Three pinstriped London investors stand outside an electric car factory in the green fields of the Norwegian countryside, waiting their turns to test-drive a stylish two-seater called the Think City.
But first, Think CEO Jan-Olaf Willums takes the wheel. While the moneymen fiddle with their BlackBerrys, Willums, looking slightly rumpled like the academic he once was, turns the ignition, and the stub-nosed coupe silently rolls toward an open stretch of pavement. Suddenly he punches the pedal, and the car takes off like a shot, the AC motor instantaneously transferring power to the wheels. The only sound is the squealing of tires as Willums throws the little car into a tight turn and barrels back toward his startled guests.
“That looks fun,” Frode Aschim of Range Capital Partners says with a grin. Minutes later, he slides into the driver’s seat and speeds away…
Did someone kill the electric car? You wouldn’t know it on this bright May morning in Scandinavia, where the idea of a mass-produced battery-powered vehicle is being resurrected and actual cars are scheduled to begin rolling off the production line by year’s end…
Willums’s pitch is this: He’s not just selling an electric car; he’s upending a century-old automotive paradigm, aiming to change the way cars are made, sold, owned, and driven.
Very interesting article, wandering through several avenues of alternatives in transportation and manufacturing. TH!NK is an electric car project Ford sold off because their “analysts” concluded there would never be a market for such a critter. Worth the read, folks.
By the bye – the Th!nk City car should be manufactured in a California-based factory and sold in the U.S., next year.
OK, just don’t force people to drive it. My guess is electric cars will be a disaster environmentally. Just because they get 90 mpg, how do you account for the electricity generation?
What’s the range and cost?
Have either of you considered clicking through and reading the whole article?
You might not ask questions about mpg for an all-electric car – for example.
#3 – “Have either of you considered clicking through and reading the whole article?”
Yes. Price in Norway = ~$34k – Hope they aren’t serious for that sized car. And no range given for the car in the article.
[From the article: The battery-powered Think City has a range of up to 110 miles on a single charge, with a top speed of about 65 mph, company officials say. It will be priced under $25,000.– ed.]
#4 – So size is what determines price?
The car above would be more useful, and thus more valuable, to me than any traditional car… at least on a day to day basis.
#5 – If it was too small too replace my current car then yes, it would be a factor. Also, as they don’t seem to want to highlight the range I would assume it is not adequate to replace most peoples current auto.
The biggest problem I can see with the electric cars, especially in the northern states, is the drain that heating will have on power…. if the cars only do 100 miles or so on a full charge, how long will the drive for when its -30 below and also have to use electricity to heat the car as well. For those used to air conditioning there could be similar issues in the heat. Another issue is that batteries have to be replaced every five to ten years, and they ain’t cheap….
On the plus side, electric cars only have 16 movable parts on them, so assumably maintenance is quite cheap.
#7 – “Another issue is that batteries have to be replaced every five to ten years, and they ain’t cheap….”
Under heavy usage (most US users) assume 5 years.
Listed cost is $17k for the batteries. Total cost over 10 year life of car $34k + $17k = $51k for a sub-sub-compact with limited rage = almost no sales.
“Did someone kill the electric car? ” No, it was stillborn.
Sad there is NOTHING NEW HERE. Electric cars have been built. Technology is all off the shelf. Battery expense still makes the cars uncompetitive until gas is about $8 (pick your number) except for those willing to “make a statement.”
So, whats needed is the break thru that makes alternative fuel cars functionally and economically competitive with todays dinosaurs.
Compressed air cars and “hybrids to grids” are yet to developed but could compete if produced in volume.
All blather, no progress.
The Ghost of Edison says: “I Told You So!”
Electric cars are FAST…
Yea electric cars arn’t more efficient than gas cars. Id like to see an mpg and mpg equivalent comparison (carbon per mile?). I think hybrids could be better put to use to make sicknasty sports cars.
As they’d say in Norway… “Den ser kjempekul ut!”
Translation: That looks really cool!
#12–electrics are 35% less carbon per mile over gas.
http://www.e2.org/ext/jsp/controller?docId=10696
Good points about heat and distance. I’m a city dweller who commutes short distances to an office and I can really benefit from a car like what we are talking about…
But if you are a contractor, a farmer, or anyone who needs a workhorse, this is obviously isn’t your car.
#15–OFTLO==and we get the same comment from farmers talking about tractors and hay-balers==all highlighting the fact that there are huge oil savings to be made in alt-fuel vehicles as that second car almost everywhere and as the main vehicle for most people most of the time.
