PhoenixMotorcars
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Phoenix Motorcars undergoing restructuring, still committed to EV space
With proven success stories like Tesla struggling to keep those electric car dreams alive in today's economy, it's no shock to hear that at least one little guy (that'd be Phoenix Motorcars) has caved to the pressures. After reviving itself once already late last year by nailing down a partnership with the absolutely stunning state of Hawai'i, it seems the company hasn't been able to progress as planned with its intentions to bring EVs and an electric vehicle infrastructure to the island of Maui. According to a filing on April 27th, the flagging automaker has pegged the soft economy (surprise!) as well as a $5.3 million arbitration apparently won by former drivetrain supplier UQM as the main contributors to its demise. In an update to the situation, however, its CEO has replied to AutoblogGreen in order to reaffirm that it "has not abandoned the alternative fuels transportation space." Unfortunately, that could mean absolutely anything... or nothing at all.Read - Original filingRead - Update from Phoenix MC
Phoenix Motorcars bringing all-electric vehicles to Maui by 2009
Whoa, talk about returning from the depths of yesteryear. For those with incredibly good memories (we're talking superhero-level here), you might remember Phoenix Motorcars touting a "truly plug-and-play" vehicle nearly two years ago to the day. Now, the outfit is back with a partnership with the state of Hawai'i. In an ambitious press release, the two parties have jointly announced plans to bring "all-electric vehicles and an electric vehicle infrastructure to the island of Maui by 2009." The premise is sound; after all, it doesn't many months of paying $5.29 / gallon for regular (proof after the break) to get everyone on the island to support such an initiative. The real question, however, is will Phoenix Motorcars deliver? Bonus shots to make you envious of whoever will be testing these are also just beyond the break.
Phoenix Motorcars intros a truly plug-and-play car
While everyone and their mother (this author's parents included) have bought one of those hot new environmentally-conscious cars like a Prius, there's an old-new game in town: the purely electric car. This isn't the defunct EV1 we're talking about here, nor some of those other models we've heard about before, this is the Phoenix Motorcars electric SUV, which can be plugged into a wall socket and recharged with the same plug that powers your garden party boombox. Just grab an extension cord, plug in your truck for six to seven hours, and bam, it's good to roll. Simple concept, right? Worried about power under the hood? It'll do 0 to 60 in under 10 seconds, and can sustain a top speed of 110 miles per hour. What about the range? It'll stayed juiced for up to 250 miles, which is a little more than half the distance between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Wanna take one for a spin? You'll have to throw down $45,000 for the pleasure -- the first 500 are due out in 2007, and the next 6,000 will be out the following year. One problem though, it's powered by lithium ion batteries, which have a potential to, erm, explode (if built by Sony, anyway). Still, Altair Nanotechnologies and Phoenix Motorcars say that they've fixed it with an inert anode made of "lithium titanate spinels," whatever that is. (Say, can't we get some of that action in our laptop batteries?)Update: We neglected to mention that while a normal charge takes six to seven hours, CNET also reports that you can juice it up via a "special charger in about 10 to 15 minutes." [Thanks, Andrew]
