fast_lane

I call bullshit on you instead

Safety? what safety did the ford festiva have?

what safety do old vintage small cars have?

it has taken YEARS to get an answer as to what is the exact reason they are not being allowed on the road - speed has nothing to do with it - how fast are you going in rush hour traffic anyways?

I want to have a choice - are Canadian safety standards now much higher than our neighbours south of both borders?

How fast are people going on their bicycles and mopeds?

We need more choices up here - and now TC has delegated their responsibility to the provinces - what a load of crap - TC is the one that says which cars can be on the roads, not the provinces - do they have the resources and staff to fully analyze this vehicle?

@CONGOJACK cut the crap? you want to use gas for a much longer period of time - so that when oil barrels run out so will the chance of being able to change the environment for the better? you have to live on this planet too.

@NOVALOAD watch the video first, then make a snarky comment, [www.cbc.ca] - Go to Season 5, Episode 7, "Rick drives an electric car" as QDAVE mentioned above - you can skip ahead to the 5:30 mark and see the cases of beer stacked up 3 high and the cars passing in the background - I would imagine you get about the same visibility as in any other sports coupe when looking at the back of a family sedan.

You can only sue successfully if you prove the automaker marketed the vehicle as being able to survive a horrific crash that would normally cause death. The same argument being trotted about for every micro car, but when it's a drop top sports coupe, all anyone cares about is the hp, torque, 0-60 times, etc, not how it's going to save you from death because your driving ability is outclassed by the performance of a vehicle.

TC won't be the ones to get sued, it would be ZENN, to the grave. Do cyclists get to sue cities for getting hit by automobiles? strange logic indeed.

Yeah, it's the HOSERS at Transport Canada that rejected the vehicle, they should show exactly why, and ZENN should comply with upgrades, but having a low speed can't possibly be the case.

skulldriveshaft

allenparkpete

CongoJack

2. Like stated above, one crash involving a death that shouldn't have happened, and Transport Canada gonna get there asses sued.

3. Most important of all, electric and hybrid cars are simply much worse for the environment b/c of problems with battery creation requiring more energy, and disposal afterwards. Do some research and you'll see.

So please cut the crap with these hybrids and electrics and work on more efficient gas and diesel engines, and if you think you need an electric car only for city driving, thats what public transportation and bikes are for!

CongoJack

NovaloadMissesPolar

There was a local newspaper article about a rural mail carrier who uses one on her route. For low-speed driving of about 40 miles per day, it sounds like a pretty good vehicle. Obviously there's the advantage of using $2 worth of electrons over $7 worth of gas for all that stop-start driving around. Saving the planet and all that yada yada.

lascauxcaveman

on a side note, the proportions of the car make it look decently sized by itself... until you see it next to a person.

JDub

allenparkpete

Polar gets 5 stars for pointing out the latest info. The subject of this story is dated, Matt. Transport Canada has allowed the cars to be certified for Canadian consumer usage however each individual province with the exception of British Columbia has to amend traffic laws so that LSV's are daily driver's in that specific province.

What should be the real story is this. Is this a really a Canadian car....or just assembled there? The body and sub-components come from France. The one reader from Quebec said that they were unaware that there was even a car company in that province. They are located in St. Jerome....near Mirabel Airport......hence the location for flying the parts in from France.

The powerplant is sourced from EEStor in Texas. The head office is in Toronto. I hope they saved up to buy some furniture; would make the place look a little nicer.

allenparkpete

Heep

@Heep: The people who were caught were playing with fire. RIV's standards for 2008 cars didn't come out until November 1st. The problem came from people who bought cars made later than August 2007 and brought them here after October 31st.

@Hyman Decent: That's correct about warranties, but it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. For instance, Honda Canada does not honor an American Honda warranty, except in very special cases. A Nissan has to have been registered in the US for at least six months for the warranty to be valid in Canada. No issues whatsoever for Toyota.

As for the US dealerships, some have been penalized for selling to Canadian customers.

FLB

Just one example.

Heep

In many ways, Canada is easier on letting foreign market RHD vehicles in. Infact many importers of Skylines first import them into Canada before moving them to their respective states.

While I curse Transport Canada too, they do things for a reason, eventhough most of the time I dont agree.

danio3834

Hyman Decent

Whats happening here is Transport Canada (=your DOT)
hasnt approved these cars clearly because they dont meet some safety standard.

Now obviously the Greenies dont see it that way and put the idea of an "emissionless car" above the idea of human safety. With environmental extremeism, thats par for the course.

Now if Transport Canada were to cede to this petition and approve the cars, eventhough they dont meet their standards, what happens the first time someone gets hurt/killed in one and inevitably sues the crap out of Transport Canada for negligence?

They win. I dont think the Gov should change their minds because of some naive public pressure or the liberal media deliberately demonizing them.

If it doesnt meet the standard, and the company refuses to modify them, so be it, you cant sell here.
So the company goes and takes their story to the media to play on the "who killed the electric car" bandwagon and tug at the heartstrings of the neo-environmentalists.

I call bullshit

danio3834

Until they have range, speed and don't look like something supplied to help people who have special needs, they will continue to be killed.

Rust-MyEnemy is stll out there!

Someone needs to start a revolution against these booger-brains.

Heep

I'm more in shock of that than the fact that it's an electric plug-in..

fits 20 cases and a box of cereal as well.. can't complain about that..

WheatKing

The only saving grace is that in 15 years, we'll be able to import them back from other countries.

Per the above question: I'm seriously considering a Volt. I run motorcycles and rotary engined fun vehicles, so offsetting my polution rate by commuting on battery power appeals to me. the volt allows me to do that, and still partake in gruelling road trips on weekends.

Feds

SeanKHotay

@long_live_the_E36: My thoughts on electric cars, as they stand, are that you're trading one source of pollution and emissions for another. "Moving" it to a power plant may not be as ecologically advantageous as people assume. Or it may be, I'm real skeptical though.

And it would seem that it takes free market choices out of it too. I don't know about most people but I don't have a whole lot of choices as far as picking sources for electricity. Now I have to rely on the power company for transportation too? I don't know if I like that.

Other than that, my only problem would be that you'd have to have a soundtrack of proper engine noises to at least give the illusion of it being a real car. That would bring a whole new meaning to "tuning your car".

mytdawg

Triborough

POLAЯBEEЯ

[www.cbc.ca]

Go to Season 5, Episode 7, "Rick drives an electric car"

qddave

long_live_the_E36

POLAЯBEEЯ

Ash78

Hoser Dave

FЯeeMan