In a
previous post I wrote about my excitement regarding PHEVs - Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles.
I think I've done a one-eighty on this issue. Actually, a ninety. I've gone in a slightly different directions. A few days ago I was somewhat excited about the PHEV-future. Today I'm even more excited about the PEV-present.
Plug-in Electric Vehicles. This is happening now. In America. These are cars that an American consumer can buy, now, as I type this!
(They're really just EVs, I suppose. The "Plug-in" is a given. It's assumed. For reasons of my own, though, I still like calling them PEVs instead of EVs. That's just me.)
PEVs aren't hybrids, because they don't do gas. They don't have to carry a large internal combustion engine. They're still reasonably heavy - the batteries are pretty massive - but at least they're not carrying an internal combustion engine AND the batteries.
Did I mention this is happening now?
Tesla Motors started delivering its luxury electric sportscar in April. It seats two. It goes 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds. It has a range of 220 miles. It gets the equivalent of 256 miles per gallon. ("Conversion from electric consumption to gallons of gasoline equivalent is calculated using the Department of Energy equivalence factor documented in the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 10, Part 474.")Oh, and it costs one hundred thousand dollars.
But it exists! And it's a pretty sweet looking car. It's a proof of concept, and as it leads others will follow.
At least, I hope so. Every other manufacturer of PEVs for the American market - and there are a few of them - has been making some odd-looking cars.
Phoenix Motors is selling electric-only trucks and utility vehicles at around $40,000 each. Their cars look like bulky Priuses. (Pri-i?)
Zenn Motor Company is selling its ZENN (Zero Emissions No Noise) vehicle, and it's actually pretty affordable at $22,000. It's limited to 40 miles per charge, which is perfectly adequate. But who wants 40 miles when you can go over 200?
And it's
ugly. I mean, the Phoenix cars are kind of ugly, too, but there's something about the ZENN that really bugs me.
Maybe it's the fact that the ZENN is only a
two-seater.
I suppose it's kind of an electric
SMART car. But Smart cars
revel in their small size.
That's the point. The ZENN seems to be masquerading as a larger car.
The same is true of the
ZX40S from
Miles Electric Vehicles, which retails for just under $20,000. It looks a lot like a typical SUV, but it's really a compact car. Unlike the ZENN it has a range of 60 miles.
Oh, the ZX40S and the ZENN are both limited to a top speed of 25 miles per hour, which is just really not fast enough. Understand, I'm an advocate of slowing down and taking it easy. But that means I'm talking about staying off the highway and limiting my top speed to, say, 45 miles per hour. 25 miles per hour is just not acceptable as a top speed.
That's why these particular cars will fail. That, and did I mention they're ugly?
Failing ugly, why does an electric car have to look so different from a regular car?
Aptera Motors, for instance, makes a 3-wheeled vehicle that is oddly reminiscent of a svelte
manatee...
As I search the web it seems as if nearly every car company - large or small - has a more typical-looking electric sedan, compact, or SUV "in the works".
I don't care about what's in the development pipeline, though. I want my electric car. And I want it now.
And I want it to be attractive. And I want it to go at least 45 miles per hour. And a range of 200 miles would be nice.
And I don't want to pay one hundred thousand dollars for it.
I guess I still have to wait until next year.
