TheEEStory.com

I just received ZENN's latest newsletter in my inbox. Ian Clifford reports that he will be participating in a roundtable discussion of "International Electric Vehicle Experts” in London next week, then be one of the speakers at the Alter-Mobile Conference in Munich:

http://www.terrapinn.com/2008/altermobile

Most intriguing of all, however, is that ZENN has been invited to be an exhibitor at the Eco Clean Car Fair in Nagoya, Japan, November 7-9:

http://www.nagoya-trade-expo.jp/car/en/index.html

At that event, ZENN will (and I quote Clifford) "showcase its ZENNergyTM drivetrain plans." Huh? Does this mean they wlll showcase the drivetrain (hardware)? Or only its "plans" (a poster)? If the latter, I am disappointed that Clifford would issue such a misleading statement. If the former... yow! My jaw would hit the floor!

Clifford ends the newsletter with this statement:

"Finally, I would be remiss if I did not discuss our current global economic situation as it pertains to ZMC. I want to personally reassure you that ZMC continues to implement our very solid business plan for the future, that we have adequate cash reserves to fund our growth and are taking appropriate measures to ensure those funds are carefully managed."

I really hope that is true. I can't help but wonder, however, if it is an attempt to close the barn door after the horses have gotten out, given the freefall in ZENN stock over the last several weeks. Sigh....

Thanks for the alert, Yanquentino!

Yanquetino wrote:

At that event, ZENN will (and I quote Clifford) "showcase its ZENNergyTM drivetrain plans." Huh? Does this mean they wlll showcase the drivetrain (hardware)? Or only its "plans" (a poster)? If the latter, I am disappointed that Clifford would issue such a misleading statement.

I don't understand why anyone would find this confusing. The meaning of the word "plans" in context is quite clear. The phrase "showcase its ZENNergy™ drivetrain plans" obviously does *not* mean "demonstrate its ZENNergy™ drivetrain prototype".

Unless, of course, you're Steve.

Last edited Sun, 26 Oct 2008, 10:57am by Lensman

Oh... okay, Lensman: I am the sole person to find the phrase misleading.

Chalk it up to my own weird way of doing things. Were I Ian Clifford, with EEStor still a nebulous mystery, and with so many consumers and stockholders on pins-and-needles about it, I would avoid using the phrase "ZENNergy drivetrain™" for now. Unless and until I had a prototype of that drivetrain, I would simply report that the company would "showcase its future plans." Period. But that's just me, I guess. Double sigh....

How about; this is great news period!

Yeah, this is probably a PR in reaction to the stock freefall. I'm at least glad they care a little about that.

As for the showcase of the Zennergy drive plans - it does just sound like a review of their plans, not a demo. But I am a bit encouraged by that. I think ZMC knows more than they're letting on about Eestor's production schedule. They can deny that up and down, but I think it's true. So the fact that they would further publicize their plans for Zennergy is encouraging in that they must at least feel confident that it's happening in the relatively near future. Of course this is all just judgement/opinion...

Lensman wrote:

Thanks for the alert, Yanquentino!

Yanquetino wrote:

At that event, ZENN will (and I quote Clifford) "showcase its ZENNergyTM drivetrain plans." Huh? Does this mean they wlll showcase the drivetrain (hardware)? Or only its "plans" (a poster)? If the latter, I am disappointed that Clifford would issue such a misleading statement.

I don't understand why anyone would find this confusing. The meaning of the word "plans" in context is quite clear. The phrase "showcase its ZENNergy™ drivetrain plans" obviously does *not* mean "demonstrate its ZENNergy drivetrain™ prototype".

Unless, of course, you're Steve.

Lensman, I can be a little slow sometimes, or maybe because its Saturday morning... so do you mean it will be just a poster/diagram or a hardware ?

I didn't think there was anything to the WPP, but I do sense we'll get something out of this.

All we've got so far are vague references from a few sentences, which really isn't the kind of thing you "showcase" at an international trade show.

Yeah, I feel the wording and the context are significant - even just a few "posters/diagrams" or what-have-you, will give much more info than we have now.

Ian Clifford, or his marketing team, would have to be pretty clueless or irresponsible to use that kind of wording in an official press release about an event like this without intending to show even a little more info.

Their track record tells me they're not clueless or irresponsible, so I'm very interested to see what comes out of the show. I just hope the coverage of the event on the net shows the stuff from Zenn that we want to see.

energyfan wrote:

Lensman, I can be a little slow sometimes, or maybe because its Saturday morning... so do you mean it will be just a poster/diagram or a hardware ?

Your guess is as good as mine. There are a lot of ways to display a plan; poster, diagram, projected image, backlit picture/diagram, PowerPoint presentation, video, or perhaps even a three-dimensional model. If it's a "showcase", I'd expect more than one type of display. The word "plans" does not suggest to me there will be any actual ZENNergy hardware there, but they might frex have one of their electric motors on display.

