The $100,000-plus Tesla electric car featured in the West Seattle Herald’s Sept. 17 issue, “Battery-powered car sparks interest on Alki” also sparked sticker shock responses from our readership expressing interest in the green environmental aspect of electric cars, but disinterest in the amount of green it takes to purchase the exotic, super-sexy sports car. And while the Tesla may be worth every penny, it is certainly beyond the reach of the average Joe, or even the above-average Joe.

We spoke with West Seattle Herald resident Jim Johnson, founder of MC Electric Vehicles, 1200 South Dearborn St., who has a showroom filled with, shall we say, less spendy electric cars than the Tesla, as well as electric motorcycles, bicycles, vans, and small utility trucks like those that quietly drift by the tiger exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo.

Johnson and salesman, Ray Carter, also of West Seattle, sell pre-owned Zenn (short for “zero emissions, no noise”) brand electric cars for about eight grand, like the one West Seattle entrepreneurs Kelli Henderson and Elise Lindborg just purchased from them for short commutes with their promotional product business, ZippyDogs.

The MC crew seems revved up about next month’s delivery of the “Wheego LiFe,” ($26,495 after tax rebates) which looks like those stubby little “smart car,” but is a foot longer, wider, and will run completely on lithium iron phosphate battery pack battery power for 100 miles while reaching 65 mph. The Zenn, the current Wheego, equipped with dry cell sealed lead-acid batteries, and other relatively low-priced battery cars generally do 35 mph with a 30-50 mile range. Johnson and Carter said they are aware the new all-electric Nissan Leaf will attract a lot of attention and is similarly priced. They said their new Wheego will be 800 pounds lighter, peppier, sportier, easier to park, and that the Wheego company has been in the electric car business for several years.

Also, there is no waiting list, while Nissan, which is just starting to drive into that market, has sold out of its initial 20,000 car run, until some time next year. The Wheego was developed under the leadership of Mike McQuary, CEO and former MindSpring and Earthlink entrepreneur.

“A lot of people bought electric cars several years ago and wanted to make a statement,” said Johnson, a long-time Alki resident, pointing out that performance is improving with newer models. “Now our customers are more selective and want a better car than the one they now have.”

Johnson, who said he takes gas-guzzling trade-ins, proudly displays an old photo album in his showroom illustrating how it all began for him.

“This used to be Skid Row,” said Johnson, a former worker on the Alaska Pipeline. “When I started here in 1979 it was just a turnaround for traffic, and the old King Dome was just around the corner. Before this showroom was built in 1984, I worked out of a trailer here, selling Caterpillar earthmoving equipment, then golf carts and golf course machinery. We started reshaping the earth with moving equipment, then nurturing the earth with golf course machinery, and now, since 2003, we started preserving the earth with zero-emission vehicles, so it’s a natural progression.”

Carter showed off an orange motorcycle in the showroom.

“Seventy miles per hour for 70 miles, and no noise,” he enthused.

Melissa Thomas has interned as a mechanic at MC Electric Vehicles through the South Seattle Community College since April.

“I trained on gas first, and now train on electric,” she said while polishing the body of an electric vehicle. “I like the green idea. When I become a fulltime mechanic, I want to work with hybrid or all-electric, but not all-gas vehicles.”

“You can plug your EV (electric car) in at a Starbucks or McDonalds,” said Carter. If you are patient, and fill up on coffee while you wait to fill up on electricity, he said they are cool about it.
“They are actively friendly to battery car drivers, especially if you buy something there. At about a penny a mile, the electricity is only costing them a dollar or two.”

North Admiral resident Alison Moss and husband Keith Dearborn, of the legal firm Dearborn and Moss PLLC, just purchased a new Wheego from MC Electric, the one that tops out at 35mph. (About $20,000 new.) Moss said it is ample for commuting back in forth to Falcon Ridge Farm near Westcrest Park to attend to, and ride, her two Lippizan mares, Electa, 12, and India, 4. Part of the challenge with both the car and horses, however, is maneuvering around the resident rooster and three-legged cat.

“The horses don’t fit in the car,” she quipped. “But there is plenty of room in the back when I remove the spare tire to fit my basket of supplies for the horses. I don’t need to go faster than 35 (miles per hour) on Delridge.”

“I got my electric car two years ago,” said “Debbie Ehri, business manager at Explorer West Middle School. She bought the Zenn from MC.

“I live two miles from my work, in Gatewood, so it made a lot of sense to me,” she said. “When I go ‘downtown,’ it’s to the Alaska Junction. I finally sold my Subaru. I just wasn’t driving it. I bought this to be environmentally friendly. My husband is 6 feet tall and we can fit in it with our two dogs, including an Australian Shepherd, plus groceries. You can’t fit a dog in a Tesla.”

“I couldn’t find where I parked our Zenn car at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago,” said Henderson. “Then I noticed a crowd standing around a car, and it was ours.

“Being eco-friendly is a priority of ours, so this car is big deal to us,” added Henderson. “We worked out of our house for 10 years, and just bought a live/work loft (at 6031A California Ave. SW) so for the first time we have to commute, but only short distances, zigzagging all over West Seattle,” she said of ZippyDogs. “We want to leave smallest possible paw print.”