ELECTRIC CAR DEALERS NOW IN HOUSTON
By Ella Tyler
The Houston area now has three electric car dealers!
Apollo Scooters at 1239 Richmond and at 2103 Gray, an established scooter dealer, has recently gone electric. It now carries ZAP! products – autos (really an enclosed three-wheel motorcycle) and the retro style Zapino, an all-electric scooter with Italian chic. Apollo also sells the all-electric Segway. Apollo also plans to offer Segway tours of Houston. I saw a group of Segway tourists in San Antonio, all looking like ducklings following their mother.
On Monday, Houston Electric Cars opened its location at 2420 Rusk, just east of downtown, and made its first sale to Houston Electric Auto Association president Dale Brooks. He bought a blue ZENN (Zero Emissions No Noise) neighborhood electric vehicle. The car is governed to speeds slower than 30 mph, and goes 62 miles on a charge. It’s a two-seater, but there’s room in the back for three children. Unlike many electric autos, its air conditioning is standard. The car is built in Canada with parts from France. A 4-passenger, freeway-speed ZENN is scheduled for delivery in a few months.
Houston Electric Cars also plans to carry the Sun-motor sedan, which has a solar panel that extends over the hood past the rear window. The car plugs into any electrical outlet, but the 300-watt solar panel can produce some of the car’s power.
There is also a dealer for the MILES brand in Friendswood. These are also only for neighborhood use.
Also, Leisure Learning Unlimited offers a class on electric car conversion on August 27 and again on October 29. The class will discuss the basics: how far you can drive on a charge, what kind of batteries and motor to use, and how much the project might cost. The instructors will display the car and truck they converted for approximately $14,000 and $9,000 respectively. To register for the class go online.
Houston’s electric Auto Association meets on the third Thursday of the month at 3015 Richmond at 7 pm. For more information about the group, see their website.