Weird Alibaba: Time to take this electric mobility scooter off some sweet jumps
One of the best things about scouring Alibaba for awesomely weird electric vehicles is that many of them seemingly start from something rather normal. There’s nothing strange about an electric tour bus, until it comes shaped like a tiger. Stuffed animals are rather normal, until engineers added wheels, motors and batteries to make them rideable. And a mobility scooter for old folks is a pretty common sidewalk vehicle, until you add enough seats to make it into a party bus for old folks.
And that’s what we’ve got here, a stretch limo version of a Rascal scooter.
It’s just odd enough to make it into this week’s edition of the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week.
Old people scooters are normally single-seater affairs, but this bad boy has a claimed “three to four” seats. The rear bench appears to be larger, but a couple frail grannies could probably squeeze in together up front.
The larger rear bench would be perfect for picking up their boys toys Milton and Edward for a night on the town. And by “night” I of course mean early evening. Can’t miss that Early Bird Special at the local eateries down in Del Boca Vista!
This old people party bus doesn’t slouch on the specs, either. You can get it outfitted with a range of motors with up to 1,000 watts of power. They say it can climb a 30º incline, which is almost certainly false, but I’m going to give it to them. Taking these honest Alibaba vendors at their word, those are some impressive specs.
I’ve got more expensive 28 mph electric bikes that have smaller motors than that!
There doesn’t appear to be any mention of a top speed for the mobility scooter, but that’s probably because it’s so fast they can’t legally print the specs. I’ll bet this bad boy is a blur when you put the pedal to the plastic.
That’s probably why they overspec’d the brakes, with front and rear disc brakes and regenerative braking.
I love all the accessories, too. There’s a storage basket up front, mirrors, a windshield wiper, optional rain curtains, a full light package and beautifully padded seats. It just needs a cane rack on back like a rifle holder and you’ll be set!
The batteries are 60V lead acids, which is some pretty old tech, but you could easily swap in some 12V lithium battery bricks to get some modern energy storage in this mobility scooter turned fun-mobile.
With 60V worth of lithium in this oversized mobility scooter and 1,000 watts worth of power beneath you, there could be some serious fun to be had.
Our graphics guy seems to think this geriatric go-kart belongs in the skate park and I don’t disagree.
I’d grind the edge of that bowl all day in this thing, making every Dorothy, Agnes and Harriet in the park weak in the knees. The designers obviously built it for extreme riding, which is why they put scooter tires on it instead of flat tires. They knew you’d be leaning this up on two wheels for hard cornering!
With that kind of stunt driving, you could be picking up blue hairs left and right in this thing. And fortunately there’d be enough seats for all of them too!
For a cool price of just $899, this hot-rodded mobility scooter limousine won’t break the bank either. That’s perfect for a pensioner’s fixed budget, and even leaves them with enough cash left over to really accessorize those rims.
It’s been a while since I made any big electric vehicle purchases on Alibaba, and I absolutely don’t need this mobility scooter. But somehow and for some reason I kind of want to get one. I’m sure that inquiring about the shipping cost will be a cold splash of water to the face and wake me out of that dream, but until then I can at least imagine being the coolest dude in Florida under 75.
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If you’re considering going electric, May will be a great time to score a deal on an EV lease. Automakers are slashing lease prices on some of the most popular EVs to move inventory – here are four standouts.
Nissan Ariya SUV
The Nissan Ariya SUV has an MSRP of $41,805. Its lease term is 36 months, with $4,409 due at signing and a mileage allowance of 10,000 a year. Monthly payment? A sweet $129!
Nissan cut the 2025 Ariya Engage’s price by $144 in April, so it now has an effective monthly cost of $251 – that’s seriously affordable for an electric SUV. If you’re already a Nissan driver, then you’re going to get an even better deal, because Nissan is offering a $1,000 loyalty discount on the Ariya, which brings its effective cost down to $224 per month.
CarsDirect, which sniffed out this deal, thinks this Ariya deal will be in place until Memorial Day, so take advantage of tariff-free pricing while you can.
Click here to find a local dealer that may have the Nissan Ariya in stock. –trusted affiliate copy
Honda Prologue SUV
The Honda Prologue SUV has an MSRP of $48,850. Its lease term is 36 months, with $1,399 due at signing and a mileage allowance of 10,000 a year. The monthly payment on the Prologue is $239.
The 2024 Honda Prologue has up to $18,800 in rebates, and the price includes a $1,000 lease loyalty discount or conquest offer. In California and other ZEV states, the EX has an effective cost of just $278 per month; in other parts of the US, pricing will be around $30 higher. This offer ends July 7.
