Honda Insight? Not the size of the Prius but available.... All I am saying is I would wait for a production model, like the Smart, like the Prius. A hydrogen powered vehicle would be great to. Vaporware at the moment.
So I guess you don't want anyone elses opinion? You were complaining about being scammed. While cars like the Prius, Insight, etc are widely known and available I merely stated that might be a better choice vs trying to be on the bleeding edge of technology. Good luck in your quest to save mother earth. I would spend my money elsewhere in other present day sources whether for my car or home.
i agree....and don't forget if you WERE to buy one of these 'converted' smart cars and you have a problem with it, do you have to have it towed back to North Carolina for any repairs or warranty work?
i think having an electric smart is a dumb idea because you cannot get enough mileage out of it....probably like 90 miles to empty. i would prefer gas over electric. its not that much to fill 8 gallons anyway
i think having an electric smart is a dumb idea because you cannot get enough mileage out of it....probably like 90 miles to empty. i would prefer gas over electric. its not that much to fill 8 gallons anyway
3 cents per mile for fuel for an electric car versus 15 cents per mile or more for an IC engine powered car is dumb, you [need to reconsider.]
Last edited by jwight; 05-19-2008 at 07:32 PM.
Reason: edited for content
Clarification on the EV Smart car being presented in this post - the range is 320 miles if driven 55mph-60mph OR 200 miles at 70mph. Top speed is 75mph-80mph. Car is to be equipped with a hydrogen powered generator - burning distilled water. The generator is supposed to be able to bring the batteries up to an 80% charge in a 2 hour period (an extended lunch break). The Nano battery technology is impressive to say the least with 9,000 cycles at which time they will only recharge to about 80% of their original capacity. This is not a typo 9,000 cycles is far better than any lithium ion setup that I have seen as of yet. The battery warranty on the EV Smart car is 5 years/100,000 miles which is nothing for this type of battery. I'm expecting to see/get mine mid June - stay tuned because there have been repeated promises followed by repeated delays. . .
I am on the waiting list, too. The initial batch is supposed to be available late June. Don't know how many units that includes. They have been having email server problems which may explain why you have received any email responses. I don;t know if it has been resolved yet or not.
The hydrogen generator recharge supposedly takes about a half a cup of distilled water per charge. The key to the new battery is the nano technology. The 25 years you refer to for the 9000 cycles is based on one complete recharge a day. If you are not driving 200-300 miles a day, but rather a week, then figure on the batteries being lifetime batteries. Of course, I doubt anyone would keep the car that long, but the issue of the heating/expansion/short life of the lithium seems to have been solved with the Nano Titanate technology. If you figure in the cost of maintenance and gas over a ten year period (assuming $6/gallon which is the fall projection...and who knows what the cost or availability of gas will be in 10 years), then this car is much cheaper than the gas model.
If you are commuting short trips such as the 10-15 miles, which is my planned use, then it seems like a good vehicle. I also plan to tow it behind a motorhome.
Some of you know me, some don't. Just wanted to put some comments up here regarding this proposed electric smart car. I've talked to Jim in Arizona. I'd actually met him in the past before he became involved with this venture. I do not know him that well, so this is not an endorsement of his character. He did seem to be a very honest guy who is trying very hard to represent a company that might be near the forefront of these electric vehicles. The frames are 450 frames and were bought through the smart factory after the final 450's rolled away. They are not Chinese frames. We've been following the electric vehicle claims and real life results for awhile. If these claims are true (or even close), then this car will be a winner. BUT, they've missed some of their deadlines already and that doesn't fill anyone with confidence. We have told Jim that we'd like to go out and test these cars first hand when they are ready. He welcomed our request. Based upon our findings, we may end up representing their company as well. Like many things involving the smart car, nothing seems to come easy... and promises usually outnumber results. We are holding our breath and hoping that this will end up being the real deal. If so, the buyers will be very happy. We know that there is another reputable ex-450 smart dealership that is interested as well. (Incidentally, we still sell 450's). But time will tell. Personally, I'd rather they take their time and make sure the car is well tested before any pre-emptive release. As far as Jim not returning your call, well he should return it, but if he doesn't have an answer yet on the date, that's probably the reason. Again, this is not an endorsement, nor condemnation, of this electric smart. It's just a comment that others are also watching... and hoping... that it comes close to its promises. Hope this has been more helpful than confusing... and Hybrid Technologies is also a great company, but with a bit higher pricetag and also a wider range of choices in types of electric cars. This new Arizona company will be ONLY smart electrics.
Thanks for your comments.. as you have probably seen in other threads, this forum really needs someone with a reputation to clarify what's real and what's a scam.
An electric smart with 300+ mile range sounds too good to be true. Full electric, recharge in 2 hours... same thing. If someone has found a way to do that, reliably and safely, they stand to make billions. Personally, I love my smart and eliminating the $30/month expense for gas isn't enough for me to pay twice as much for an electric... but the LiV Dash did catch my attention. As more people dedicate time to electric vehicle research, we'll shorten the time to market for a car that performs as Americans need it to.
Because of the risks and prevalence of scammers or even reputable people that just make bad design choices, most of us will want to see and hear of a successful launch before jumping in head first.
3 cents per mile for fuel for an electric car versus 15 cents per mile or more for an IC engine powered car is dumb, you [need to reconsider.]
Ah, but if the electric car costs twice as much (say $30K rather than $15K), then you get the difference back in a mere 125,000 miles of fuel savings. Plus you have the enviromental impact and energy requirements for producing and eventually disposing of these batteries, which you can't just toss into a landfill somewhere. I've seen the .03/mile quote on all the electric cars for some time, but that certainly was based on electric costs several years ago. It definitely would not be an accurate cost if we all plugged our cars in and utility companies had to build additional electric plants (in whose backyard, burning what fuel?), additional cross-country power lines, additional substations, etc. to keep up with the fact that the average household's electrical demands just jumped 30-80% because now we're powering up our cars every night on top of all the other electrical demands they are struggling to keep up with anyway.
Where to begin? So much information since this thread has begun. The EV Smart cars are evidently coming. I have been assured that I am in the piipeline to get one of the first 30 cars. As far as fuel costs are concerned and having been in the constructions industry for years, one soon realizes that buying construction materials in bulk or mass is always cheaper than what an individual would typically pay for materials say if they were only building an addition verses 20 homes a year. The same is true for fuel, an individual buying 20 gallons of fuel at a time will always be paying more than what a large electric company would be paying for train loads of coal, oil, or nuclear power to generate energy. The EV Smart car is not a vehicle for everyone nor will it fit the need of a contractor who needs to haul construction materials daily but having been in a serious motorcycle accident this past year and still limping around, I'd rather take my chances in a smart car the next time a ding bat pulls out in front of me without looking. My motorcycle $8k, my EV Smart car $30k, my right leg $250k in medical expenses and climbing . . . To each their own.
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I would spend my money elsewhere in other present day sources whether for my car or home.
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