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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Companies Present Alternatives at Transportation Expo

By LINDA COBURN Contributing Reporter The second annual AltCar Expo that took place October 19 and 20 at the Santa Monica airport showed there is no dearth of companies offering products and services to help even the most reluctant among us go green. But you’ll be loath to find many of them in the San Fernando Valley. The only Valley business with a booth at the Expo was Currie Technologies of Chatsworth, makers of a complete line of electric bicycles and scooters. “We’ve attempted to be actively involved in things that are promoting the use of cycling as an alternative to getting in a car,” said Currie’s President and CEO, Larry Pizzi, of the reason they participated in the show this year. Sustainability advocates were there in force. Vojislav Mikulic, CEO of Woodland Hills-based Standard Bio Diesel helped staff the National Biodiesel Board’s booth while Valley-based transportation advocate Bart Reed was a featured speaker at a panel discussion titled “Solving the Transportation Nightmare.” He also manned the Transit Coalition’s booth. Reed said the lack of Valley companies in attendance was more a function of the show being in its infancy. “Also, the show producers have not done enough to reach out to San Fernando Valley businesses,” he said. It seemed like a shoo-in that Solar Electrical Systems of Westlake Village would be there. The company produces a custom solar panel for the Toyota Prius that allows drivers as much as six additional hours of driving time before having to re-charge. But they were a no-show and company president Greg Johanson was unavailable to comment for this article. Variety of autos In addition to a wide range of alternative cars, ranging from the now-standard Civic and Prius hybrids to the as-yet-unavailable two-seater miniature SMART car, the Expo was also host to a plethora of other green transportation options including several forms of low-speed (under 25 mph) vehicles and Currie Technologies’ IZIP electric bicycles and scooters. Currie has about 45 employees working in its new 51,000-square-foot Chatsworth facility. “We don’t do any manufacturing here, but we do everything else here,” said Pizzi. That includes research and development, marketing, quality control and distribution. “We have a dedicated factory outside of Shanghai that makes only our product,” he continued. In 2006, Currie had sales revenues of approximately $30 million and sold “hundreds of thousands” of its bikes and scooters said Pizzi, who didn’t have the exact numbers at hand. Wal-Mart is their biggest customer, he said. In addition to their IZIP line, Currie also is the licensee for Schwinn- and Mongoose-branded electric bicycles, or pedal-assisted cycles, as they are often called. Pizzi, who has been in the bicycle business for more than 30 years, was enthusiastic about the company’s newest product, the IZIP Express, which had its official launch in September but will not be in stores until January. “The IZIP Express, in my opinion, is really breakthrough technology,” said Pizzi. The cycle uses a patented drive system that matches the human power input with the electric power input. In other words, the bike rides just like a conventional bicycle you get on and pedal. There is no throttle and it uses derailleur shifters just like a regular 10- or 12-speed touring or mountain bike. The difference is, you will be able to fly along at up to 20 mph, which is the type of pace only Lance Armstrong can keep up for long. The cycle also powers up hills with as much as a 15 percent grade without strain. Pizzi’s been test-riding an Express prototype on his daily commute from Santa Monica to Chatsworth. He swears he puts on his business clothes, carries his computer in a messenger bag, and pedals over Topanga Canyon, arriving at work as clean as a whistle. “I zoom past the lycra-clad guys on road-racing bicycles and they’re just amazed,” Pizzi avowed. “I can do that ride in less time than it takes me to drive, generally.” All in all, it’s still not easy being green when it comes to personal transportation. It’s either quite expensive a hybrid Honda Civic or Toyota Prius costs thousands of dollars more than a gas-powered equivalent; relatively impractical many vehicles at the show were low-speed electric vehicles and golf carts with a top speed of 25 mph; or unworkable just try using the Metro bus system to get from the north to the south end of the Valley in less than an hour.

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