Maryland woman reports on life with her Corbin Sparrow electric car
Although no longer sold, the Corbin Sparrow, which sort of resembles a rollerskate, was an electric vehicle classified as a motorcycle in the U.S. that was available between 1999 and 2002. 285 Sparrows were built before the company filed for bankruptcy. It was capable of 75 mph and could travel somewhere between 30 and 60 miles on one charge of its 156 volt battery pack. Of course, along with that, it produced zero emissions in operation.
Valerie Myers of Hagersown Maryland owns a Sparrow and a Toyota Prius. She tries to take the Sparrow when she can, but it's limited space and range sometimes cause her to drive the Prius instead.
A very similar model is currently for sale as the NmG, or "No More Gas", from Myers Motors in Ohio.
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[Source: Herald-Mail.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John Rowell 1:57PM (1/02/2007)
The Corbin Sparrow lives on in the form of the new vehicle from Myers Motors. I spoke with Myers Motors at the Alt Car Expo ( http://cleanpowershow.blip.tv/ ) and was left with the impression that this is one of the few freeway-capable EVs for sale right now at a very affordable price. If it had a longer range and room for a passenger it would be more practical but then it would also cost more.
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Mark_H 11:10AM (1/03/2007)
Wow, a super-tiny car with limited range and virtually no interior space for under $25K! Really, you would have to be quite committed to... something to purchase and drive one of these, no?
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Johnny Walker 4:13PM (8/02/2008)
Mark, you said it well. But the price is higher than you stated.
The high initial cost ($29k plus as of this writing) makes a Sparrow a poor choice, and the 12 month warranty tells me the company has no long-term faith in their product, since they will not stand behind it for more than a year. I cannot pencil out how the sacrifices one would have to make to own one of these could ever be a good deal. It is a novelty for those who have enough money but are not smart about how they spend it.
"Really, you would have to be quite committed to... something to purchase and drive one of these, no?"
Committed? Well, some might think you SHOULD be if you buy one of these! Good luck finding reasonable solutions to the high cost of driving.
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