Hi, i’m new on this i hope to see your video, i’m from Portugal here we dont have any electric cars, but trying to! Soory my english, and stop by a Portuguese Forum made by some enthusiatic people who like Biodiesel, ethanol and electrics…
I went and took a few pictures that I have yet to get off my digital camera since I’ve been working. I will say that there were a lot of exciting ideas there, but really nothing is quite there yet.
I took a ride in the City of LA’s Honda FCX which was interesting, but did not change my views of hydrogen as being the wrong answer for the problem we’re faced with. I also test drove Honda’s Civic GX, the natural gas Civic, and was very impressed. I think natural gas hybrids could have a lot of potential while we wait around for everyone to get their EVs all sorted out.
The two Phoenix trucks were attractive on the outside but the interior left a lot to be desired – it mostly retained the stock Ssangyong interior so that’s sort of to be expected.
Miles automotive supposedly has a normal-looking electric sedan coming out next year that will “look like the 2006 Lexus LS” which I find somewhat hard to believe since the guy said it will also be around $30,000. (Meaning one of those statements is not true, I’d say). Anyways, I’ll try to get my pictures up at some point either today or tomorrow and then I’ll let you know.
Also, the Electrum Spyder was disappointing to say the least – I don’t know how they’re going to match up to Tesla given that they’re in the same price range.
Both actually. As far as the power plant, I just don’t see how it can compete with Tesla when it offers only a 150 mile range with 7-seconds-to-60 acceleration. They say a 300 mile lithium version will be available but I bet it’ll bump the price up to at least Tesla territory.
And then there’s the body and interior design. Or should I say, lack thereof. They have A LOT of work to do in order to make this thing salable. The exterior feels far too plain and outdated. It makes the original EV1 look like a new-for-08 sports car. The interior, well it was barely finished. They’d even left one of the door panels off, as was posted on Autoblog. The dashboard was merely a big slab with a hole cut in it for the stereo.
I’d say they’re at least two years of development away from being able to sell that car. At the price point they’re going for they’re really going to need to raise the bar. I’m not saying everyone needs to be like Tesla, but I’m saying that they should at the very least try getting up to the standards of some of the cheap little Chinese runabouts I saw at the show. Quality on par with my ‘05 Hyundai would be ideal.
Oh, and I managed to get the pics uploaded. I took a lot more but they didn’t really turn out – the dim lighting in the hangar and the small flash on my camera just weren’t the best combo I guess. Anyways the pics are here: photos
It’s gotta be tough to try and pick a niche in the emerging EV market. Right now the market seems to be polarized into high dollar sports car vs. repurposed golf cart. Entering the top end of this fight is going to be expensive (for maker & seller) and I doubt it will ever be a mass-market item.
The low end tries to keep down their costs by keeping the vehicle as small as possible, which translates into lower costs for batteries and less need for expensive motors and controllers.
Still, it is great to see so many new entries in the EV market! My thinking is that as hybrids continue to do well and the components become commoditized this technology will bleed over into other markets, like EVs. More players, cheaper parts, more designs, and EVs will start becoming less of an “oddity” and just another choice to make when buying transportation.
Great work on your site, I’ve been reading it for some time. Pehaps you will come up with a keyless system for the conversion- I would love to have that in my 07 Yaris conversion!
I have just had a look at your site and your evalbum entry. – Looks really nice! Smart move starting with a car with electric power steering. Is the Cd factor good on a Yaris? I think you’ll have really good acceleration using the Zilla with the high voltage. My car is a 96V and is always drawing lots of amps just to get going. I am limited by my controller, otherwise I’d be raising the voltage a bit.
I’m planning on going to the AltCar expo this weekend. I’ll try to remember my camera this time (forgot it when I went to LA Auto Show).
So glad you are back up and posting! I love this site.
Hope you do, Devin. I’d be happy to post some of the pics, if you like, or at least link to your flickr gallery. Enjoy the show!
Thanks, John. Still trying to juggle a few other things, so I’m not fully “back” yet but trying my best.
