At MaineEV, we have looked for the right mix of vehicles from those currently available. The true "low-speed vehicles" or "LSVs" are restricted by law to go 25 miles per hour simply because they were not built to conform with US highway crash testing standards. And they are truly not highway vehicles. But they're great for what they are -- something to get you from here to there and back again in a moderately low-speed environment -- around town or the city, around the college or business campus, or, if you're properly situated, around one of Maine's beautiful islands.

Here are the brands that we currently carry:

the solid, utilitarian Miles EV (www.MilesEV.com) truck and mini-SUV-style car

the ZENN "luxury" neighborhood electric vehicle ( www.ZennCars.com) two-seater coupe

and the zippy three-wheelin' ZAP -- the ZAP is a unique creature in that it does not have to conform to the LSV legislation because it is not officially a car so it can achieve higher speeds approaching 40 mph.

HIGHWAY ELECTRIC CARS?

They're coming, as fast as they can (which will be 75+ mph pretty soon). All of our brands are in development with some sort of highway vehicle and we are looking into other brands as well. Yes, our "friends" at GM are working on a car that will go all of 40 miles on an electric charge (and then a convenient 600 on gas) -- but is that really an electric car or a gas car with an electric boost? Other big name companies are talking about getting in the EV game, too but we've heard that before and we've learned not to hold our breath. The soonest we might see a true big brand EV might be around 2012. Our brands are looking to get highway vehicles to market in 2009 and 2010. And the companies we represent are also in it for the right reasons. They are all environmentally serious companies who want to create a true alternative to the infernal combustion engine. If you haven't seen "Who Killed the Electric Car?", do (it's easy to rent almost anywhere) and if you have, you know that all the big auto companies know how to make a highway electric car right now but choose not to. So, you decide which companies you want to support.