Affordable Electric Cars Coming to US in 2009
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While we love hearing about sweet rides like the $100K Tesla Roadster, a functional and economical electric car made for the rest of us would be even cooler.
This could be it: the Th!nk City electric car, a four-seater with 110 mile range and top speed of 65 mph, priced under $25,000, made from 95% recyclable materials, and available in the U.S. in 2009.
The Th!nk City electric car is the product of Norwegian firm Th!nk Global, an auto manufacturer backed by Silicon Valley funding who has plans to assemble the cars in Southern California. In contrast to Tesla’s limited release of 300 cars per year, the Th!nk City is designed for mass production to the tune of 30-50,000 units within a few years. Th!nk already produces about 10,000 of these cars in Europe annually.
As an interesting aside, Ford Motor Company originally developed the vehicle, but (in a move they may soon regret), sold it to Norwegian investors in 2003. Why is it so cool? Because most of us don’t drive more than 40 miles in a day, and small electric cars are optimally suited for congested city driving. The benefits are pretty obvious, but if you’re worried about getting out for the weekend with the Th!nk City, don’t. Use it for city driving and keep that gas-guzzling SUV for forays into the mountains. You’ll still come out ahead.
Safety-wise, the Th!nk City meets the strict safety requirements of both Europe and the US as a highway-safe road car. ABS brakes, airbags, side-impact bars, and an advanced frame designed to absorb energy and distribute it away from the passenger’s compartment make it another blow to the myth that bigger cars are inherently safer.
If recent sales trends toward smaller vehicles are any indication (sales of Toyota Yaris up 70%), the Th!ink city could be very popular when released in the US.
Check out a few more pictures (below), and learn more from Th!nk’s website.
Addendum: Are plug-in electric vehicles a perfect answer to our transportation problems? I think you’ll see from the comments below that no, they aren’t. As one reader pointed out, dead batteries in the Th!nk City could take up to 10 hours to charge. That’s not only inconvenient, but putting 50,000 of these on the road could cause serious power draw (see Plug-In Hybrids Could Require 160 New Power Plants By 2030 (Or None At All and Plug-In Hybrids Use Over 17 Times More Water Than Regular Cars, Researchers Say). Since such a large portion of US power generation comes from coal, the increasing use of plug-in hybrid and electric cars will require serious consideration of other energy sources (for example, see How Solar Panels Could Power 90% of US Transportation).
Related Posts on Electric Cars:
- An Electric Car You Can Buy Today: The $20K TRIAC EV
- Aptera’s $26,000 Electric Car and 300 MPG Hybrid Coming Soon
- Tesla Motors Sues Fisker Automotive Over Electric Car Design
- Tesla’s First Electric Vehicle, 2008 Roadster, Now Under Production
- Subaru Unleashes R1e Electric Car on New York
- Chevy Volt’s Lithium-Ion Batteries Road- Tested By Month’s End
- Get 120 MPG Out of Your Prius (Plug It In)
- The Sporty Future of Electrics Cars: the Lightning GT
Photo Credits: Th!nk
Nice to see an affordable electric car that’s also made of recycled components. If they sell this in Canada I WILL buy it.
The electric car’s time has come. Desert sourced solar electricity is here, Even if the oil barons drop the price to $50 a barrel, we will not trust them again. They have hi-jacked the last prosperity build up of the USA. The jig is up! We will rid ourselves of this monopolistic parasitic business practice. Technology has come to our rescue, the cancerous benzine molecule will soon be a thing of the past. We can build electric cars that fill all needs, from economy models to 600 horsepower four motor models with 0 to 100 speeds that exceed any fossil fueled machine. We are the new paradigm!
Encouraging! Now if only they could create long distance friendly + affordable vehicle, that would be a slam dunk. Still, good to see this.
What is “top”speed of these electric cars ???
I found out, it’s 65 MPH .
If they could tack a solar panel on the roof to charge it while I’m at work–that would be cool.
I’m encouraged, but let’s face it.
Yes we drive under 40 miles on a typical day, but an ordinary car gives us the ability to drive much farther when we need to. My daily commute may be short, but when I need to drive 200 or even 500 miles away to another city, I can just do it with no preparation.
It’s hard to imagine spending $25,000 on a car that lacks this ability. You would need both the electric car and a regular car for long trips. Few people can afford to spend $25 grand on a second car - those who can aren’t worrying about gas prices.
What we need is a cheap alternative to cars for our daily commutes so we can keep our regular cars and use them less frequently. Personally, I just use a bicycle. Why not - it’s dirt cheap, uses zero fuel, and provides me with exercise to boot. I still have a small car that I use once in a while - if it rains, or when I need to pick up something too big to carry on a bike. I understand that a bicycle is not practical for everyone, but this is the model we should be shooting for, rather than trying to replace the car with an expensive electric alternative that can never really do the same job.
Frank
Why do alternative fuel cars that are affordable always look so gay? I mean really the thing looks like its made of red lego blocks. Lets make something that doesn’t scream QUEER and maybe people will buy it.
It’s about time! I’d buy one of these in a minute.
Why don’t you american go on, driving your 5-7 Liter SUV cars? Now every american snivels about alternative fuels when gasoline is pricy. What have you done until now? I tell you: wasting oil with such cars, that oil which belongs to the mankind and not to the american nation! This is already an stereotype about americans here in Europe. Amerivans in their big-engine-SUVs .
Where is the problem driving a 1.4 or 1.6 Liter car?
You americans woke at least up but unfortunately a little bit late. I drive with a full gastank (60L=16 Gallons) about 480 miles and i have not to buy an electric car. BUY CARS WITH SMALLER ENGINES!
(small is not 2 or 3 Liter but rather 1.2 to 1.6 Liter. Such an engine is more then enough to commute every day to work.