Hi, i’m new on this i hope to see your video, i’m from Portugal here we dont have any electric cars, but trying to! Soory my english, and stop by a Portuguese Forum made by some enthusiatic people who like Biodiesel, ethanol and electrics…
And keep the good work great site…
I posted a small show report with picture on my blog over at:
www.electric-lemon.com
Enjoy.
I went and took a few pictures that I have yet to get off my digital camera since I’ve been working. I will say that there were a lot of exciting ideas there, but really nothing is quite there yet.
I took a ride in the City of LA’s Honda FCX which was interesting, but did not change my views of hydrogen as being the wrong answer for the problem we’re faced with. I also test drove Honda’s Civic GX, the natural gas Civic, and was very impressed. I think natural gas hybrids could have a lot of potential while we wait around for everyone to get their EVs all sorted out.
The two Phoenix trucks were attractive on the outside but the interior left a lot to be desired – it mostly retained the stock Ssangyong interior so that’s sort of to be expected.
Miles automotive supposedly has a normal-looking electric sedan coming out next year that will “look like the 2006 Lexus LS” which I find somewhat hard to believe since the guy said it will also be around $30,000. (Meaning one of those statements is not true, I’d say). Anyways, I’ll try to get my pictures up at some point either today or tomorrow and then I’ll let you know.
Also, the Electrum Spyder was disappointing to say the least – I don’t know how they’re going to match up to Tesla given that they’re in the same price range.
Thanks for the report, Devin. If you post the pics let us know.
What about the Spyder was a let down? Body style or the power plant?
Both actually. As far as the power plant, I just don’t see how it can compete with Tesla when it offers only a 150 mile range with 7-seconds-to-60 acceleration. They say a 300 mile lithium version will be available but I bet it’ll bump the price up to at least Tesla territory.
And then there’s the body and interior design. Or should I say, lack thereof. They have A LOT of work to do in order to make this thing salable. The exterior feels far too plain and outdated. It makes the original EV1 look like a new-for-08 sports car. The interior, well it was barely finished. They’d even left one of the door panels off, as was posted on Autoblog. The dashboard was merely a big slab with a hole cut in it for the stereo.
I’d say they’re at least two years of development away from being able to sell that car. At the price point they’re going for they’re really going to need to raise the bar. I’m not saying everyone needs to be like Tesla, but I’m saying that they should at the very least try getting up to the standards of some of the cheap little Chinese runabouts I saw at the show. Quality on par with my ‘05 Hyundai would be ideal.
Oh, and I managed to get the pics uploaded. I took a lot more but they didn’t really turn out – the dim lighting in the hangar and the small flash on my camera just weren’t the best combo I guess. Anyways the pics are here: photos
It’s gotta be tough to try and pick a niche in the emerging EV market. Right now the market seems to be polarized into high dollar sports car vs. repurposed golf cart. Entering the top end of this fight is going to be expensive (for maker & seller) and I doubt it will ever be a mass-market item.
The low end tries to keep down their costs by keeping the vehicle as small as possible, which translates into lower costs for batteries and less need for expensive motors and controllers.
Still, it is great to see so many new entries in the EV market! My thinking is that as hybrids continue to do well and the components become commoditized this technology will bleed over into other markets, like EVs. More players, cheaper parts, more designs, and EVs will start becoming less of an “oddity” and just another choice to make when buying transportation.
Thanks for the pics.
Great work on your site, I’ve been reading it for some time. Pehaps you will come up with a keyless system for the conversion- I would love to have that in my 07 Yaris conversion!
mark
www.electricyaris.com
Hi Mark
I have just had a look at your site and your evalbum entry. – Looks really nice! Smart move starting with a car with electric power steering. Is the Cd factor good on a Yaris?
I think you’ll have really good acceleration using the Zilla with the high voltage. My car is a 96V and is always drawing lots of amps just to get going. I am limited by my controller, otherwise I’d be raising the voltage a bit.