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
The Triac is NOT a car - it is a motorcycle, and it does NOT adhere to ANY safety regulations - it was designed with three wheels for that very purpose. Shilling this death trap I consider the sleaziest of the sleaze. I hope the first victim’s families sue your sorry ass.
As for an “affordable electric car” from Nissan, that’s a joke. A $25,000 vehicle that has a driving radius of less than 50 miles is, stupid fellow, not a
viable alternative for a gas powered car. Apparently you don’t expect the owners to ever want to leave the county. Just why are you shilling for these useless technologies? Do you own stock in these companies are are you just dumb? What your selling is pure fraud.
I think I mentioned something about it looking like a motorcycle somewhere in the post. Thanks for reading the whole thing.
I’m also pretty sure I’m not liable for damages if someone crashes this car, that the TRIAC has to adhere to some safety regulations to be on the road, and that an all-electric 50 mpg is pretty good, considering most people in this country don’t drive more than that in the average day.
If these technologies are useless then no one will buy them. Time will tell.
Historically US Federal Tax Credits for Electric Cars are for just that CARS — 3 wheels is not a car and therefore typically tax incentives do NOT apply. If and when tax policies are changed you have been warned to not believe statements at face value and READ the tax law before spending hard earned monies before you are stiffed the credit.
I think what Thom (rather inelegantly) is trying to say, is that according to U.S. law the Triac is a motorcycle. And, as such, doesn’t have to adhere to safety regulations.
I don’t know what he’s so upset about though. It’s not like there aren’t millions of motorcycles in America already…and they’re certainly more dangerous than the Triac.
Thanks for the article. Unfortunately it seems with every car there are mental retards like Thomas C. Gray that think they need to mention the redneck comments of being crushed by a Hummer, or a F250 truck, or an Escalade. Every small environmentally friendly new car always has moronic posts like this attached to it. Let Thomas drive his 10mpg Ford that apparently just drives around smashing smaller cars all day while getting 10mpg.
Thanks for the info on this future EV.
Personally I wonder why these electric cars have to look like soap boxes. Even the popular Prius looks like a box on wheels. I love the idea but please give me something that I can put my groceries in and won’t make me look like an idiot.
Maybe Thomas above, is actually President Bush, writing under an alias
Cause his agenda seems clear, buy gas and don’t support new technology.
I can’t wait till I can buy an electric car, in the meantime I have my feet and a bike.
Thomas C Gray is NOT a commenter. He’s just a shrill.
Usually, he comments under the name of Kent Beauchert but he has a bunch of alias’s he uses. Go ahead and google him and check out some of his thousands of ranting/raving comments.
Good points here about registration status for these types of vehicles. I think Aptera’s Typ1 will also be registered as a motorcycle.
I do think that whatever market / regulatory gains are made by having only three wheels reinforce the “eccentricity” or “weirdness” meme related to electric cars. The Prius, while a bit different than other cars from a looks perspective, is actually a fairly standard car. Although I love the range and the price point of the Triac, having a fourth wheel and two small back seats would have advanced the overall cause by a HUGE extent.