Modern Vespa

Totally by accident met a guy yesterday and saw a strange 3 wheeler in his garage. Turns out to be an electric one seater car made by Corbin ( yes, that Corbin). No longer made. I had no idea.
Looks a bit like driving in a shoe, but really fun. His wasn't working, and Corbin Sparrow mechanics are hard to come by.......a bit like a mechanic who knows how to tackle the MP3 front end.
http://www.3wheelers.com/corbin.html

Sorry...I'd seen those before...just forgot how they looked!

I know that tastes vary, but honestly, if they told me they'd buy me a new mp3 and I'd only have to drive that thing one day a week, I'd turn them down flat! lol

The Corbins were getting attention here on the left coast and especially in California some years ago. They had potential, particularly with fuel costs and smog issues (anyone else remember those fun rolling blackouts, too?), but poor management and technical issues could not be overcome. Not sure they would have really made the grade on 85+ mph California hiways, what with Hummers and Suburbans everywhere, but you sure have to give the guy credit for innovation and having tried. Part of the reason I decided on the MP3 myself was its innovative approach. Boy we could use some more of that forward thinking these days.

As an aside, I find it fascinating to look at the variety of three-wheelers out there (eg, that robo-cop transport vice a CanAm... ) and that link is excellent! Thanks for that, Rob.

I think they look like something from Dr. Seuss. I saw my first one maybe 6-8 years ago. I found out recently that it belongs to a Prof. at Georgia Tech. and I saw him riding in a neighborhood parade earlier this year.

They are no longer made by Corbin, but are still being made. They are now made by Myers Motors and called NMG (no more gas). http://www.myersmotors.com/
At 75mph they are able to do something that many other EVs cannot, ride at highway speeds.

I used to see one pretty regularly when I was commuting home from Redmond to Seattle.  I think it's actually a pretty cool vehicle if you can get past the Dr. Seuss looks.  (Great description, Glow Guy!)

Alas, unless you're well off enough to spend $30k on principle, it's hard to justify the cost of two Smart cars or a decked-out Mini Cooper S (or three mp3s!) on a vehicle with a 40-mile range between hours-long recharges.  Still, it's radically more viable that what was available a decade ago.  If they can eventually get the cost down to maxi-scooter levels, they'll really have something.

It was in the garage of a guy with deep pockets, and it was two toned, like purple and green I think. Dr. Suess is a perfect description.
The Suessmobile--I kinda like that.

Not really a three-wheeler, although they are classed as a quadricycle (i.e. not a car) and there are a few in London as they are exempt from the road-toll for the City of London now £8 per day.

http://www.revaindia.com/aboutevs.htm

Courtesy of Wikipedia:

"In January 1996, Corbin Motors began work on developing an electric vehicle. The Sparrow passed final testing for Department of Transportation certification in April 1999. In September of that year, the Sparrow production line began manufacturing multiple vehicles in Hollister, California.
Fewer than 300 Sparrows were produced. Corbin Motors filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on March 31, 2003, effectively killing the immediate future of the Corbin Sparrow. A bankruptcy court passed the Corbin assets to Ron Huch's company, Phoenix Environmental Motors, which tried to revive the Sparrow. On August 5, 2004, Ohio businessman Dana Myers bought the Sparrow interests from Ron Huch."


Courtesy of Corbin Sparrow.com

"It is very unfortunate that mechanical and electrical problems plagued the Corbin Sparrows and helped to cause their demise. Many Sparrows developed faulty controllers, bad chargers, as well as rear wheel bearing failures, drive belt breakages, severe brake squeaking, and water leaks.


In late 2005, a company called MyersMotors (http://myersmotors.com/) eventually obtained all of Corbin's parts stock and started to produce the Sparrow again. They are now called "NMG" for NO MORE GAS. Although several have been sold, is said that Myersmotors will only complete the remaining 70 Sparrow body shells that Corbin had leftover, before creating another vehicle.

Myersmotors has made upgrades from the original Sparrows to fix some design flaws. They seem like a great company trying to continue with a great idea. I'm not sure what the future will hold for the NMG, but hopefully it won't have the same fate as the Sparrow. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens..... "




Dave

Several years ago I was trying to get my hands on a Corbin Roadster, but by the time I got all the Canadian import crap sorted out, Corbin went into receivership.



I'd give my eye teeth (and all of my 1st born for one of these).

Rob so weird I read your post the other day and today I saw one for the first time on the PCH. It does look like a shoe.