Prospective ZAP Xebra owners in Mass. take note: your State has just revoked all of the current registrations for the electric three-wheelers. It seems that the State has just come to realize that the machines don't actually qualify as either motorcycles or cars, despite laws regulating three-wheeled vehicles as motorcycles. The hiccup is apparently the roof overhead, as the law oddly allows a single occupant under an enclosed structure, but not a driver and a passenger together. Seems a bit arbitrary, wouldn't you say? In any case, that definition is expected to be changed soon enough, though that doesn't help the owners who have already purchased the vehicles.

One Xebra owner named Ben Burnham says, ""I'm not trying to change the world. I just thought it was cool, a plus for the environment, and that I could save a couple of bucks," Burnham said. To that end, Burnham has replaced his now unregistered Xebra with a Corbin Sparrow, which passes the State's laws due to its single seat.

Related:

• Update: three-wheelers might be registerable soon in Ohio

[Source: Taunton Gazette / Photo: Greg Derr]

Last summer, we introduced you to a new vehicle that was being designed by Mike Corbin of Corbin Motors called the Raven. As a brief history lesson, remember that the current NmG, (or No more Gas) was originally the Corbin Sparrow. Although that car never really made the impact that Corbin had hoped, the company did not give up on the idea of a small, single-passenger, three-wheeled vehicle for commuting purposes. The Sparrow used nothing but electrons for motive force, but their newest vehicle of the genre uses a small gas engine. Still, expect very high fuel mileage.

There are a few other interesting features of the car, like the rear steering which supplements the normal front wheel steering. Also note the lambo-style scissor door to gain access into the drivers compartment. Pretty cool.

Related:

• Introducing the Corbin Raven, a three-wheeled 100 mpg vehicle

[Source: Corbin]

You've gotta hand it to Mike Corbin. Mike started building comfortable seats for himself and his friends, and successfully started a business out of his hobby. Not just any business, either. Corbin is one of the leading aftermarket makers for custom cycle seats, luggage and more. But, Mike has more hobbies than just that one, he is also interested in making small vehicles which are fuel efficient and environmentally friendly. His first commercial vehicle along these lines is probably familiar to many of our readers, the Corbin Sparrow. After a little while, the Sparrow operation was picked up by Myers Motors, which you have also seen here at AutoblogGreen. The vehicle that Myers sells is known as the NmG, for No more Gas, as it is completely electric.

Corbin is now set to introduce the Corbin Raven. The Raven is based upon the same principle as the Sparrow, that many Americans do not need the very large automobiles that are currently their only choices. Except this time, the vehicle is not electric, but uses a small three-cylinder gasoline engine. Corbin projects that the vehicle should get better than 100 miles per gallon and should sell for less than $12,000.

Other vehicles such as this one are currently under development as well. One that immediately comes to my mind is the XR3 from Robert Q. Riley. This one is familiar to me, as I have seen it in its early development stage. Read more about it here.

I am rather excited about the possibilities that vehicles like these could bring. For less than half the cost of the average car that most people buy, a consumer can use less than half the gas, or even none at all, depending on the maker of the vehicle. If the cars are capable on the highway, like they should be, will a market develop for them? I hope so.

Related to the Sparrow:

• Maryland woman reports on life with her Corbin Sparrow electric car
• One-person electric cars offer yet another transportation option
• Alt Car Expo: Brad Hirsch says the Qui Moto not likely to be Myers Motors next car

And the XR3:

• Robert Q. Riley Enterprises is set to introduce their new XR3 hybrid 3-wheeler in June
• Technical details of the XR3 learned during our visit to Robert Q. Riley Enterprises

[Source: Corbin via Straightline]

I was in Atlanta yesterday, but I didn’t see this unique little electric car darting through the city streets. Local TV news stations, like 11 Alive, covering this type of story often go for the “oh, isn’t that cute” so I was glad to see a slight bit of depth in this feature on a man who commutes to work in Atlanta in an electric one-seater. The story doesn’t gloss over all the issues surrounding electric cars (check the mention of how it’s not for everyone and that it still uses fossil fuels) and puts it out there that the solution to our increasing resource consumption will be “a hundred different things”.
The vehicle is a Corbin Sparrow, and apparently there were about 350 made between 1999 and 2003, and new versions will be made soon by another company. [Source: 11 Alive via John A]