[QUOTE=DeLorean_4;2230]Is it just me, or does ZENN owe its success solely to its exclusive use of the EEstors? I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve always seen ZENN as more of a conversion shop than a serious car company (the gliders are pre-made microcars).
I love successful Canadian companies, except in the mining and fossil fuel sector, but I find that ZENN is missing the dynamic engineering edge companies such as Tesla have in designing something truly unique and simply awe inspiring.
What background in electric cars and engineering does Ian Clifford have? I remember from an old interview that he said he was driving his SUV in traffic one day and wanted to build something that wouldn’t pollute, that’s it. Most clips of the ZENN seem to put him, alone, in the spotlight, while credit seems to be given to the whole team of designers with Tesla.
If the highway capable ZENN becomes reality, as it most likely shall, then it’ll put an end to Hydrogen fuel cells (Yey!!! :D) but is the EEstor technology in deserving hands?
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I am an engineer, and an older and wiser engineer told me once that the point of engineering was to do “as little original work as possible”. This hurt my feelings at the time, since I wanted to design all-new, all-exiting things. What’s the fun of assembling parts and re-using old components? That’s just Legos, right?
Now I’m a little older than when I heard that, and I hope I’m getting a little wiser. And I’ve had quite a bit of experience of putting the Legos together, and I think I understand his point a little better now. It can be quite a challenge to create something in a “constrained” setting. Just like how the sonnet form forces a poet to express himself in a particular rhythm and rhyme scheme, using as much existing technology as possible while creating something new can be a rewarding exercise.
It’s really cool that the Tesla guys get individual and team recognition. No one likes the boss to get all the credit – I agree with you there. The Tesla is also a really cool looking car, with multiple neat new technologies. Even if they only build a handful of cars, they’ll still make a big impact on the world of technology.
But the Tesla roadster is unaffordable for me, and even if it were I couldn’t go out and buy one today. On the other hand, the ZENN microcar is both affordable to most employed people and available now. There’s a dealer near me that has ZENNs on the lot, and probably within driving home range without recharging (provided I have a tailwind 
). There is no shame in building a product people can afford. Plus, it provides them some revenue to pursue new technologies without burning through VC money.
As far as ZENN being the stewards of EEStor, we’ll see. ZENN has proven it’s able to build and ship an electric car – no small feat in a world of automotive startup failures. Coming up with a charging infrastructure for fast-charging the EEStor will be quite a trick. The extra range is nice, but it would be a real coup to be able to refuel in about the same time frame as a gas car.
That sounds like a point-by-point rebuttal – please don’t interpret it that way. Just some of my thoughts. Interesting topic.
