The Zing! (Custom-built prototype hybrid tadpole trike)

[NeilBlanchard]

Ken, I hope you can tell us about any and all progress you made on The Zing! I heard from George Parker today, who is the designer of the FVT eVaro, and this reminded me of your vehicle, which is similar in several important ways.

[deejaaa]

you can build a vehicle for the masses who want "green" or you can do otherwise. i prefer the car you are building Ken.

[Ken Fry]

The project is going fine in several ways. I will be able to continue to self-fund it, I've amassed all the critical pieces and have done the engine mods. But I have recently been living in this state of bliss, enjoying spending time with my recently-retired wife, building a solar-powered micro motor home, writing a little music... it all feels worthwhile, but also feels a little dilettantish. Although I don't feel like an old fart, I also do not have the fire-in-the-belly gotta-git-er-done-and-on-the-market-fast frantic drive that I have had at times in other entrepreneurial endeavors. (In fact, this project started in relaxed fashion, but then rose to feverish-wildly-optimistic-biz-plan-go-for-VC-funding pitch largely in response to the X-Prize challenge -- which seems to have been a bust for virtually everyone involved.)

Not sure if I've developed maturity or sybaritic sloth.

But it will come together before too long.

Regards to all,
Ken

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Ken, I hope you can tell us about any and all progress you made on The Zing! I heard from George Parker today, who is the designer of the FVT eVaro, and this reminded my about your vehicle, which is similar in several important ways.

[benphyr]

Originally Posted by Ken Fry

The project is going fine in several ways. I will be able to continue to self-fund it, I've amassed all the critical pieces and have done the engine mods. But I have recently been living in this state of bliss...

Ken,
I can't remember if I have subscribed, but I want to make sure.. Subscribed!

and I have a couple questions: I remember you mentioning back near the beginning of the thread that you were working on 4 units this year for $17,995!

These 4 units will follow your proof of concept generally but with some tweaks, such as second seat and longer front wheel "wings", right? Are these still the plan? Would you call them beta versions, prototypes, or regular production models? Would these be part of the development or is are you anticipating only a few differences to later models?

Really this is just a shameless attempt to get you to talk more and work more on this project because I love reading your well considered and well presented experience and your willingness to share it with us of lesser experience and knowledge.

Question number two is about insuring and road legalities. How do you go about registering and making sure your vehicle specifically (or any custom-made vehicle) is street legal?

Cheers,
Ben.

[samwichse]

Any updates? This is really a cool car.

[stiletto2]

Originally Posted by Ken Fry

I've been getting interesting requests and suggestions for further models (and have planned along those lines, but I don't envision producing another version until this one is really well-established. I want to avoid, like the plague, the Aptera syndrome, where the money disappears and there is not one customer vehicle on the road. Rather than "Go Big or Go Home," we'll "Go Reasonable, and Stay in Business."

With an intended low volume start up, this makes sense to me.

Originally Posted by sendler

Better to make some wise compromises in order to get the project on the road than to constantly try to cater to everyone's wishes to get the perfect design that never gets built. RIP Aptera.

How true. This seems to be a similar path that Elio is taking by too often "improving" things and not really getting on with production of a viable first edition vehicle.

Elio needs to get an acceptable model out now. In part to appease the several thousand individual investors and to get even more interest going by actually seeing vehicles on the road. Then make improvements for a later release of the 2nd version. A few people I know are at the point of tearing their hair out in frustration at the seemingly constant push back of production. I imagine many of those that have done the "non-refundable" down payment are having buyer's remorse now.

I suppose to build on demand is good for a modest beginning and a good thing he does not seem to want to follow the Elio model in that regard for the Zing.

And this:

Originally Posted by Ken Fry

But in this project, it's like having two people in the shop: Ken Fry, the guy who just wants to get stuff done, and who keeps his head down.

Originally Posted by euromodder

That's the one to listen too now , and get Zing 1.0 finished.

Originally Posted by Ken Fry

Then there's Ken Fry the guy with big ideas and waving arms who interrupts the other guy with stuff to look into

Originally Posted by euromodder

That's the one to listen to for Zing 2.0 .
Have him write his ideas down for later use.
Gotta leave room for some improvements in later versions, yet you also gotta build a version of it one day.

Ken seems to have the right idea, but without a post in something like a year, it is beginning to look like interest in the project has stalled. There may be doubts about the Zing project reaching fruition... regrettably, I have mine.
That is unless something else is at play here.

Anybody know the status of the Zing project other than the obvious lack of a current progress report by Ken Fry?

[palmer_md]

Did this project die before any vehicles got into the hands of the customers? I was hoping to see at least one or two get built.

[Frank Lee]

Months ago I was digging around for updates on some past concept cars and I found nothing new on this one; not even a website update. :/