Not a day goes by, that we would not something new about alternative cars. But to our surprise ZENN is nothing new. ZENN stands for Zero Emissions, No Noise, and it is a small all-electric car, great for city use. ZENN got a lot of publicity when last year invested around 2,5 million USD to a Texas based company called EESTOR, which is (in final stages) developing an ultra capacitor - next generation battery, that will enable the car to drive up to 125mph and drive over 400 miles on a single charge. It will also be able to charge in less than 10 minutes.

This car is for people who don't do highway driving and have short distances. It's also a very nice way to help save the environment and get things rolling towards better electric technologies. Zenn is selling two versions of car, and they are limited to 25 and 35 mph, and have reach of 35 miles. It plugs into a standard wall socket for recharging, and is 80% ready in two hours, full charge takes whole night.

The ZENN is about the size of a Mini Cooper and costs about $16,000. It has air conditioning, power windows and a sunroof. At 1,200 pounds, it's less than half the weight of most cars.

I would definitely pay over 20K for a car like that! It is still unknown whether current model's battery will be upgradable when the new EESTOR's system is out. Here is a short video review of current ZENN city car in action:

Canadian maker started selling cars in Clearwater, US recently. And in about a month they sold dozen ZENNs. Driver are baby boomers looking to downsize and folks who do a lot of local driving and don't mind staying off highways except to cross them. The current model started selling 18 months ago. ZENN sold 250 of the vehicles nationwide last year and another 250 so far this year at 40 dealerships in about 20 states.

"If they can drive these in the winter in Ontario, they can drive them in Florida," one of the buyers said, when asked whether he is concerned about battery and chilly nights…

Currently the biggest obstacle is the speed, as with below 35 mph, car is classified as neighborhood watch vehicle, and does not have full validation. The wait might not be long. The company says it plans to come out with a model with a longer range and capable of highway speeds within the next 12 to 24 months.