Last edited Sun, 26 Oct 2008, 10:52am by Lensman

Daniel R Plante wrote:

I didn't think there was anything to the WPP, but I do sense we'll get something out of this.

So Dan, in that case, I think b and or tvillars outta' jump on a plane to Munich, Germany and Nagoya, Japan to make sure to get all the poop. :)

Hell, actually, Ian will probably have some sort of snazzy show and tell Power Point slide show, something like at the last annual meeting. No reason ZENN couldn't provide that on the web site, if not actually make it into a full blown email / PR announcement.

Catherine, are you listening? :)

I was also intrigued that Ian Clifford stated in the newsletter that participation in the Eco Clean Car Fair will allow ZENN "to further establish the Company’s relationship with prospective Japanese OEM partners."

I surmise from this that they still haven't reached an agreement with any OEM to provide the gliders for the cityZENN. I am no manufacturing expert, but it seems to me that, if they don't line up an OEM in the very near future, it will be extremely difficult to produce the cityZENN by fall 2009 --as projected in the stockholders meeting last March.

Yanquetino wrote:

I surmise from this that they still haven't reached an agreement with any OEM to provide the gliders for the cityZENN. I am no manufacturing expert, but it seems to me that, if they don't line up an OEM in the very near future, it will be extremely difficult to produce the cityZENN by fall 2009 --as projected in the stockholders meeting last March.

"Yes, yes; with yours my figures do agree!" --The Pirates of Penzance by W.S. Gilbert

Lensman wrote:

Yanquetino wrote:

I surmise from this that they still haven't reached an agreement with any OEM to provide the gliders for the cityZENN. I am no manufacturing expert, but it seems to me that, if they don't line up an OEM in the very near future, it will be extremely difficult to produce the cityZENN by fall 2009 --as projected in the stockholders meeting last March.

"Yes, yes; with yours my figures do agree!" --The Pirates of Penzance by W.S. Gilbert

I completely disagree; I believe Zenn has been working with the donor glider for quite some time. You have to remember that Zenn is trying to establish a working relationship with all OEMs and this has nothing to do with the already established city zenn project.

“I've been taken to what ZENN public relations officer Catherine Scrimgeour jokes is the company's official ZENN motor track: A nondescript office stripmall. I've been sworn to secrecy on its location. The office is unmarked and houses trade secrets and engineers who are working on the next 2009 model: A family, midsize car with top speeds of up to 130 km/h and a single-charge range of 325 to 650 km.
There's an unfamiliar void when I turn on the ignition: Silence. The hum of a running engine is missing. The only audible cue that I'm moving is the sound of my wheels turning. “

http://www.torontosun.com/life/greenplanet/2008...

Jay, I can see why you're confused. That article alternates paragraphs about the writer test driving the ZENN (ZENN Motors' current and only car) with other paragraphs about ZM's plans for the future.

The writer did *not* test drive a CityZENN prototype, and from what he said, we can only assume he was taken to some building and told "Here is where we're working on our next car." We have no reason to believe he was actually shown anything except the outside of some building.

Things like this do *not* inspire confidence in me re ZENN Motors.

Jay: You say that ZENN "has been working with the donor glider for quite some time" on an "already established city zenn project"...?! Hey, that's the kind of news that we have all been dying to hear! Which OEM is it? From which country? Do you know any of the vehicle's specifications (ICE model, materials, dimensions, weight, etc.)? Can you provide us any link(s) with that information? It would really help assuage the fears of consumers and stockholders!

I don't believe that will reassure investors at all. The only thing that is going to reassure investors at this point is if Zenn/EEStor do what they said they were going to do and either show permitivity, or show a working prototype. The only other possible good news i could imagine is if an OEM signs up with Zenn in writing.

Finances is not at all my area of expertise, but I can't think of any reason for ZENN Motors to keep a contract with an auto manufacturer for gliders under wraps. Announcing it would cause their stock to rise, wouldn't it? Is there any rational reason for ZM to keep such a contract secret?

EVSupporter: You might be right that some investors will only feel reassured by a working EEStor prototype, but others would like to know that ZENN itself is pulling through with its announced plans --whether primary or backup.

In the stockholders meeting last March 28, they specifically reported under the "cityZENN status" that "ZMC is in the advanced stage of negotiations with several OEMs for new, suitable host vehicles." Given that they labeled those negotiations "advanced," it doesn't seem unreasonable to hope that they would have finalized an agreement for a glider by now --seven months later! Maybe I don't understand the definition of "advanced"...?

