TH!NK electric car on sale this year

[MountainStone]

Wow. How long until I can buy one of these?

Clipped from the article:

'Revealed at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show earlier this month, the TH!NK city is a two-seater with a top speed of 65 mph, a zero to 30 mph time of just 6.5 seconds and it’ll reach 50 mph in 16 seconds – perfectly respectable ‘round town performance at legal speeds, and it’ll run another 124 miles after an overnight ten hour charge from any domestic power outlet.

TH!NK city is 95 percent recyclable, and is designed to meet the strict safety requirements of both Europe and the US, as a highway-safe road car. The car is equipped with ABS brakes, airbags and three-point safety belts with pretensioners and it meets all European and US requirements with good margins.

Production started last November, and the first batch of cars will be delivered to Norwegian customers this spring with orders for UK cars being taken in the last quarter of this year. The expected retail price of TH!NK city is UKP14,000.'

So for just under $28,000 dollars this cute little thing meets my (and millions of others') commuting needs. The article does not reveal when it will come to North America, but TH!NK would not have spent money to design and build it to meet US specs if it wasn't going to be sold here. I hope this spurs Mitsubishi and Subaru to bring their pure electrics to market sooner rather than later...

Full article: Think! article

[Tideland Prius]

YouTube - Th!nk Testdrive in London

[TonyPSchaefer]

I'm pretty sure they need to properly road-test one of their vehicles in and around the Greater Chicagoland area. And since they might have difficulty finding test subjects, I will go ahead and throw up my hand and reluctantly accept a free test vehicle.

I'd buy one for driving to/from work.

[Godiva]

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)

[daniel]

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.

[Godiva]

Originally Posted by daniel

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.

[TonyPSchaefer]

$28,000 is quite a bit of money. Here's how I broke it down:

Assume 12,000 miles per year
Assume $3.50 gallon of gas

Assume Prius = 53 MPG because that's my lifetime average.
Assume Corolla = 32 MPG
Assume HiCam = 33 MPG

Cost of gas for each vehicle:

• Prius, 226 gallons = $792
• Corolla, 375 gallons = $1,312
• HiCam, 363 gallons = $1,272

So without calculating in the cost of electricity for ten-hour charges a few times per week, it looks like it would take a while for the Think to be as cost effective as the Prius.

But here's where it gets interesting.
Assume that the price of gas stays the same (unlikely, but whatever). If you drive it for ten years and pocket the gasoline savings, the effective cost of the car would look like this:

• If you replaced a Prius: $20,075
• If you replaced a Corolla: $14,875
• If you replaced a HiCam: $15,272

I'll be the first to admit that these numbers are pretty hokey. Heck, some of the 12,000 miles I drive per year includes trips beyond the reach of the Think but that might account for only a couple thousand at best. And we know the cost of gas will continue to go up which means that the gasoline savings will increase.

I predict that the cost will come down into the low $20,000s in which case, there is a perfectly good reason for people to get one as their everyday commuter car.

[Tideland Prius]

Swap the currency for the Canadian loonie and it turns things upside doesn't it?

Cdn$28,000 (we're ~ 2x the pound)

Prius: $29,500
TCH: $30,660
Corolla CE 5-spd manual: $14,515. Comparably equipped (4A and Enhanced Convenience Package ~ $18,000).


Electricity where I live is pretty cheap and 87 Octane is going for $1.239/litre or about $4.68/gal.

Our daily use of the vehicle is always in the city with speeds of 50-60km/h. Our highways are 80-90km/h within the city. Assuming it has regenerative braking, I can gain some of it going back down the mountain (Twice a week).

That 125 miles is battery only without taking regenerative braking into account right? so it'll be a slightly higher in the city (130 or 135 maybe?)

[TonyPSchaefer]

$28,000 is quite a bit of money. Here's how I broke it down:

Assume 12,000 miles per year
Assume $3.50 gallon of gas

Assume Prius = 53 MPG because that's my lifetime average.
Assume Corolla = 32 MPG
Assume HiCam = 33 MPG

Cost of gas for each vehicle:

• Prius, 226 gallons = $792
• Corolla, 375 gallons = $1,312
• HiCam, 363 gallons = $1,272

So without calculating in the cost of electricity for ten-hour charges a few times per week, it looks like it would take a while for the Think to be as cost effective as the Prius.

But here's where it gets interesting.
Assume that the price of gas stays the same (unlikely, but whatever). If you drive it for ten years and pocket the gasoline savings, the effective cost of the car would look like this:

• If you replaced a Prius: $20,075
• If you replaced a Corolla: $14,875
• If you replaced a HiCam: $15,272

I'll be the first to admit that these numbers are pretty hokey. Heck, some of the 12,000 miles I drive per year includes trips beyond the reach of the Think but that might account for only a couple thousand at best. And we know the cost of gas will continue to go up which means that the gasoline savings will increase.

I predict that the cost will come down into the low $20,000s in which case, there is a perfectly good reason for people to get one as their everyday commuter car.

- - - Update - - -
So I re-ran the numbers, this time with the price of gas increasing 50cents per year. So with that, if you pocket the gas money you would save, the effective cost of the car would look like this:

• If you replaced a Prius: $14,207
• If you replaced a Corolla: $6,437
• If you replaced a HiCam: $7,090

And these are three cars with respectable mileage. Of course, replacing lower mileage vehicles might reach a point within ten years where someone could say that it has paid for itself.

[Dngrsone]

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.