An Electric Car You Can Buy Today: The $20K TRIAC EV
TRIAC Electric Car. Range: 60-100 Miles. Cost: 2 cents per mile
This little number has been getting some good press lately (see EcoGeek and Inhabit), and for good reason: it’s the first commercially available electric vehicle with a price tag and functionality that could meet the needs of the average city driver (assuming you can afford it).
OK, you aren’t going to fit a family of 5 in there, but that’s not what it’s made for. Green Vehicles, manufacturer of the 3-wheeled TRIAC EV, calls it a “modern freeway commuter,” because the zero-emissions vehicle can reach 80 mph and will get you into the carpool lane with a single driver. Safety-wise, it has a structural steel cage the company says is the “same metal skeleton used in race cars” and a low center of gravity to maintain balance (but surprisingly has no airbags).
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Back at home, it takes about 6 hours to charge the car’s lithium-ion batteries at an estimated cost of about 2 cents per mile. Not a bad deal if you can afford the $20,000 price tag. The company website says the TRIAC EV is currently available at dealerships in San Jose and Mill Valley, California, and should be more widely available in the future..
Final thoughts: to me, it looks like they added an extra wheel to a racing bike and built a canopy around it, which makes it a powerful ride but a lot safer (and a lot greener). Generous State/Federal tax credits would put this car within reach for many more drivers, like the $4,000 Federal credit for electric vehicles that ended in 2006.
Want one of these? Check out the Green Vehicles website.
See more pictures below.
More Posts on Electric Cars:
- Affordable Electric Cars Coming to US in 2009
- Nissan to Sell Electric Cars in US by 2010
- Tesla’s First Electric Vehicle, 2008 Roadster, Now Under Production
- Aptera’s $26,000 Electric Car and 300 MPG Hybrid Coming Soon
hmmm, I googled him and this is what I got:
Thomas C Gray - Florida Sexual Offender
Name: Thomas C Gray. Status: State Incarceration. Department of Corrections #: 048426 Search the Dept of Corrections Website. Date of Birth: 04/05/1952
I guess that makes sense (?)
make sure you wear a helment, armor, and chappes with this car, because it is a motorcycle. It may have seatbelts, but there are no safety system standards in the US for this type of vehicle. No emmissions standards either, but it shouldn’t have any emissions.
What I find curious is that almost every time I see Thomas C Gray commenting on an article, he’s the first post. I mean wow. That takes dedication to scour the intarweb and post scathing comments within moments of each article going public! Shoot down the competition wherever they pop up. I’m thinking he’s working for Chevy. Extolling the virtues of the Volt is the only positive comment I’ve seen so far from this guy.
Give it better looks and people might actually give it a second look, keep EV’s looking like this (sh*t) and you read about it once and then it’s gone into oblivion.
This is my main problem with these kind of cars, $100k and you get an EV-car that looks like an sportscar, useless when you think about it but still better looking then this TRIAC. From an $20k oogly to a $100k replica of an Elise, is there no way to make a car in between that actually looks good and is useful?
thomas c gray?
http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/flyer.do?personId=57162
sorry, but i dont take much advice from sex offenders…
100 mile range is what kills all-electric cars. Sorry, but the fact that you can never go more than 50 miles away from home simply makes it useless for any sort of larger city driving.
As much as Thomas was lacking in ability to form a logical sentence…the foundation of his argument is true.
These are dangerous, moreso than even motorcycles.
I used to have an inverted trike (3 wheeler with the two wheels up front). It wasn’t uncommon to end up on two wheels (1 front and the rear) when turning to sharply. It’s not a good design. At least motorcycles can lean safely in a sharp turn.
That said, as long as the consumer is aware of the shortcomings, then there is no need to stop them from selling it.
Also, to everyone insulting thomas, most of your rants are as bad as his, filled with terrible generalizations and lack of content. Ignore trolls, don’t become them.
Who is Thomas C Gray shilling for?
a) Exxon
b) some third country like Saudi Arabia
c) some global hedge fund bent on sinking America faster
Anyhow, I’d still hesitate to take it on the highway… the extra room over 30MPH seems mostly useful on non-Federal routes (like Route 1, etc).
What’s notable is that there are NO OTHER relatively low-cost electrics. There are some souped up golf carts which are governed to 30MPH - this is a refreshing change.
I see in Mass they shut down the electric recharge parking spaces at the MBTA. Bringing back the EV tax credits would be nice (it’s kind of fishy that the HUMMER tax credit’s not phased out, but the EV credit is??).
thomas C Gray:
You sure use the word “Shilling” a lot.
And your statement “it does NOT adhere to ANY safety regulations” Is VERY not true. These sized cars have been driven in parts of Aisa for years, this has revealed that, if designed right, cars this size can be safer than motorcycles.
Go ahead and drive your POS SUV. Die knowing that you did your part to fu*k the environment.
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