EV startup of the day: Commuter Cars does the Tango
Sometimes it seems like we write about another EV startup company every day here on AutoblogGreen. And yet we apparently can't keep up with all of them. Just yesterday, the day we featured the Evette, AutoblogGreen reader Chris Nelson reminded us about Commuter Cars, the maker of the Tango. We've mentioned the Tango once here, noting that George Clooney owns one. But the tiny Tango deserves another look. In some aspects, it's got what the Tesla Roadster's got (zero tailpipe emissions, zero to 60 in 4 seconds), but in a lot of ways it's a vastly different car (take a look at the size for the most obvious difference). The Tango looks like an enclosed motorcycle, and Commuter Cars is more than willing to promote that association. The company suggests lane splitting in the Tango as a way to get through traffic jams, and the company website links to a California government FAQ that says lane splitting is indeed legal (when you're on a motorcycle). Any other small EV companies out there we've missed?
[Source: Commuter Cars, hat tip to Chris Nelson]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1985 Gripen 10:02PM (8/10/2006)
http://freeenergynews.com/Directory/EV/index.html
Also, I don't know if you've covered it before, but a California company called "Hybrid Technologies" converts existing I.C.E. cars to EV. Jay Leno last year bought a Chrysler Crossfire EV (called the "R-Car" from them. They also supplied a converted Mini Cooper to the British Embassy in Mexico City. http://www.hybridtechnologies.com/products.php
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Reden 4:00AM (8/11/2006)
Hey there! Those cars look awesome! I am amazed at how fast the development is for green cars. So the hypercar concept wasnt that far fetched after all! I wrote about a shop that converts cars into greencar types, and since youre the auto expert, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts about it!
the url of that post is http://www.ifenergy.com
thanks!
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Reden 4:01AM (8/11/2006)
Great post (again its me!) Hey when will these cars ever be available in Asia?
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Kit 4:44AM (8/11/2006)
The second production Tango T600 is underway. Its carbon fiber body was finished last month, the stainless steel chassis was finished today, and the chrome-moly roll cage will be built next week.
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Howard Lee Harkness 7:21AM (8/11/2006)
I went through the website at Commuter Cars, and I found a lot of bragging about performance, but absolutely no word about charge range, charge time, or expected maximum cycles.
The
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Howard Lee Harkness 8:08AM (8/11/2006)
My comment was truncated (I think the problem was the insertion of a special character): The price of less than $19k is nice, if it's for real, but does not indicate the total cost of ownership. Also, it is not clear whether this vehicle will carry more than one person, or if it must be licensed as a motorcycle. There is certainly not enough information on the website to inspire *me* to send in a $500 deposit, refundable or not.
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lavardera 11:15AM (8/11/2006)
What do you know about this?
http://www.studebakermotorcompany.com/index.phtml
http://www.studebakermotorcompany.com/Vehicles.phtml
It does not say electric car, but that is what I've been told. They are posting claims of 1500 mile ranges. Has AutoBlog covered this?
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Arnie 11:57AM (8/11/2006)
It does say what the range is and there is a seat for a passenger.
Headroom: 39" driver and passenger.
Range: 40-80 miles maximum with Lead-Acid batteries
60-160 miles maximum with NiMH batteries
This vehicle is actually rather interesting if it lives up to what they promise.
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Howard Lee Harkness 2:54PM (8/11/2006)
RE: "Hybrid Technologies" (http://www.hybridtechnologies.com) looks interesting, but I notice that they are publicly traded, and their stock appears to be on a downward trend, currently around $4/share. A couple of years ago, the stock was over $15/share, so I'm kinda wondering what has happened there. Guess I could buy some shares and find out...
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Arnie 10:36PM (8/13/2006)
These guys are on the move again. Think has been taken over by Norwegian investors after it went bust under the ownership of Pakistani/Swiss company Kamcorp which acquired the company from Ford.
http://www.think.no/
These guys are developing and manufacturing an old Danish design.
http://www.elbilnorge.no/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7&bakgrunn=english
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