Spark Electric Vehicles

Introduction

 There’s an old saying that in every basket there’s a few bad apples.  Well, Spark Electric Vehicles could either be a bad apple or it could be a genuine company that ended up having a series of bad luck incidents that have led them to their eventual demise.  Right now though, the future of both Spark Electric Vehicles as well as their creations is ambiguous and for that reason they still deserve to be considered when thinking about the different electric car options that are available on the market today.

 History of Spark Electric Vehicles

 Spark Electric Vehicles did not officially exist until this decade, but rumour has it that some of the designs for the automobiles that have been built by this company are a lot older than that.  Either way, this company started manufacturing smaller vehicles that had low speeds and low ranges and really could only be used for neighbourhood transit.  However, as CEO Michael Papp started to gain more name recognition, he was able to produce more cars and distribute others within the United States.  Eventually, Spark Electric Vehicles grew to become part of a list of companies that were hopefully going to drag the automobile industry into the next century.

 With all of this hope focused in one particular case, the question then becomes one of what happened with all of the potential that this company had to offer.  The answer to that question is unknown, but what is known as that Michael Papp was arrested in 2008 on charges related to failure to deliver vehicles that had been paid for.  In that specific case, the deal that had gone south was between Michael Papp and the joint plaintiffs of Electric Cars of Houston and Electric Transportation of Arkansas.  Collectively, the two companies had ordered 14 electric vehicles from Spark Electric Vehicles, but after delivery didn’t go through the end result was that the state of New Jersey took Papp into custody.  After the resolution of those charges, Spark Electric Vehicles filed for bankruptcy.

 Automobiles under the Spark Banner

 What makes the ending of the history to Spark Electric Vehicles so unfortunate is the fact that they actually had some great products to put on the market.  All of their automobiles were fully electric and for people that actually did take delivery of vehicles it seems as though they handled very well for electric cars.  They were nearly unique in the small electric vehicle business industry for their overall excellence, but it seems as though the man couldn’t live up to the reputation when all was said and done.

 The first automobile worth mentioning under the banner of Spark Electric Vehicles is actually not an automobile that they had anything to do with right from the start.  It is called the Fly Bo and it is a vehicle that continues to be manufactured in China.  Until recently, the distributor within the United States was Spark Electric Vehicles, but with the company possibly going defunct it is likely that a new owner will take over the distribution of these vehicles when the right time comes.

 In regards to the actual statistics of the car, you’ll find that they are actually very impressive.  This car has a top speed of about 35 miles per hour with an overall range of 60 miles.  This means that it isn’t a car you’ll be able to go on long highway road trips with, but it is nevertheless a sturdy car for city driving that will get you to and from work without too much trouble.  It is only $10,000 retail and it looks a lot like the smart car except it has a slightly upgraded safety rating in comparison to its other electric counterpart.

 As for the actual vehicles that were produced completely by Spark Electric Vehicles, realistically the list can only be two cars long.  The reason for this is that the other vehicles are smaller, slower and have a shorter range and are not really viable bit ticket automobile items.

 The first of these cars is the Spark Zoyte and it is a sports utility vehicle (SUV).  Although it is highly underpowered relative to an SUV that runs on gasoline, you’ll find that the statistics are actually still pretty impressive relative to what one would expect from a car as large as an SUV running fully on an electric engine.  It can reach a top speed of 75 miles per hour and on a single charge of the battery you can end up going 110 miles.  The manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) was $25,000 at the time the Zoyte was created, but in the end the failure to deliver vehicles has derailed this vehicle which had a lot more demand than initial supply.

 Finally, Spark Electric Vehicles also manufactured the Comet which was their own version of the car of the future.  This excellent car with the oval dome cabin and the three-wheel design (one wheel in the centre of the rear along with two up front) definitely looked like something from the future.  It is intended to be a luxury vehicle with safety and extra features to rival anything in the gasoline industry and with a design coming from a famous studio in Italy, it is certainly a car worth noticing.

 In addition to coming with central air and everything else you’d expect a luxury car of today to have, the Spark Comet has the ability to go up to 90 miles per hour and maintain a charge over a distance of 200 miles.  The safety tests were immaculate for early iterations of this car and the manufacturing of the car within the United States is also something that has caught the attention of many prospective buyers.

 Conclusion

 With all of this great news, the question at the end of the day might be where we are left with this particular company?  Their cars designs were great, but it looks like the company has gone under.  We can only hope that someone else sees the potential in these designs and takes them up, otherwise some very good electric vehicles may never see the light of day again.