This one is newer than the typical Barn Finds vehicle, but being a lover of unusual vehicles, not to mention EVs, I couldn’t resist showing this 2000 Corbin Sparrow. It’s appropriately dusty and has been parked since 2011 so it has two things going for it. The seller has it listed here on eBay in American Canyon, California. There are 4 bids and a current price of $3,000, but the reserve hasn’t been met yet. I clicked on the shipping tab and it says $3,200 to get it to our house, ouch.
First of all, I know that the bird is called a Barn Swallow, not a Barn Sparrow, that was just a little poetic license there. Second of all, did I miss something and all of a sudden vehicle shipping prices have tripled? Since when does it cost $3,200 to ship a tiny three-wheeled vehicle fewer than 2,000 miles with 95% of it being on interstates? It’s only been a couple of months since I’ve gotten a motorcycle shipped and that was only $400 for a 2,000-mile trip, why is this one so expensive?
Most of you have probably heard of the Corbin Sparrow even though fewer than 300 of them were made. The story goes that the father and son maker of motorcycle seats – yes, that Corbin – wanted to make an efficient commuter vehicle after observing that most cars on the freeway in Los Angeles only had one person in them. In 1999, Corbin Motors received USDoT approval to produce the Corbin Sparrow, a battery-powered, three-wheeled vehicle. Between 2000 and 2003, fewer than 300 of them were made before they filed bankruptcy. In 2004, the company became Meyers Motors NmG (No more Gas) and updated lithium batteries were used beginning in 2009 giving a range of around 60 miles.
A small, orange, three-wheeled EV is a love-it-or-hate-it vehicle for most people. EVs, in general, are that way. I’m in the love-it camp, but you already knew that. These are single-seat vehicles since most commuting is done by vehicles with just one person in them, that was the whole idea. There isn’t much storage behind the seat but it’s probably enough for most people on a daily basis. They can park in motorcycle spaces and they’re licensed and insured as a motorcycle and yes, having a head-on collision with a 1996 Chevy Suburban would not be good. But, it wouldn’t be good if you were on a motorcycle, either, yet most people never mention that, it only comes up when a small, enclosed vehicle is being shown.
This is the “Jelly Bean” body but they also had one with a small hatchback, called the Pizza Butt – I kid you not. Domino’s Pizza used a few of them for deliveries and in their commercials. For the record, Hagerty is at $4,200 for a #4 fair condition 2000 Corbin Sparrow Jelly Bean and $6,100 for a #3 good condition one, so this could be a good buy depending on the seller’s reserve. And, shipping costs.
The batteries usually take around six to eight hours to reach a full charge and that gives around a 30 to 40-mile range. That always scares people who drive around with a full tank of gas that will carry them 400-700 miles without stopping. For most commuters, 30 miles is enough and a lithium upgrade will typically double the range. Apparently, the previous owner upgraded the motor but the seller doesn’t say what that involved. Have any of you heard of a Corbin Sparrow? What’s the highest price that you’ve ever paid for shipping?
Don’t think I’d want to drive this on the Interstates. But it might be nice for tooling around a college campus or a gated community. Agree shipping price seems nuts as it look like this would take up about half the space of a car. Heck, it might even fit in the bed of a full size pickup.
I’ve driven them on the freeway between hollister and Los Banos and I enjoyed the ride. I built them and also delivered them all over the US. From washington to florida and Los Angeles to Vermont. A good vehicle concept but poor management at that time.
I’ve driven. A sparrow on the freeway between holister and los banos. They operate very well at 70 mph. And great in the hov lanes. They biggest problem with the sparrow was poor management. A good vehicle for the single commute but ahead of its time. To many people want a large gas guzzler and don’t care about the environment.
Laughable shipping. I second Steve about throwing it in a truck.
When I worked in Berkeley in the early 2000’s there were quite a few of these and GM EV1’s around. I always stared at those dimpled fenders on the Corbin. The paint and finish on these looked quite good in person. For a Dr. Seuss car.
Re: Dimples. Trying to emulate the texture on a golf ball? I noticed that and it piqued my curiosity, but I have a negative desire for this car, nothing positive to say.
(heh)
I’m wondering about the height restrictions on this. That cockpit looks like a torture chamber for anyone over 5’5″ tall, LOL! :-)
Plenty of headroom. Steering wheel and seat back both tilt but seat bottom is fixed. The Sparrow was designed around a 6’ tall human mannequin seated in a chair and has exactly as much interior room as a person that size actually uses to operate a motor vehicle. Taller drivers run out of knee room sooner than anything else.
