Pure Electric Vehicles building a $10k electric car... hopefully

Look, this looks great and all, and the $10k price makes it even harder to complain, but if we had a gallon of gasoline for every one of these random electric vehicle projects we've seen crop up and fade away into oblivion, we'd have, um, some gas. The story here is a guy named Bill Provence in Pasadena, tired of those regular cars with their multitude of wheels and gas burning, decided build his own three-wheeled electric car with some pals out in Michigan. Instead of keeping it all to himself, he's planning on offering it up for sale under the banner of Pure Electric Vehicles for a cool ten grand. The car runs on sealed AGM lead acid batteries (a good thing, apparently), and has a top speed of 65mph. A production version will apparently include a radio, iPod plug and a heater, though seeing as the concept version doesn't even have windows, Bill certainly has a long way to go.

[LondonConsultant @ Jun 13th 2008 6:24AM]

Produced by Trotters Independent Trading Co?...

[Richard @ Jun 13th 2008 7:39AM]

LOL

This thing real looks like a Electric car

[lance @ Jun 13th 2008 6:24AM]

It's fugly and no one wants a 3 wheeled car.
Bring on a cheaper Tesla.

[wickedpheonix @ Jun 13th 2008 11:53AM]

why is he ranked down?... he speaks the truth.

[lance @ Jun 13th 2008 6:26AM]

You might as well call it a YUGO!

[John @ Jun 13th 2008 6:52AM]

I am an electric car
I can't go very fast or far
If you drive me, people will think you are gay

[goose @ Jun 13th 2008 7:50AM]

It is exactly that kind of thinking that has gotten us into this mess to begin with. If people would show an interest these kind of vehicles would progress into something the general public would like. We have to realistically start somewhare.

[Shockgamer @ Jun 13th 2008 7:59AM]

Enjoying those gas prices?

[stonguse @ Jun 13th 2008 9:22AM]

Lighten up folks, it's a just a Simpson's reference.

[John @ Jun 13th 2008 10:01AM]

I'm glad at least one of you figured out why I said that...

[evplasmaman @ Jun 13th 2008 1:47PM]

One of us, one of us!

[kaiz3n @ Jun 13th 2008 8:15AM]

How long does it take to recycle the battery when it dies?

[NHAnimator @ Jun 13th 2008 8:20AM]

Here's how to tell if the battery still has juice:

Pick the car up and place its two front tires across your tongue. If you get a little tingly sensation, you're good to roll.

[John @ Jun 13th 2008 9:16AM]

That was the most unfunny thing I've ever heard in my life.

[benigins @ Jun 13th 2008 8:11AM]

This past weekend i went to SC to learn to convert gas cars to electric. Ampmobiles.com is a company that is doing this but with real cars. costs a little over 10K$. I was able to drive a 1978 Fiat Spider that was all electric. The only thing holding back electric vehicles are batteries, Lithium ions are too expensive (wonder why Tesla is so expensive?) for your average joe. so somebody go out and start making good batteries.

[Honza @ Jun 13th 2008 9:21AM]

They already made some great batteries for automotive use. Unfortunately GM bought the company that designed them, and then sold everything to Chevron. Guess why Chevron is keeping it all to themselves?

We really need to get involved here, everyone. Stop the oil company stranglehold which is creating untold misery on this planet for the sake of big fat profits.

[JD @ Jun 13th 2008 9:17AM]

"No pollution produced" ... except for the pollution produced in order to charge the vehicle, and the pollution produced when you recycle the batteries. yippee!

[Twitchy @ Jun 13th 2008 11:23AM]

How often does it need to be said that the pollution created in order to produce the electricity for an electric car is still considerably less than the pollution created by an equal petroleum powered vehicle? Sure it's not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction. Or do you suggest we keep going the way we are until a 'perfect' solution is found?

[Idlemind @ Jun 13th 2008 9:29AM]

"We don't need no stinkin' windows....."

[Pacman @ Jun 13th 2008 10:43AM]

That is what I was thinking. Why enclose a motorcycle and then not put any windows in it. What elements are the driver now protected from? I think this whole thing is a YouTube joke.

[Josh L @ Jun 13th 2008 9:52AM]

This car looks like it's made of milk jugs.

Looks about as crash-safe as that new cloth car BMW was showcasing the other day.

[Hooterman @ Jun 13th 2008 9:57AM]

So he made a fast golf cart?

[tekdroid @ Jun 13th 2008 10:11AM]

I'm hoping "ipod connection" means a general standard 3.5mm audio jack (or USB jack) input for nearly all portable devices, not a proprietary connection only suited to Apple audio devices.

