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EV WORLD EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE |
TH!NK Open is cabriolet version of Norwegian-built electric car. It's hardtop version will cost about the price of a Toyota Prius and be available for sale in North America starting in 2009. It is highway capable. Range depends on battery selection.
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Th!nk North America operations manager Vicki Northrup talks about the return of the Th!nk electric car to America
Premium Feature Article Originally Published: April 28, 2008
"America is ready for this," enthuses Vicki Northrup, Th!nk North America's new operations manager.
The car she is talking about is the long-labored Th!nk City (Model A306), a battery electric car that is now slated to be re-introduced in America after a six year hiatus. A fully-crash-tested, highway-capable two seater, the car is now ready for the times in which we live.
EV World first was introduced to its predecessor, then called the 'City Bee', when it was the centerpiece of an experimental 'station car' program in San Francisco. Even in its early incarnation -- with all its idiosyncrasies -- the people who got to drive it developed a fondness for it. While it was shuttling drivers efficiently between home and the BART station, its parent, PIVCO, was busy developing a follow-on vehicle that was considered a big improvement over the little Bee.
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Reader Comments
19 comments so far...
18-Jul-2008
62791
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Concerning Post # 16 of Barry Bernsten - your BG is a NEV, that's NOT what people want. People want a REAL electric car that can go over 25mph and have been crash tested, the BG is NOT that car. The new Think City does 65mph and has been crash tested. It's a real car.
Posted by: phil easler
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25-Jul-2008
62964
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Think's journey to the world market has been similarly full of detours. The company (previously called Pivco) began in 1991 and by 1998 had built more than 1,000 small and charismatic electric runabouts, sold mostly in Norway (where you still see a few on the road). Then, in 1999, the company was bought by the Yankee giant Ford Motor Co., which was scrambling at the time to comply with California's Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, essentially requiring automakers to build fleets of electric vehicles. Ford renamed the company Think Nordic and began a complete redesign of the car. When, in 2003, the American automakers succeeded in modifying California's mandate, Detroit's flirtation with electronic vehicles ended. General Motors Corp. famously killed the EV1 program, and Ford sold Think to a Swiss electronics firm.
The irony is that Ford had already poured $150 million into the Think City project, engineering among other things the car's rigid steel space frame, the crash structure. If and when it comes to the U.S. market -- the company opened an office in Menlo Park, Calif., earlier this year with plans to sell cars stateside in 2009 -- the Think City will be a rarity: A full-speed electric car meeting U.S. and European crash standards.
Final thoughts: TH!NK City (specs) and TH!NK Global (click for New Energy News reports).
Posted by: EV Rider
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15-Jul-2008
62753
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Please check out the affordable EV ($15,995), assembled in the USA. A real 4 door hatch back for 5 passengers made of steel (NOT PLASTIC). All the luxuries/features we are use to (ie. air conditioning, sunroof, AM/FM/CD,dual airbags, etc. etc.)
www.BGelectricCars.com
info@BGelectricCars.com
Posted by: Barry Bernsten
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13-Dec-2008
65150
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So far, none of these would be ev's have lived up to the hype. The GM EV1 was a test vehicle(Public Relations) that had a very limited range in warm climates. If they had given them a heater, for the colder climates, range would have been even more limited. And a few years down the road, the battery disposal problem would have been a catastrophy. I live about 5 miles from a recycling place for lead acid batteries that will be cantaminated for who knows how long.
Battery technology has come a little bit farther, but I doubt far enough. We have no idea what kind of a mess we will be leaving our children, if we rush headlong after any technology that shows promise. I'm glad we are still working on it, but, as a former owner of a GE Electrak, I am aware of the limitations. As a retired electrician, I think many problems will be solved quickly, but some will linger much longer.
We need much more generating capacity than we currently have. And most people will not be able to afford these car, at least at first. 20,000 dollars might not seem like much to you, but it is way beyond the reach of many people, especially when it is only capable of in city driving.
I am not trying to disparage developement. I only want the people supporting these cars to realize how much harder they have to work to see this happen. and to realize this will have to be a gradual transition, but one we must start today.
Posted by: Michael Hubbard
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28-Apr-2008
61386
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Bring them on. Just remember that there is a lot of country other than the east and west coasts. The mid west can use a good electric car. The only thing we get around here is NEVs and nobody can drive them because the laws stop you at every intersection. You can't drive on a numbered highway,or a 40 mph street. Not even to cross them. In the town I live in that leaves you about 1/8th of the town accessable to you. I live on a cul du sac, at the access end of this 1 block long street is a 30 mph street with county designator that I can't even cross.