Click here to find a local dealer that may have the Honda Prologue in stock. –trusted affiliate copy
Tesla Model 3
The Tesla Model 3 has an MSRP of $43,880. Its best lease term is 24 months, with $1,044 due at signing and a mileage allowance of 10,000 a year. The monthly payment on the Model 3 is $349.
The 2025 Tesla Model 3 still has the $7,500 federal government EV rebate. Several months ago, Tesla reduced the amount due at signing on all Model 3s. And for those who want to lease a Long Range Model 3, the effective cost can be as low as $393 per month.
You can lease the Model 3 for 36 months, but the folks at CarsDirect found that the better deal will be had on 24-month leases. They compared the Model 3’s MSRP to the 2025 Lexus IS 300 F Sport’s MSRP, which is nearly identical, and the Model 3 was around 30% cheaper to lease.
Acura ZDX
The 2024 Acura ZDX has an MSRP of $65,850. Its best lease term is 36 months, with $4,699 due at signing and a mileage allowance of 7,500 a year. The monthly payment on the ZDX is $299.
The 2024 ZDX is Acura’s cheapest vehicle to lease because it features up to $29,450 in lease cash. However, the best deal is limited to California and ZEV states. If you cash in on a loyalty discount or conquest cash, the effective cost is $430 per month. This offer runs til June 30.
Click here to find a local dealer that may have the Acura ZDX in stock. –trusted affiliate copy
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Ford (F) reported its first-quarter earnings, beating Wall Street’s revenue and EPS expectations. However, with Trump’s auto tariffs, Ford is suspending full-year guidance. Here’s a breakdown of Ford’s Q1 2025 earnings
Ford Q1 2025 earnings preview
After crosstown rival General Motors cut its full-year financial guidance last week, investors are waiting to see if Ford will follow suit.
Ford’s previous 2025 forecast called for EBIT of $7 billion to $8.5 billion and capital expenditures between $8 billion and $9 billion.
The biggest threat is Trump’s new auto tariffs, which include a 25% duty on imported vehicles and many parts. Since Ford builds a greater percentage of vehicles in the US than any other major automaker, outside of Tesla, it isn’t expected to see as big of an impact.
CEO Jim Farley called it “an opportunity for Ford,” during an interview with CNN last week, saying the company has a “different footprint, a different exposure for tariffs.”
Ford imports around 21% of the vehicles it sells in the US, while GM imports around 46%. According to Estimize, Wall St expects Ford to post Q1 EPS of $0.0 on revenue of $38.02 billion.
The company reports earnings for each of its three business units, Ford Blue (gas-powered vehicles), Model e (electric vehicles), and Ford Pro (commercial and software business).
In the fourth quarter, Ford’s EV unit (Model e) lost another $1.4 billion while Pro and Blue each reported an adjusted EBIT of $1.6 billion.
Financial breakdown
Ford beat Wall Street estimates, reporting first-quarter revenue of $40.7 billion with an adjusted EPS of 0.49.
- Q1 2025 Revenue: $40.7 billion vs $38.02 billion expected.
- Q1 2025 Adjusted EPS: $0.49 vs $0.0 expected.
The company posted adjusted EBIT of $1 billion, down 63% from Q1 2024. Ford said its first-quarter EBIT suffered a nearly $200 million hit from added tariff costs, primarily in Ford Blue and Ford Pro.
Ford Pro generated an EBIT of $1.3 billion, Ford Blue $96 million, and Ford Model e reported an EBIT loss of $849 million.
For Model e, the company is focused on improving gross margins and “exercising a disciplined approach to investments in battery facilities and next-generation products.” Although still a nearly $1 billion loss, it’s still a $500 million improvement from Q1 2024.
Ford said higher Model e revenue was driven by new EVs launching in Europe, like the electric Explorer and Capri.
The company said its “Power Promise” promotion, which includes a free home charger and several other benefits, has helped drive demand in the US.
Although it’s tracking within its previous full-year adjusted EBIT guidance of between $7 billion and $8.5 billion, Ford is suspending full-year guidance due to the uncertainty surrounding tariffs.
Ford estimates the full-year gross cost of tariffs to be around $2.5 billion. It expects a tariff-related net adverse adjusted EBIT impact of about $1.5 billion for the full year 2025.
Ford also extended its “From America, For America” campaign last week. The promo includes employee pricing on most 2024 and 2025 models and now runs through July 4.
Check back for more info from Ford’s first quarter conference call. Ford is also hosting its annual meeting on Thursday, May 8, where we should learn more about its EV plans and how it will navigate the new tariffs.
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