VIDEO: Lutz going electric, can't wait for a Volt, picks up a Vectrix
Click for a high-res gallery
GM product development guru Bob Lutz has become particularly enamored of electric drive vehicles recently. As one of the major internal corporate sponsors of the Chevy Volt within GM, Lutz has been even more vocal than usual for the past year about the E-Flex program. Unfortunately even though Lutz has been one of the few to drive the Volt mule or Mali-Volt, it's still a good 30 months (at least) away from Job 1. While biding his time and pushing the Volt engineering team along, he is adding other battery powered vehicles to his collection.
Lutz's latest toy is a new Vectrix electric scooter. The Vectrix launched last fall and according to company treasurer John Schnorr they have built about 2,000 scooters so far and sold about half of the those. While the bike was lauded at launch for stylish looks and decent performance, the original $11,000 price tag was deemed a bit to steep. Vectrix recently reduced the price down to a more reasonable although still not cheap $8,795. Schnorr was on hand at Lutz's home to personally deliver the new machine. Read more and check out the video after the jump.
Gallery: Bob Lutz's new Vectrix
Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
Upon receiving his new scooter, Lutz was given a lesson in how it functions from the Vectrix reps and then he set off on some practise runs up and down the driveway. As you can see in the video, he was quite pleased with the new bike. It won't threaten the Ducati in the garage in a race, but its silent operation won't startle the swans in the pond either. Denise Lutz (Bob's wife) seemed just as pleased as he was with the performance of the new bike which will share space in the family garage with 4 Segways.
Bob lutz talks about his new Vectrix electric bike
Currently the Vectrix uses a nickel metal hydride battery that gives it a top speed of about 62mph and a range of 45-60 miles depending on how aggressively you ride it. According to Schnorr, they are currently testing a lithium ion battery which will hopefully be available as an option in 2009. The charging cord sits in a compartment under the seat and the bike can be charged from either 110V or 220V outlets. I asked Schnorr about reports earlier this year that Vectrix was having discussions with Tesla to offer the scooters through the carmaker's stores. Although that could still potentially happen at some point, there are no plans right now. The company came to the conclusion that people coming into a Tesla store were not really likely to be interested in a two-wheeler, even an electric one. Instead they are working on signing up more motorcycle dealers around the country to offer the Vectrix. Several new ones are scheduled to open in the coming weeks, including one in Ann Arbor.
As for the Lutz family's new conveyance, they plan to ship it down to their home in Montserrat and use it for getting around the island.
Gallery: Bob Lutz's new Vectrix
Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kevin Nugent 11:58AM (6/07/2008)
But you know i don't seem to get the whole hype over the vectrix because when compared to the Volta company they seem so overpriced. Grant it that the vectrix motor company is the first to produce a mass marketed ev electric scooter but go to this website ( i will post below) and you will clearly see that the specs for the Volta are much better for 8-11 thousand dollar price tag . You can actually go over 60 miles per hour in the volta and get more than 50 miles or range all for the same price or less, so what do you think ?? Why don;t you just wait until the Volta comes out you can already reserve one!
Also has anyone else noticed that bob lutz drove the vectrix on the same day he so called " drove the volt mule the first time"
Here is the link to teh scooters better than the vectrix -http://www.evcusa.com/
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vfx 3:39PM (6/07/2008)
Does that mean Bob has a Tesla on order?
By the way, Auto Manafactures always purchase a few competing vehicles to tear them apart. Reverse engineering is the literal term even if they are just using the cars makeup as an idea farm. So how many Tesla Roadsters do GM have coming in via phoney names?
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Peekoyle 12:21AM (6/08/2008)
The Maximum Bob Maxi-Scooter!
why cant Honda, Suzuki or Yamaha make an EV Maxi-Scooter? minus the corporate clown of course ;)
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MetroMPG.com 10:27AM (6/08/2008)
The man's got some 2-wheelin' skillz too: check how slowly he rides toward the camera starting around the 1:00 mark in the video. Decent balance for a crusty old fart!
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Galley 8:51AM (6/09/2008)
I would love to have an electric scooter. 60 mph and and 50 miles range would be perfect. They gotta bring the price down to about $4,000, though.
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FrankTheCrank 10:53AM (6/09/2008)
I LOVE BOB LUTZ. This guy is just amazing.
Certain people have an eye for things that become successful, or they know when something is marketable. Although a little late to the party on electric/hybrid, Bob knows its time has come. And, hopefully he will be the one to make the case at GM.
Bob Lutz is the Steve Jobs of the Auto Industry.
I'm hoping this is a sign of things to come.
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Snowdog 7:27AM (6/10/2008)
"The man's got some 2-wheelin' skillz too:"
He is real two wheel enthusiast:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=126903
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Tony Waterman 11:03PM (9/03/2008)
I really admire Bob Lutz, he is dedicated to innovation and high quality. To have a Vectrix, a Ducati and several segways
is every guys dream.
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