I found this article.... What do you guys think? I would personally, for running around the city/town.
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LONDON SHOW PREVIEW: Tax-exempt EVs set to star
21 July 2008 | Source: just-auto.com editorial team
Think claims its latest EV is the world?s only crash-tested and highway-certified model
Think claims its latest EV is the world?s only crash-tested and highway-certified model
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Several new electric cars will be under spotlights at the British motor show in London this week.
The cars are particularly attractive to London drivers as they are exempt from both UK annual road tax and the business-week central city congestion charge (GBP8 a day). The city's local councils are also beginning to install kerbside recharge points.
Think said it would reveal the world's only crash-tested and highway-certified electric car at the show.
The City model has a top speed of 65mph (about 105km/h) and an in-town range of 126 miles (about 200km) on a full charge. It is said to cost £GBP100 (about US$200) in electricity to cover 10,000 miles and is 95% recyclable.
"The Think City is a true, modern urban car, not a quadricycle," the automaker said, in a thinly-veiled dig at some rivals already on UK roads.
But the City won't be available here until next summer.
To charge the batteries from 20% capacity to 80 percent takes just four hours.
According to Think, the car was designed to meet the strict safety requirements of both Europe and the USA, "as a genuinely-safe road car".
"It is the world's only crash-tested and highway-certified EV. The car is equipped with ABS brakes, airbags and three-point safety belts with pretensioners and it surpasses all European and US requirements.
"Unlike the lower-range, electric quadricycles that have had limited success in the UK, the City is a real car which provides a realistic option for those motorists who want to drive a true zero emissions car," said UK managing director Richard Blundell.
"This is a proposition that we believe will interest many drivers who are re-thinking their approach to motoring," he added.
The car's body is made of recyclable ABS plastic, designed specifically for city driving. Designed to avoid visible scratches and dents, the unpainted, self-coloured plastic bodywork also reduces both energy consumption and toxins, while making the panels easier to recycle. The battery is returned to the supplier at the end of its useable life.
The auto insurance industry has consequently reduced rates by as much as 30-50%, the importer said.
Standard equipment includes power steering, central locking, 4kW electric heater plus electric windows and mirrors. Options include air conditioning, pre-heat timer, electrically heated windscreen, full length sunroof, radio CD with MP3, USB, Bluetooth, a navigation & multimedia system, alloy wheels, roof rack and 2 + 2 child seats including three-point seat belts.
Production started this year in Norway, and the first batch of right-hand drive cars will be delivered in the UK in mid-2009.
Think, for a time owned by Ford, has about 17 years experience in developing and producing electric vehicles and there are about 1,200 of its cars on Norwegian roads, many with over 100,000 miles on the clock.
The latest City is the sixth generation. Currently, they are being produced at a rate of three to five a day, rising to 20 a day in the next six months.
The capacity of Think's first assembly plant in Aurskog, outside Oslo, is presently being increased to 10,000 cars per year. Think plans to increase its production capacity with new assembly plants in the USA, Continental Europe and Asia in the next two years.
In April this year, Think established a North American unit in partnership with RockPort Capital Partners and Kleiner Perkins, Caufield and Byers. Sales for other than initial trial and demonst
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29 replies
Wolfgirl · 22/07/2008 09:11
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FioFio ·
22/07/2008 14:32
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amicissima ·
23/07/2008 16:12
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