EV Batteries ~ Ready or Not

They are now taking orders. However, the $1000 is non-refundable.

Nate

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Sep 5 2007, 06:01 PM) [snapback]507527[/snapback]</div>

First time I've seen a manual transmission in an EV. But I guess they literally swap the electric motor for the ICE, and that's about it.

Could not find the battery warranty. Elsewhere on the site they say at least 2000 cycles but they did not offer a calendar-time guarantee that I could see.

Nope, I take it back -- look at the battery ordering page. For the batteries in isolation, they offer "lifetime warranty" on their best-quality battery. The cheaper ones come with 5 year and 3 year warranty if you buy their electronics to control them.

If the stock battery for this is their lowest grade ("silver), looks like $13,000 to replace the battery. That would seem about right with the total car purchase price. So, 3 year warranty on a $13K battery pack. If you opt for the highest grade presumed lifetime warranty, then cost of a 40 KWH pack (maybe 200 miles at .2 kwh/mile?) is $43,000.

So, no free lunch, that's for sure, but interesting that they are offering this in such a straighforward way.

Thanks for posting this. My brother lives in the Chesapeake, maybe I'll check these guys out the next time I visit.

Still can't quite get over a manual transmission in an EV.

 

Wow,

I'm with Hill! Where did these people come from? Seems like an interesting car or cute-ute to me and for a reasonable price. Have anyone heard of them before? Is this for real?

 

I'd be worried about scams and vaporware. A cool thousand up front, which you lose if they disappear or go bankrupt. Then 50% when the donor car reaches their lot. Any promise of how long the conversion will take? I'd pay that much in an eyeblink for a freeway-capable electric car with even 100 miles of range. But I want a working car, delivered to me, that I can test drive first.

But my biggest question is How fast do these cars go, and at what acceleration? They print loads of specs about the car, including the 200-mile range, but I cannot see anywhere that they say how fast the cars go, or their zero-to-sixty or zero-to-max times. There are a lot of 25- to 35-mph car conversions available. If that speed range suits you, you can have it now.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Sep 5 2007, 07:35 PM) [snapback]507587[/snapback]</div>

Like, ditto to all of that. Not a bad price all things considered, and it's a stock vehicle other than the engine swap. But I found next-to-nothing about them via Google. They say 60 day wait from purchase. They appear to have an actual physical dealership in SC, but I didn't find the address. It's a well-thought-out scam if its a scam. For example, the price of car + battery - engine appears about right.

Well, I thought it was Lion as in lithium ion, but maybe they are the offspring of this Chinese EV manufacturer Lion:

http://www.diytrade.com/directory/global/c...ing_Co_Ltd.html

Seems a coincidence.

Anyway, they claim to have been in this line of business for some years, but I'm not finding much evidence of that on the internet. I'd say Daniel's caution is well advised.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Sep 6 2007, 01:31 AM) [snapback]507802[/snapback]</div>

I see it the other way around. 28K to be completely off fossil fuel and own the greenest car available? Add to that the bonus of Hunday quality. If this in not vapor ware then it's one interesting car.! I need the trunk space but the mini SUV should be large enough for my family and at a price I can afford.

There are still many questions to answer, like real performance/range, battery warranty and expected life, cost of replacement etc but this looks very interesting to me!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ Sep 5 2007, 07:49 PM) [snapback]507730[/snapback]</div>

The deposit is non-refundable. So it hardly matters if the money goes into escrow. BTW, Tango (located here in Spokane) says your deposit goes into escrow, and you can have it back if you change your mind (they keep the interest, though). However, Tesla puts your money into its regular budget. No escrow. They also promise a full refund (they keep the interest) if you change your mind, but the money is not in escrow. So if they go bankrupt (which I think unlikely in the case of Tesla) you lose your deposit.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SomervillePrius @ Sep 6 2007, 04:29 AM) [snapback]507849[/snapback]</div>

Have you found anywhere they state the top speed of the car? Is $28K worth it if the top speed is 30 mph? My Xebra goes 40 mph on level ground (faster downhill ) And for under $17K I've got a 45-mile range. No trunk, but I can use the gas guzzler if I need more cargo space than the Xebra's back seat. I need the Prius anyway for road trips.

But I'm with you on this: I'd pay $28K without batting an eye if the car is freeway-capable and meets all the other specs they claim. I just don't believe them. There's too much vaporware in this field.

 

On a side note, my RAV4 EV rolled over 60,000 miles on the way to work today. It's five years old.

To answer the original question, the batteries are ready, they have been ready for over a decade now, with the first RAV4 EV's coming out in 1997.

Nate