000 model planned later on.ZAP produces several electric vehicles, most notably, the Xebra three-wheel electricvehicle, which is classified as a motorcycle. Top speed is 40 mph and costs about $10,000.According to reports, it has sold about 200 through U.S. dealers. The ZAP-X (www.zapworld.com) is a four door crossover engineered by Lotus with a price tag of around$60,000. No production date has been given.ZENN (www.zenncars.com) has a fully-enclosed three-door hatchback low-speedvehicle (LSV). I met Ian Clifford, the President of ZENN when I worked for NYPA in2003. We talked about the possibility of using the vehicle for the Clean CommuteProgram at NYPA. ZENN is now planning a launch in fall 2009. It will be the firstelectric car to use the revolutionary EEStor ultra-capacitor.Smith electric vehicles also produces a 4.5 and 7.5 ton electric truck. The Might-Etruck is a heavy duty electric work truck.Canadian Company Dynasty EV has a neighborhood electric vehicle with a designreminiscent of the Volkswagen Beetle.REVA is an Indian-built city car. The REVA is sold in the United Kingdom as theG-Wiz as well as in several European countries. In the United States, it is classified as aNEV or LSV and is limited for use as a neighborhood electric vehicle. The CityEl (www.cityel.de) is a three-wheeled EV, produced in Germany. Then there is Modec (www.modec.co.uk/) which is based in the United Kingdom and they build electric deliveryvans.There are many independent companies that are selling electric cars. The free marketeven shows how internationally, electric cars are increasing in size. There are othercompanies out there, so research the best one for you!This is a tell tale sign of the market for electric cars.Low-Speed Electric VehiclesPeople should realize that electric vehicles are not just for the rich. Low-speed vehiclesare priced at between $8,000 and $10,000 and only go 25 miles per hour. When I workedfor the State of New York, after the full-performance electric cars were recalled, weplaced several thousand low-speed electric vehicles in the state. Today, there are over20,000 low-speed, neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) on the road today. While theywere not on-road (highway) vehicles, they reduced vehicle emissions. It had an effect.From Battery Park City to the Town Niagara, from the State University of New York atAlbany to Staten Island Zoo, these electric vehicles were great in city applications.While the enclosures for those vehicles were not appropriate for the Northeast, manylow-speed electric vehicles today have enclosures that are like doors. While they areonly allowed on roads that do not exceed 35 miles per hour, there are plenty of areas inthe country where they work just fine. They are and were perfect for universitycampuses, large facilities that need zero-emission indoor vehicles, shuttles in corporatemulti-building campuses, and even the military. A low-speed electric car can be apopular second car in two-vehicle households. These low-cost EVs are fine for thosewho will compromise on speed and range. Reasonably priced new vehicles are comingwith few compromises and many exciting features.Today, there are also low-speed vehicles, such as the ZENN car, that look more likean actual car for many applications. With the ever increasing LSV market, electric carsare increasing significantly worldwide.