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When cornered, Kathleen will
admit her opinions on the
environment, energy politics,
and social responsibility. And since
the installation of her photovoltaic
system, she’s become a member of a
local climate-change awareness group
that has spearheaded projects like
bike racks for downtown and “noidle”
zones in school turnarounds. But
she’s quick to remind that it’s not
to prove a political point, make an
environmental statement, or convince
anyone else how they “should” live.
“It’s my responsibility to acknowledge
my own energy use and impact, and
do what I can,” says Kathleen. “I have
the resources to do these things, so
I’m doing them. Other people have
different resources and must make
their own decisions about what they
can and should do.”
Getting Motivated
Kathleen blames it all on her silver
station wagon. Her Audi A4 looks
like a placid soccer-mom’s car. But
with 217 horsepower under the hood,
it would have blown the doors off the
muscle cars her sons coveted in their
youth. Although Kathleen wasn’t
drag racing down the streets in her
hometown of Anacortes, Washington,
she was still getting pathetic fuel
economy—sometimes as low as 14
mpg. When she complained about
the wagon’s around-town mileage to
the dealer, he quizzed her on her
driving practices. It turned out that
Kathleen’s short trips to work, the
post office, and the grocery store—all
less than a couple of miles from her
doorstep—were not only wasting fuel,
but wasting the car—and lots of her
hard-earned money.
But what were her alternatives?
Fifty-eight-year-old Kathleen is
healthy and active—she’s fit enough
that walking or riding her bike are
options. But western Washington’s
notoriously chilly, wet weather isn’t
conducive to keeping her clothes neat
and dry, necessary for her professional
work as a middle-school counselor.
What she wanted was an around-town
vehicle that could keep her warm and
dry—and sip, not guzzle, fuel. And
then she found her Zenn.
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PV & EV
27
Enlightened Mobility
Kathleen is a pretty typical American, but what frequently sets her apart is her
willingness to give cutting-edge technologies a whirl. (You can blame that—at least
in part—on her technophile sons, one of whom has been working with renewable
energy for more than a decade.) So it wasn’t surprising when she found the Zenn—
“Zero Emission, No Noise”—neighborhood electric vehicle.
With a top speed of 25 mph, a range of up to 35 miles per charge, and plenty of
space for groceries in its hatchback, the Zenn is well-suited for the short trips that
are typical for Kathleen. At 3 miles per KWH (about 135 mpg equivalent), the car
is inexpensive to drive, costing only $0.024 per mile. Besides fuel savings, electric
vehicles like the Zenn also eliminate the regular replacement and repair costs of
oil changes, oil filters, exhaust system fixes, and tune-ups associated with internal
combustion engines. Slower driving speeds and regenerative braking, which uses
the motor to slow the vehicle and recharge the batteries, also mean reduced brake
wear. To Kathleen, the Zenn’s $13,000 sticker price was a reasonable cost to pay for
a reliable ride that would deliver her, warm and dry, to her destination, as well as
extend the life of her Audi, which she saves for road trips.
The west-facing, 1,560-watt Sanyo array.
From the alley: Kathleen’s traditional home sports twenty-first-century technology.