Posted by: David Loll
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28-Apr-2008
61387
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"America is ready for this." That's what some said about the Segway too. I think the TH!NK is too quirky to catch on. Good to see them try, though. Kleiner Perkins seems to have jumped into electric vehicles with both feet.
Posted by: john
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28-Apr-2008
61389
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With gas kreeping past $4.00 a gallon and almost zero service factor for an EV,it's time has come.We need to understand the fact that a Think car can provide us with most of our commuting needs.People keep complaining about evs not performing like their suvs when in fact the oil consumption is killing us all,even the islanders that will be displaced by rising ocean levels!!Talk about innocent bystanders!!
Posted by: John Hurt
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28-Apr-2008
61390
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John... there is a huge difference between the Segway and the Th!nk and I don't recall anyone saying "America is ready for it" other than maybe Dean Kamen. Many of us who got to use the Segway early on realized that while it was an incredible piece of technology, it was -- and to some degree remains -- a solution looking for a problem. That isn't to disparage it as a viable vehicle for some applications like tourism and security.
By contrast, the Th!nk city can immediately supplant its gasoline competitors in virtually every niche with the exception long distance travel, and when you compare "fuel prices", the EV will win, hands down.
Posted by: Bill Moore
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28-Apr-2008
61393
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AGREE - don't 'Th!nk' just West or East Coast USA. Th!nk Midwest like The Show-Me State (Missouri). We could 'show the world' this great vehicle.
I'm so over these 'urban assault' gas guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks. This is fantastic news.
I'm ready to buy but waiting on that fantastic TH!NK OX! WOW!
Thanks for coming to the USA.
Show these U.S. companies this technology is HERE and we DON'T have to wait for them to come out with theirs in 2020!!!
Posted by: Thomas Edmondson
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29-Apr-2008
61409
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I think this is one of the most exciting bit of EV news I've heard all year. Having been a previous Th!nk city driver, I'm eagerly awaiting its return back to the States. I would love to finally get a chance to get behind the wheel of the upgraded A306 model that never made it over here.
This is clearly the best shot that the company has to make a foothold in the American market.
Posted by: David Shelton
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29-Apr-2008
61416
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Can anyone tell me what's wrong with this picture. How come Ford with all it's BILLIONS of dollars can't produce an electric car and sell it here. They sold this good ev project to someone else. But get this! Now there making electrics and a new generation ev. And they're selling them and they're going to sell bunches more. Why couldn't ford do that, so we could have evs here. Well America something is up with these mager auto companies. Something is going on as to why these guys don't want EVs. Now, I hear that the chevy volt might not be raedy.
Posted by: craig buttler
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29-Apr-2008
61427
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What worries me about these cars is that the top speed is only 65 miles per hour. Technically, that would be okay for the highway, but the drivers here sometimes do 85. However, these gas prices are starting to suck!
Posted by: Gerald Shields
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29-Apr-2008
61430
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I sure hope you didn't pay the person that wrote that article. There were no ranges per charge or any type of information on recharging or anything else that a real world buyer might consider before buying or even considering a purchase.
Posted by: Arden noneof yourbusiness
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29-Apr-2008
61431
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30-Apr-2008
61442
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I can't see the whole premium article... should it be noted that you have to lease the battery (initial price doesn't include batteries)?
Posted by: dan gillman
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30-Apr-2008
61447
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I specifically asked about battery leasing and Vicki's response was that the company is investigating all options, which suggests to me that they will offer not only battery type options, but also battery acquisition options in North America: leasing and purchase.
Posted by: Bill Moore
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09-May-2008
61601
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I just sent an e-mail to the Think NA website asking them to create a waiting list for potential buyers, to gauge interest and to create a list of potential buyers nationwide. My suggestion was that the distribution of vehicles be based upon a priority system to encourage people to sign up. Perhaps a small refundable downpayment as well.
Having waited for years for an electric commuter vehicle, I want to help them in anyway I can.
I am ready and waiting in Minnesota.
Posted by: Chris Riess
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02-May-2008
61471
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I would buy it but only without a lease on the battery pack. I would choose another color because I don't aspire to the color of vomit, usually. I would drive it everywhere.
Posted by: JIm P
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01-Jun-2008
62025
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I can't wait. I'm also hoping they will sell them in AZ (we only had the EV-1 available before to my knowledge). As for the lease on the battery, I actually like the idea, especially if you can get an upgrade when a better one comes along. Thank you for keeping us in the loop.
Posted by: Bill Barton
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