Ahh, the future is cataract bright.
Think of all the poor blind people that will be killed by this silent death machine.
But if a guy is currently driving a two year old Hummer his carbon foot print will be smaller if he continues to drive the Hummer for the next 6 years than if he sells the Hummer and buys an electric, hybred or what ever low C-footprint car because of the C-footprint made when you build a new car.
Why do people think that Electric cars are so great? The range usually sucks. Their size is too small and cost too much. They take too long recharge. Hey boss I’m going the be late I forgot to plug the car in, Lost power last night or neighbor plugged into my cord to charge his car. At least with gas I can get running again in a few minutes and not hours. Duke Energy (local Power company here in Cincinnati) is doing test with Plug-in hybrids to see what kind of load they will add to the power grid.
I keep saying they have to make alternative energy/fuel as cheap as and easy to use as current gas cars. Otherwise they will only be a niche market. E85 sucks you get less mpg than gas and were burn food that we could be eating. Can’t make Hydrogen cheap enough yet. Now you also got people talking about the “Hypercar” http://tinyurl.com/5evxo6 (NOVA site). Sounds like a great car but what does it really cost to build.
A top speed of 65?! I definitely would not want to be driving that anywhere in SoCal. My first car was a 1969 VW Bug and it had a top speed of 80. A car the size of a shoebox might be fine for Europeans but it definitely won’t work for most Americans. Hell, I’m shocked that it would work for Norwegians.
#19 – Their size is too small
Too small for what?
I need to carry myself, a laptop, and a 64 ounce insulated cup of ice cold diet coke, about 5 miles round trip daily.
It might be too small for you, but it is the right size for many more people than not.
I know these cars are not ready for prime time… but they will be someday and that day can’t get here too soon.
All individually driven private owned vehicles are all better than any form of mass transit – so it’s all good. We need to build more roads so more people can drive Fjords longer distances…
#22 – “All individually driven private owned vehicles are all better than any form of mass transit”
No, just most. That is, if you have a productive life to lead…
Seems to me these guys are trying to do something Henry Ford did a long time ago. Back then the idea that anyone could afford a car was considered ridiculous, now these young upstarts want to show us alternative energy cars can be affordable. Henry’s first car didn’t go far without refills, I suppose these guys’ll have similar problems. I hope they have similar success.
These types of cars actually point out why no new homes should be built with less than a 4 car garage. You need 1 stall for the lawn mower, snow blower, motorcycle, tools, workbench, etc, 2 stalls for the commuter cars and 1 for the full sized truck.
With gas being 3 times what it should be, even I’d be OK with one of these to commute in although I’m skeptical how it will handle 6″-12″ of snow on an unplowed highway.
Then you do have the issue where you’re driving home, the wife calls and says “Honey, can you stop off and get 15 bags of mulch, a picnic table, 2 60″ plasmas and a new lawnmower?” You’d have to go all the way home and change vehicles. 😉
#22 and #23 – More trolling bullshit…
When I lived in Chicago (man, those were the days) I got rid of my car and took the train everywhere… I was never more productive. I could actually be productive during the commute.
My fondest dream is to live entirely car free. They are simply necessary annoyances.
#24 “now these young upstarts want to show us alternative energy cars can be affordable.”
$51k for a sub-sub-compact is affordable?
#26 blathered, “When I lived in Chicago (man, those were the days) I got rid of my car and took the train everywhere… ”
Try that in LA, Dallas, Denver, Atlanta, etc, etc.
Don’t worry, they’ve banned gas guzzlers in the future, so everyone will have to drive one of these in the future.
Blah Blah Blah
I’m already driving the car of the future, the Prius, with an easy -OEM- upgrade path.
Winter? I have a heater.
Summer? I have A/C.
Trip? I have an ICE.
Economy? I have TWO electric motors.
I invite you all to study the following animation on the Prius planetary drive / PSD.
http://eahart.com/prius/psd/
One electric motor on the “outside” of the power train, directly coupled to the wheels.
Another electric motor coupled directly to the ICE, which acts as a starter, or a generator, or a power boost.
All that’s left is improving pure EV range, and Plug-In, to save gas – which saves on pollution.
Now if you don’t want a “statement car” then simply get the Toyota Camry hybrid or the Ford Escape hybrid – which both use PSD.
Go on, click the link. 🙂