AFVI Show: Tell me, is the Miles Javlon $30,000 all-electric sedan for real?
Remember the presentation that Miles Rubin gave at the EDTA last November on the semi-secretive car his company, Miles Automotive, would bring to the 2007 LA Auto Show? (If not, read about it here). It's time to update the story.
I certainly didn't expect to find any new alternative fueled vehicles while roaming through the AFVI Expo hall today. This isn't the type of show where new cars are announced. And, technically, the all-new Javlon XS500 I discovered at the Miles booth isn't exactly being announced. It's clear that Miles Automotive is doing a soft roll-out of their WhiteStar challenger: an all-electric, five-seat sedan with an 85 mph top speed and a 150+ mile range. Oh, and the base model starts at $29,500.
I cornered Chris Buehrer of Miles Automotive on the showroom floor. He was forthcoming on some points, less so on others (like who's making the XS500's 320 V, 25 kWh, 80 Ah lithium-ion batteries that take six hours to charge). You can probably tell from the interview that I was much more impressed to see the chassis in the metal - it's an original design by Pininfarina - than I was of Rubin's talk last November. For now, please give Chris a listen for many, many details on the Javlon (MP3). We'll have a transcript of this up shortly. (UPDATE: Here it is).
Gallery: Javlon XS500 at AFVI
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
lawstud 10:30PM (6/04/2009)
Now it's called the "Coda" and they want $45,000 for it. Dammmn!
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kert 1:38PM (4/03/2007)
Its not an original design
http://www.chinacarforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1960
And although US brand is Miles, Qingyuan Electric is the maker of this thing.
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Doug 12:15PM (4/03/2007)
Nothing about it says EV to me. For one thing, it looks really heavy. Why does it have a fuel gauge? Too bad there are no photos from under the hood.
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Tony Belding 12:23PM (4/03/2007)
It sounds to me like a good addition to the marketplace. A couple of things were said in the interview that I found questionable. The suggestion that a fast charging system would heat and degrade the batteries implies to me that it lacks the sort of cooling system that Tesla have built into their battery pack. The suggestion that regenerative braking might not improve the range, or that it might result in a bad driving experience, seemed based in ignorance.
It should be easily apparent that this is a conversion from an existing gasoline-powered design (much like the Phoenix SUT & SUV).
The limited range and speed, the mundane appearance, and (let's be honest) the fact that it's made in China are all negatives on a $30,000 car. It might get traction if gas prices go higher (which doesn't seem unlikely) or if electric cars suddenly become fashionable (which could happen, but this car won't be what makes it happen).
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your ad here 2:48PM (4/03/2007)
If it is electric, why is there a radiator visible through the grill in the gallery photos?
why does it have a grill at all?
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Sebastian Blanco 2:40PM (4/03/2007)
I don't think this thing has an electric powertrain at the moment. It's just a physical representation of what Miles hopes to sell late next year. The real unveiling will be at the LA Auto Show later this year.
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Turbofrog 5:31PM (4/03/2007)
While I have no idea whether this is actually an electric vehicle or just a mock-up, the fact that it has a radiator and a grille is no indication. Battery packs and electric motors still need to dissipate heat somehow...internal combustion engines don't have a monopoly on that.
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John Rowell 5:58PM (4/03/2007)
This is really exciting news. Hope Miles/Javlon can meet the targets they have set in this timeline. And at $29k this would be the most affordable highway-scale EV out there. Miles is a name in the EV business and they have a reputation to uphold. I do have reservations whether they can meet their target on time considering they don't even have the electric systems in their prototype yet. Aside from that, I'm taking this announcement seriously and plan to be one of the first to buy this car.
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Don 8:28PM (4/03/2007)
150 mile range?
Good for the city but not much else.
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Tony Belding 8:47PM (4/03/2007)
In the interview it was said they hope they might get 200 miles range out of it, but they aren't committing to that yet. They are confident they can get 150, so that's what they are saying for now.
And it was also said that this is a non-functional car brought over to give prospective dealers some idea what the production vehicle should look like.
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John Robinson 8:39AM (4/04/2007)
8. 150 mile range?
Good for the city but not much else.
Posted at 8:28PM on Apr 3rd 2007 by Don
Agrees fully.150 miles it is not much else.
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drstrangegun 10:22AM (4/04/2007)
150 mile range not good for anything?
I have a ~50-60 mile commute every day. It would be frickin' *perfect* for my driving schedule.
If I needed to go further, I'd suck it up and hop in my Sonoma. 26mpg, but "unlimited" range.
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susan.kraemer 11:42AM (4/04/2007)
I personally need a recharge of MY OWN batteries after 150 miles, thats half way to LA from SF.
I think this looks perfect! It looks like a car anyone can use to get to work and drop the kids at school.
EVs are not just a fad for some far-out science experiment car-groupies, but we need real cars for real people.
As this ad puts it, a car "to get America to work in the Morning without having to go to War in the Afternoon..."
http://jcwinnie.biz/wordpress/?page_id=1792
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Manu Sharma 10:48AM (4/07/2007)
I agree. 150 miles is excellent progress for electric cars. The usual gas to electric conversions are in the range of 50-60 miles. So 150 miles is fantastic.
If we had the infrastructure to support electrics, this wouldn't be an issue for *any* distance.
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occ 1:30AM (5/13/2007)
Absolutely! 80% of American commute less than 50miles daily, yes 80%!. My 40 miles commute in my 25mpg sedan is costing my ~$6/day right now in CA. An electric car will only cost me ~$2 of electricity, and that's daytime electrical rate in CA (one of the highest in the nation). That's $1000/yr savings.
If 80% of Americans commute via their electric cars, we wouldnt be fighting in the Middle East and "wasting" tens of million of dollars a day of tax payer's $. Oh, btw, the government estimate that 75% of electric/PHEV cars can be recharged at night without building a single new power plant.
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