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
They could have made the car a bit more stylish
Sign me up! Whether or not the thing looks “gay”…I’ve just about had my fill of beasts that guzzle my wallet way.
I’d love to “go electric” as soon as there is some honest RANGE to them. While the Tesla really rings my chimes, a max range of 220 miles is nothing to write home about for an old road warrior like me, who will drive 600, 850, even 1000 miles in a day.
If I can get some good wind-in-the-hair performance, a 900 mile range, and 6 hours recharge time (while I’m snoozing), you’ve got me.
This is very cool although I think the mileage sucks for such a price. Poor Ford, they can’t get anything right.
Just a f.y.i., look into the Chevy Volt that is coming out.
You’ve got your Tesla production numbers wrong.
It’s more like 2,000 per year when they’re fully up and running. That 300 number is probably this year’s number, when they’re just starting up production and working out the kinks.
I really want to like this car but…
Just as bio fuels have come under scruteny for replacing valuable food crops, this has the potential for controversy. Think of the increased polution/emissions using coal fired power plants to generate needed electricity. Or fertilizer shortages caused by gas fired power plants(fertilizer is manufactured from natural gas)This car is switching the source of pollution from the tail pipe to the power plant.
If this car doesn’t come with it’s own solar panel for recharging and it becomes popular, prepare for brownouts/blackouts.
You wanna know what the solution is? Ride your bike, walk or take public transit.
“Why do alternative fuel cars that are affordable always look so gay? ”
Only when you’re sitting in the driver’s seat, you closet case.
Why wasn’t the Volt mentioned…It seems to me that Geeenies have some kind of hate for GM. The Volt has all the sexiness of the Tesla and a price similar to the Th!nk at nearly 6x the range (so what if it’s not purely electric).
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Capitalism at its finest. Leave the innovation to the people I think we have been waiting too long for the government to come up with something.