Zoomi Life

It’s only $19,000, has a really stupid name, and will be available in May of 2009. It’s the ultimate Smart and Manageable (S&M) car for the geek who loves his gear to have the dumbest name possible. The Wheego Whip is made by a company with an equally stupid name: RTEV (Ruff & Tuff Electric Vehicles). Figures that a company with a name like that would be the geniuses who came up with “Wheego,” which makes me think of a 3 year old making water.

This little, err, car (I guess), can go 70mph and is slated to go through USDOT crash testing before 2010. They better hope there’s no lame name check in those requirements. Until it passes DOT, though, the car will be electronically limited to 25mph so it can be sold as a low speed vehicle. RTEV says they will be upgrading the electronics on LSVs sold once the DOT passes the Wheego, so buying one now won’t mean you have to get another later.

The vehicle’s specs aren’t too bad for this price range, I’ll at least concede that point:

• 8-hour charge time (household 110v)
• 50 miles per charge
• Four wheels and tires all included

The car is based on a Chinese design, which RTEV licensed from Shuanghuan Automobile Co. The “Noble” (translated) is a gasoline-powered car that is popular in Hong Kong as a personal transport. The electric version of the Noble will be sold internationally by Shuanghuan as the E-Noble and will be the Wheego’s cousin on the world market.

Here’s a video of the Wheego Whip in action:

Source: Treehugger