I’m 6’4″ and it’s it’s reasonably comfortable for a 60 mile trip, once I’m in.
Yes, very fun drive and “The Safest Motorcycle Ever”.
Belts tend to squeal but is correctible with pulley upgrade.
Mine may show up on here pretty soon.
Interesting find. How did I know this would be written up by you, Scotty? lol It’s already got the obligatory fog of barn dust, so it seems like a missed opportunity by the seller, not reaching further into the cliché bucket. I think at least “Survivor,” and “Unrestored” apply. It probably retains its original numbers-matching engine, er, motor. Is that “patina?” All joking aside, a cool little ride that you should buy immediately for your island of misfit toys.
Something has gone wrong with the shipping estimator. It shows $1670.05 to my home less than 1.5 hours away (63 miles).
The villain Goldmember (a play on Goldfinger) drove one of these in the film Austin Powers: Goldmember. Useless trivia.
That shipping estimator might not be wrong. COVID restrictions for state to state travel have made it really tough to find haulers at all. I had something hauled from CA to NY a month ago. It took 5 weeks just to get a hauler who was willing to do it.
Not in Woody Allen’s “Sleeper”, but would have been a fine silly addition (if avail back then), unlike in other sci-fi movies with serious futuristic cars.
I drove one of these once. A colleague bought it. It felt like driving a terrifyingly fast golf cart.
And here I thought I was the only one who had actually driven one!
Back around 2005 we had a project upfitting a Myers with a more modern and more efficient AC induction motor drivetrain. It certainly added some power but at the end they didn’t want to pay for the additional component cost so that project went nowhere. But I did once get to take it for a spin on the highways around Pittsburgh.
It was ridiculously cheaply made for the $25k selling price. You didn’t quite know if you had closed the door or not, and most interior fittings felt like something I could have fabricated in my own garage. I don’t remember it being particularly cramped and I am a fairly big guy. Power was fine (at least with the AC drive) but braking was terrifying, brakes were horrible. Cornering and ride were surprisingly ok, so other than the brakes it wasn’t too bad to drive. But with that price it was dead in the water, no sensible person would waste that kind of money on something like this!
I burst out laughing when I read of your experience with the brakes on the (car? cycle?) Sparrow.
Funny how some things hang with us for the remainder of our time here, and a fright will be one of the things which cement an experience in our minds, ready to surface with a slight trigger. I’ve had a few of those, and they pop up on some occasions, like right now… LOL
It looks like a nose!
LOL. I was thinking it looked like a big toe….with the windshield being the toenail.
So, I wasn’t the only one who thought of the TV commercial….
I love the “Jelly Beans”. $5k at the most for this specimen.
The most I have spent shipping a Microcar from the US to Puerto Rico is $2k.
$3.5k is outrageousLy high even with the present COVID conditions.
My two cents worth.
Shipping to the same Zip Code as the seller:
Open Transport 4 days $1,065.79
It’s California !
Interesting.
Where did the name Corbin come from?
Where were they made?
Wouldn’t mind an elect. vehicle, but it would have to look alot more impressive than that!
Corbin is the name of the family that produced them. They also own Corbin aftermarket motorcycle seats and accessories.
Interestingly, I drove by this vehicle last Friday evening, 8/21/20 on my way to Vallejo. Looked like it had just been pulled out of the garage.
I’m a former ebay [and I stress the word “former”] seller, and can tell you ebay makes money from every part of the transaction. They even take a share of the state sales tax. Ebay also has “approved shippers” who pay a percentage of all the shipping rates ebay shows in the transaction. This is one of the reasons the shipping costs are high, and never use ebay if you can avoid it.
flee-bay still has 500$ of a deal that did not happen so I can C Y ur an ‘ex” seller…
Auction update: the eBay auction “was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available.” Does that mean that someone made an offer or they weren’t getting close to what they wanted so they ended the auction? Nobody knows.
Scotty,
in ebay speak, that means it’s no longer available THRU EBAY. So ebay doesn’t want you to know it might be available elsewhere!
I always suggest to anyone interested in a vehicle on ebay, to write down the seller’s info, especially the phone number if it’s listed. And I always suggest that sellers provide their phone number. Can you tell I’m no longer a fan of fleecebay?
Those are good tips Bill. I will keep that in mind.