Moreover, when asked about alternative plans, Ian Clifford also stated at the meeting:

First of all, I will restate that we are really very pleased with the progress that EEStor has been making and are confident in their end solution. But we're not naive to timing difficulties as a possibility, or theoretically the chance that they cannot achieve what they state, even though they are as close as they are. So for the low-speed vehicle market space, that does not require an EEStor solution, it brings certain advantages, but it is not a requirement, and for the cityZENN application we can certainly --and will, if necessary-- introduce the cityZENN vehicle in the same timeline with alternative battery technologies, albeit with a lessened range capability, which is one of the key benefits that EEStor brings --amongst others. And there are advances being made in the lithium-ion world, and others, that will allow us to, and we're very cognizant of what those are and continually track and research --both for competitive reasons and also from possible backup reasons-- what those technologies are. So we will be in the market, with both low-speed and highway-capable vehicles, with or without EEStor, but we certainly hope and expect to be with EEStor.

Since he specifically stated that ZENN would "introduce the cityZENN vehicle in the same timeline with alternative battery technologies," consumers and investors would feel reassured to know that they are, indeed, getting all their ducks lined up in a row to meet that timeline --with or without EEStor.

I am going to now showcase my rosesjerkyTM plans for riches beyond measure.

Internet + JelloTM + IPO --> [ ] --> $$$$

This will be available estimated late 2008.

Don't question it... it is because I SAY it is...

I am --to say the least-- disappointed.

Ian told us in this latest newsletter:

(1) that he would be participating in the "International Electric Vehicle Experts" roundtable in London the last week of October;

(2) that he would then be a speaker at the "Alter-Mobile Conference" in Munich the first week of November;

and (3) that Brian Cott would "showcase" (whatever that means) the ZENNergy™ Drivetrain "plans" at the "Eco Clean Car Fair" in Japan the week after that, supposedly "to further establish the Company’s relationship with prospective Japanese OEM partners."

That all happened weeks ago. Have any of you seen anything about any of those events...?!!! A news release? A slide show? Any photos? A video clip? ANYTHING?

I have written to Catherine Scrimgeour to inquire... with no reply.

Could I have a show of hands? Who among us has recieved a reply (that obviously ISN'T form-type or boiler-plate) to an email sent to Cscrimgeour@ZENNcars.com within the last 30 days, and has NOT recieved an "undeliverable" message from their email server?

I just assumed she was routinely recieving hundreds a day, was overwhelmed, and missed some. My 2 emails is not a statistically valid sample size, so that could have been the case. Now I'm beginning to wonder what the heck's going on.

Comparing who gets responded to and who doesn't might also be a relevant observation. Just wondering...

I'll start off:

sent = 2, replies = 0

sent = 2
replies = 0

pgl: Why would they bother with replies? To show basic courtesy to its potential customers and stockholders.

Daniel R Plante wrote:

I just assumed she was routinely recieving hundreds a day, was overwhelmed, and missed some. My 2 emails is not a statistically valid sample size, so that could have been the case. Now I'm beginning to wonder what the heck's going on.

I've also had messages not returned but I'm not surprised. Zenn is still a small company without an abundance of headcount. Based on what I know about Mrs Scrimgeour's role at Zenn, she has quite a few other responsibilities than simply answering emails. My experience with trying to contact other company's investor relations sounds about what you folks are reporting here.

sent = 1
replied = 0

sent=0
replied=1

( I was thinking about sending an email to their psychic hotline)

current totals:

2 sent, 0 replies
2 sent, 0 replies
2 sent, 0 replies
1 sent, 0 replies
------------------
7 sent, 0 replies

so far, nobody except b has ever got a non-form letter reply to an email sent from their own email account?

Admittedly I'm new to this company/shareholder dance, but it just seems strange to me. Maybe it's just lack of experience on my part ..... anyone else care to add their data to this?

Zenn Motor Company Inc. (ZNN-V)
Last: Change: Volume: 3:58 PM ET
2.030 -0.010 (-0.49%) 25,822 November 18, 2008

2 years, and no prototype in a car, no permittivity, zenn stock is in a race with gas prices.. it a little to early to declare a winner here... really sad!!!

1 sent, 1 reply

somewhat non committal to my inquiries but a reply non the less.

Dave-in-bc wrote:

1 sent, 1 reply

somewhat non committal to my inquiries but a reply non the less.

Dave, can you tell me if you sent the email from your own account or if you used their contact forms on their website?

Also, was the response tailored to the specific content of your letter, or could it have been a form letter on a specific subject?

In BC? Vic or Van? I'm in Vic.

Dan

I sent the email from my account.

The response was tailored to the content of my letter so it was not a form letter. It only addressed part of my request for information. I did ask some pointed questions that were ignored. I would suggest the answer that I received was as much information as they were willing to part with at this time.

I am in Mission.

Dave

Thanks Dave. Mission huh? We're practically Siamese twins. :-p