That is all.

[Ysleiro @ Jun 13th 2008 10:15AM]

I think we can all agree that the only people that are enjoying the current gas prices are the rich and owners of the gas companies and partner businesses.

Had Toyota and Ford not stopped production of their electrical vehicles back in 2000-2001 by now we would have had a very reliable car capable of travelling a couple hundred miles on one charge.

But we all know how "BIG OIL" handled that. (swept it under the rug).

[Ysleiro @ Jun 13th 2008 10:16AM]

I meant "rich owners".

[tekdroid @ Jun 13th 2008 10:55AM]

Ysleiro @ Jun 13th 2008 10:15AM
I think we can all agree that the only people that are enjoying the current gas prices are the rich and owners of the gas companies and partner businesses.
----------
And your general run-of-the-mill governments collecting some good revenue from your transport dollar.

IMO, the cost of cars is far more than the price at the pump. The cost to the health infrastructure of the country is absolutely phenomenal, not to mention environment, which all taxpayers pay in the end. Lack of activity and associated illnesses like diabetes, obesity, heart disease, pollution-related problems...

The real cost of sedentary lifestyles and vehicles is far far more than the price at the pump.

[Pacman @ Jun 13th 2008 10:45AM]

That is all? What about the no glass in the windows? What about the no lights or turn signals? What about the range? What about the hideous apearance? All you care about is hooking up your stupid Zen or Zune? Wow, easy to sell you a car.

[tekdroid @ Jun 13th 2008 11:02AM]

actually Pacman, I don't care for vehicles in general at all. I could have all the obvious deficiencies you've mentioned, but it's been said :)

If you want my opinion in electric vehicles, they, for the most part, are the superficial solution to a problem far bigger than most of us want to think about. In other words, they put the problem somewhere else, efficiencies notwithstanding.

IMO, they are a reaction to fuel prices only, while the bigger picture isn't really dealt with, and that is lack of activity in developed nations, and lack of spending on better urban infrastructure for alternatives, and finally, the change of perception that needs to take place for alternatives to even get considered by the majority of the population (in short, I don't think hundreds of millions of cars being started every morning so people can enjoy going to the local store or work within a small km radius is sustainable).

[tekdroid @ Jun 13th 2008 11:07AM]

I could have all the obvious deficiencies you've mentioned, but it's been said :)
---
Oops.
That was meant to read:
I could have said all the deficiencies you've mentioned about the car, but it's been said.

Cheers.

[Pacman @ Jun 13th 2008 10:48AM]

10:45 comment meant for Tekdroids 10:11AM comment. Stupid reply function did not work cause I clicked on the REPLY and not the time stamp. Silly me.

[kakapo @ Jun 13th 2008 4:17PM]

Bubble bursting time:

Electric cars are more polluting then a petrol powered vehicle... Why? You may ask... most electricity (which is what you charge that electric car with - is produced by COAL fired plants. The worst polluting source of power known to man.

However - there is light at the end of the tunnel... literally. There is a process that was developed by the DOE prior to Ronnie Raygun's administration that showed great promise because YOU NEVER BURNED THE COAL! You "extracted" the energy from it. Ronnie and the gang of thieves ever since - no matter the party - has prevented it from being developed. That latent technology has been experimented with further by the Japanese, Koreans and Chinese - some work in India, too.... Hmmm... I wonder why? And actually this process was first discovered in the 1930s. And it works! If you do not know what this process is - thank the military industrial petrochemical complex in your local neighbourhood.

Also - there is a thing called Net Effect - to charge your electric car you need to supply electricity - funny that. Where do you get the juice from? And what is the Net Effect CO2 that you generate to drive your supposedly guilt-free electric car?

The most abundant form of energy in the Universe is not electricity - it is plasma... think about it. The most energy efficient engine you can witness is the sun. And it radiates a plasma stream that - if you could harness it (and research is being done to do that) you could supply the planet with all of the necessary energy forever! (Well, until the sun poofed in about 11 billion or so years)... then you would need to build an electric car.

[Mike @ Jun 13th 2008 4:55PM]

@kakapo

Do you know what is less efficient than coal power plants (37-48% eff.)? Solar photovoltaic cells (12-20% eff.).

Also, plasma is a state of matter, not a type of energy.

Might want to loosen that tin-foil hat.

[infonote @ Jun 14th 2008 3:05AM]

I have submitted your article to http://www.autocar-live.com which is a social site where users can submit car/auto articles and vote for already submitted articles.