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
As for the issue of 3-wheeler stability, the proof is in the driving, and *how* you drive it, I suspect. I had a Sparrow, also a 3-wheeler, and did not find it unstable in the least. My understanding is that 2 in front is the more stable arrangement. The short wheelbase made the steering twitchy at freeway speeds, and it’s almost certainly more rollable, but the way to deal with that is to drive defensively (as everyone should anyhow), not for everyone to drive a hummer “just in case”.
Just like with the nonsense about U-haul refusing to rent to Explorers: I pulled a 3000 lb boat with my Explorer and it handled it just fine. You have to drive accordingly: you *do* have a 3000lb tail wagging your dog, but is hardly unsafe. U-haul just got hit with a rash of people trying to win the lottery after they proved they didn’t know how to drive with a trailer IMHO. But that’s another matter…
It’s possible that this thing is unstable, but it would be bad design, not the fact of 3 wheels.
so
how much ?
what exactly is the price?
where exactly do i go to take the money to get one and drive away?
where exactly is this cutie built, constructed ?
how many are on the road?
can i talk to or see an owner, happy or furious?
pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeez
more dodgy stuff about fantasy vehicles,
how does this save any planet?
integrity, it’s just an old worn out concept
I applaud the company for the ingenuity and engineering of this car. The problem though it that it has 3 freakin’ wheels on it! Why do the electric and alternate energy vehicles always require us (if we want them) to drive a dorked out rinky dink vehicle? I don’t want a big SUV, but make the cars look like regular cars. What would be even better than that would be to sell me a small car that looks good and is good, not some bubble looking suppository impersonator.
For $6K you can buy the Maini Reva all electric vehicle. This car is quite popular in Bangalore, India and some time last year, Draper Fisher Jurvetson investment quite a good amount of money in this company.
URL: http://www.revaindia.com/
News about the DFJ funding: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1067776
Only $20,000. What a bargain. $3500 less than the large two bedroom house on 1/3 acre with 23 trees in the yard we bought in 1958 in Dallas. And everyone brags about how much they make in contrast to the old days.
This gas crisis is so out of hand, that I’ve resorted to drastic measures. Recently I converted my 04 Cadillac to utilize water as fuel from an easy to install kit, I obtained online from a company called Water4fuel.info
Why does it seem impossible to build an electric car that doesn’t look stupid. For example, the Honda Insight, this Triac thing. Yeah, Tesla makes a nice looking car but it cost $100K. Why doesn’t somebody make a small good looking electric car that people will want to drive. Something that looks like a small Honda Civic (sedan), Chevy Cavalier (coupe), or a Mazda Miata (sports).
igrew up in england and we had the 3 wheel car it got great gas milage and had no more accidents than anything else.we also had an elecdtric car that worked fine w/ 4 wheels did america just reject all the history of cars ? the prius is a joke .spend ?1000s$$ to save what a little more than a grand e year. crunch some numbers nobody paying a fortune for electric to save money ever will. and those batteries are huge non eco caring garbage in a few years.-modern tech is failing us at a an astounding rate.
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