Can't wait for the Tesla WhiteStar? You might be able to get an Acura TL EV, or not
The Tesla WhiteStar sedan is still at least a couple of years away from production (if not more). However a reader sent in a link to a site that purports to offer a Luxury Electric sedan. The car in question is an Acura TL shorn of its gasoline-fueled V-6 and converted to electric power. The site claims to have one working vehicle although there is no actual evidence of that. We'd like to see photos of the installation, for example. The converters claim to use lithium ion phosphate batteries which provide a 200-mile range and 2.5-hour charge time. The cost for the conversion is listed as $185,000 although we don't know if that includes the price of the car. We've contacted the company to try and get some more information and an update will be forthcoming on the off chance that they respond. In the meantime breathing should continue uninterrupted.
[Source: Potential Difference, thanks to Grant for the tip]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Daniel 9:37PM (3/02/2008)
Let's hope you mean $18,500... the price you quoted is more than my mortgage....
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brn 11:10PM (3/02/2008)
Daniel,
Follow the link. It wasn't a misprint.
I think I prefer that electric Ford Ranger for $30K total cost.
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GreyFlcn 11:59PM (3/02/2008)
Lol, you could buy two Tesla Roadsters for that price ;D
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Mark 12:03AM (3/03/2008)
Wow, are car companies serious about getting plug-in vehicles to the market? They obviously are not if they are selling for more then a house..
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Andrew Tanasescu 1:05AM (3/03/2008)
How do I know that the TL is not just a gas powered TL. you cant tell the difference from the picture...
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jake 3:25AM (3/03/2008)
@Mark
Well thing is I am dubious that is is actually a company...Tesla's whitestar EV is going to be $50-65k, not cheap by any means but low volume & expensive batteries means it's not going to get much cheaper in the short run. Biggest hope of cheaper plug-ins are from big companies like GM and the Volt is an example. But it's still $35k so it's also not cheap. So far big batteries are still the most expensive part of plugins mostly due to economy of scale. Other EV parts like motors and other EV accessories are probably quite expensive too for the same reason.
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Dave 10:11AM (3/03/2008)
Are the battery costs high because of material costs, labor costs or just because they are at the begingin of a production ramp and the quantities are low for the first few quarters?? Every article I read states the same thing, the majority of the cost increase for an EV or PHEV is the batteries, but I have not read much on the justification for the high cost of the batteries.
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stevefazek 1:08AM (3/04/2008)
give me 250K and ill make you a EV that goes 500 Miles on a charge. ;-) I think scammers have just moved on to EV. Hell scammers and snake oil salesmen have been around the green community for years. Like those Magic Biodiesel beads, the wind turbine that makes 4000 Watts in a 10 MPH wind.
Really annoys me these bastards just ignore the rules of thermal dynamics and electrical resistance.
A battery will give back 40-80% of the engery you put into it. The hotter it gets the less it gives back. an controller will eat up another 5% through heat and a motor will eat up 20-30% in heat and friction while the drivetain will again eat up around 20%
But year gas is still a rip off 3.20 for 130K BTU while electricity is around 60-80 cents for the same BTU
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