TH!NK electric car on sale this year

65 mph freeway certified. 125 mile range.

That could be my retirement car if Toyota doesn't make an EV Prius.

But not in yellow. (bleech)

 

Sixteen seconds to reach 50 mph, though its top speed is 65. If they didn't give a zero-to-60 time it's probably because the next 10 mph increase is very slow. Maybe half a minute to 60? That makes it great for city driving, but very much less than ideal for freeway driving.

If it was available in Spokane now, I'd buy it. But it's far from what I want: a car that can go with the flow of traffic and both merge and pass on the freeway.

Godiva: Are you saying that you would reject a car that was otherwise ideal for your needs and wants, merely because it was the wrong color??? There are colors I like and colors I hate, but I'd take an EV regardless of color if it met my range, speed, and safety requirements.

 

I have a serviceable car that meets my needs now. It will be paid off in one year. The Think is hardly ideal. So it would have to meet an lot of criteria over my current paid for car. Color would be one. Not THE dealbreaker but a contributing factor.

$28,000 is also more than I paid for my current Prius that will be paid for April 2009.

My HOV stickers are good until Jan. 2011.

If Toyota comes out with a plug in or there is an EV on the horizon, I could simply keep my current Prius and wait.

 

The Th!nk City has been in development for several years. I'll believe it when I see it.

As I recall, Th!nk was originally a Norwegian start up that was bought by Ford Motor Corp. The Th!nk Neighbor NEV was sold in 2002 (~75,000 vehicles wordlwide) and Ford discontinued it for various reasons.

Stock, the Neighbor is street legal and has a top speed of 25mph and a range of 30 miles. Its motor controller can be reprogrammed to go >35mph, decreasing usable range.

If you are looking for an electric for in-town use, a used 2- or -4-seat Th!nk can be had for ~$6,000 and they look far better than the Chrysler GEM which is the primary vehicle for that niche. New, a GEM costs ~$24,000.

I own a Th!nk Neighbor and put >1,000 miles on it every year. There is little support for the vehicle, though-- the Ford warranty's are all expired and there are few dealerships that will even have parts for you. There is a dedicated community for it, though, including a couple mechanics and parts dealers.

 

Here is the other end of the spectrum of Electric Vehicles...I am urging my wife to decided on one...but my chances are pretty poor...we will probably end up with the Volvo Recharge at the end of the year.

Tesla Motors

 

Thanks for that, I never heard of Tesla Motors before.
Do they really make that car?:humble:

 

A handful of Tesla production vehicles have been delivered, yes.

 

Sorry I was being sarcastic. This forum is full of stuff about Tesla.
I'm not a very nice man.

 

Gas.

That's what it's all about for me. Every time there's a "Why did you buy a Prius" thread, one of the top reasons is always to burn less gas, and contribute less to global warming. Of course, the Prius is such a great car in and of itself, that by buying a Prius you cut your gas consumption in half without making any sacrifices at all. You're not really paying "more" for your car, because the Prius would be worth its price even if it got the same gas mileage as a Honda Civic.

The real question is, are you willing to make a tiny sacrifice in convenience in order to eliminate your gas consumption entirely?

For the first few years of the "Gen 2" Prius, when gas was cheap enough that you'd have to drive a hundred miles a day or more to make a cost-of-gas economic argument for it, everyone was saying they didn't buy the Prius to "save" money, they bought it to be "green." But now people are saying they would not go EV unless it makes the cost of driving cheaper than a Prius.

I don't know if they'll ever really sell the Th!nk. But it looks like a car that eliminates the quality problems of the Xebra and the speed limitations of a Zenn. If they do sell it here, it's going to separate the sheep from the goats. Who walks the green walk vs who just talks the green talk.

 

Ok, so one of my first thoughts when it comes to high volume EV is "How is the government going to get their road tax?" I assume they will find a way, and that will increase the operating costs of the EV beyond what most people currently estimate.

My calculations look more like this:

Assume 33,000 miles per year.
Assume $3.50 per gallon of gasoline.
Assume Prius = 51.9 MPG because that's my lifetime average.
Assume TH!NK 1/3 KWH per mile
Assume $0.077 per kWh

Purchase price for each vehicle:

Prius Package #6 $23,000
TH!NK $28,000

Operating cost for each vehicle:

Prius $2,556 per year
$2,225 gasoline
$231 oil changes
$100 HSD fluid change

TH!NK $847
$847 electricity
$??? battery replacement?

Difference in purchase price:
$5,000

Difference in operating costs
$1,709

Years to offset purchase with operating cost savings:
3

So, it wouldn't take long at all for the TH!NK to be as cost effective as the Prius.

 

IMO, although a good car, 125mile range is NOT quite enough for how much driving i do!!!

 

If Toyota or Honda comes out with an EV that can get 80 to 100 miles at freeway speeds with an overnight charge for under 30K, I'll be on the list to get one the first year. I'd probably wait a couple of years if any other company comes out with the car first to see what kind of reliability and service they provide.

 

Now ponder the comparison when gas is $5 a gallon... $15 a gallon... and beyond, because we're coming to the end of the age of cheap gasoline.

And yes, governments will need to come up with other ways to pay for roads. But I'm not worried: I've never yet heard of a government that couldn't figure out ways to tax us.

If you drive more than 125 miles per day, then this car will not be for you. But you might want to start thinking about long-range lifestyle planning so that the inevitable rising cost of gas does not hit you like a brickbat.