Th!nk to begin building cars again, sort of
Having gone through the automotive equivalent of a near-death experience, we are happy to report that Th!nk is registering vital signs again and that the halted production of its sub-compact City is set to resume, sort of. The company is still on life support and the factory in Aurskog will be completing vehicles and making some parts for future cars rather than resuming a regular production schedule. The head of the "debt committee", Jo Rodin, said (in Google-translated English), "There will be no cars on the market in January."
According to the Norwegian news sources, short-term financing should be in place by Tuesday or Wednesday that would allow for a couple months of breathing room and help the troubled automaker to reach agreements with current creditors and hopefully attract some new investment. Although the amount of debt owed by the company wasn't stated, it is said to need at least $29 million to keep going. We hope Th!nk manages pull a Lazarus since its demise would not only make for a gloomy Norway-hosted EVS24 in May but also prove problematic for American battery supplier, Ener1. To help boost spirits in the meantime, we offer up an entertaining bit of bonus video (after the jump) of an original Ford Th!nk making a spirited pass through some cones. Thanks to Sindre for the tip!
[Source: E24 / YouTube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gorr 2:49PM (1/03/2009)
This is just a world banking fight between the real owners (bank) and this little small compagny wannabe that accepted money, state regulation and other privileges, set-up market share, set-up battery supplier and specifications, set-up selling price and methods, etc. This is why i said that banks rule the industry and this is why everybody is near bankrupcy. The big banks of wall street with your president is attaking everybody and especially my car that i want to buy soon. This is their obsession for a lot of time. This compagny, Think, is not normal in any way and is a political-banking set-up own by nobody and they are menacing free entreprenorship all over the world and this site is own by the banking system too and follow the rules of high-financial circles and normal business is prohibited, especially green algae fuel and hydrogen.
This is not a new thing. It was predicted by nostradamus that the incompetants will try to lead the way because nobody on earth since the beginning have invented anything whatsoever, even elvis and the beatles. They just do what they did on the previous planets before this one. It's the only thing they know and they didn't learn or create anything new since the jesus era where everything was running good 85 billions years ago ?? Since then people have rejected jesus and any sort of beliefs and have live, then die, then re-live ad nauseam and jesus is still waiting for a car propelled forward by water. Water was invented by jesus and friends long time ago, more then 85 billions years ago.
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Chris M 1:40AM (1/04/2009)
Jesus doesn't drive on water, he just walks on it!
Gorr, I don't know what kind of whacky cult you're in, but if your Beloved Leader offers you a ticket on a UFO hidden behind a comet, please politely decline the offer.
ziv 5:01PM (1/03/2009)
What is killing Th!nk is that they had only sold 100 of the City cars by August of 2008. 100! And the new and improved City?
Quote:
The specifications of the TH!NK city were improved: "The two-seater urban car has a top speed of 65 mph (105 km/h) . It accelerates from zero to 50km/h in just 6.5 seconds and to 80km/h in 16 seconds. It requires just an overnight top-up of electricity and can travel for 210km in city driving on a fully charged battery".
Unquote
Top speed 65 mph, which isn't terrible, just fairly poor. But 0-80kmh in 16 seconds? Basically 0-50mph in 16 seconds, that is pathetic. I understand that it is a city car, but it is a dog of a city car.
That having been said, I hope someone bankrolls them, and they have the time to iron out some of the bugs, and they make a lot of these cars down the road. It is a niche market, but any car using electricity is a good thing.
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torfred 5:58PM (1/03/2009)
Most city roads wont go over 50 kms, and when you are on a highway you wont be rushed to accelerate. I think it is the perfect car for the european market.
It is most likely the banks not as eager to loan them money as before that is hurting them.
ziv 9:01PM (1/03/2009)
Torfred, an internationally known car company, Th!nk, has sold 100 City cars as of August. Maybe we want them to succeed more than people want to buy Th!nk cars. Most cities have roads that you are going to need to be able to drive 80 kph just to get by. Not 50 kms. If you are getting onto the Autobahn or any large road in Europe, you will need to be able to drive at least 100 kph, and reasonably quickly. If you are going to build a car people will buy, it has to behave like a car, not a golf cart.
This isn't about banks not wanting to make loans and money. Banks want to make money. But they don't have the ability to make people want to buy cars that don't perform.
gorr 5:52PM (1/03/2009)
This box of a car must be a painful experience to drive and own.
I think that you even cannot own it by the way they are selling it.
Don't shop for that car, a tata nano is better then that. This is a product of communism where everything , including mechanical specifications are calculated for you to stay home and let the politicians and banks destroy what's is remaining.
As of now the world is stopped by this site that works for world banks and high financial and electronics spying circles. They think that many new business will appear and they set-up this site and the backing business financing thing before beginning the dealing. Long long time ago business and trading was done with computer aids but high financial circle created, pay pal, america online, world trade center destruction, eco-fueler bankrupcy and spying, etc.
I know people have 1% understanding of the laws of physics but if my car propelled by water run good then let it appear.
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sherry 7:18PM (1/03/2009)
It would cost the equivalent of 60 cents a gallon to charge and drive an electric car. The electricity to charge the car could come from solar or wind generated electricity. If all gasoline cars, trucks, and suv’s instead had plug-in electric drive trains, the amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota. Why don't we use some of the billions in bail out money to bail us out of our dependence on foreign oil? This past year the high cost of fuel so seriously damaged our economy and society that the ripple effects will be felt for years to come. Why not invest in setting up some alternative energy projects on a national basis, create clean cheap electricity, create millions of badly needed new green collar jobs, and get out from under our dependence on foreign oil. What a win -win situation that would be. There is a great new book out called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence NOW by Jeff Wilson. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in alternative energy. www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
if you think electric cars are way out there in some futuristic lala land please check out the web site for a company Better Place. http://www.betterplace.com/ they are setting up infrastructures in San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland as well as the state of Hawaii to accommodate electric car use. Their site is awesome, you can actually sign an online petition to bring similar projects to you area. Just click on the get involved button in the top right hand side of the pate.
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Aimless Six 10:44AM (1/04/2009)
I could live with the performance of the Think City. A top speed of 100 km/h will do as long a you stay off the motorway. And I am not in the habit of flooring it at every stoplight.
But for the (estimated) price of the Think City, you can have a Mini or a Civic or a pair of Aygo's or three Chevy Matiz. The last one is about the same size and luxury. And that is even without the battery rental. Battery rental equals about 130-160 liters of gas each month.
Without some serious government incentives and cost reductions it does not make a lot of economic sense.
There is a market for Think. Just like there is a market for Tesla. But most people who can afford a Tesla will go for something like a Porsche Carrera or a Mercedes SLK. And people who can afford a Think can drive a Prius.
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Vincent Eagle 1:13PM (1/04/2009)
Domenick - just a quick (an anal) comment. Your articles are excellent and informative but I've noticed you use "it's" as the possessive ("...production of it's sub-compact City..."). The apostrophe in "its" denotes a contraction and forms "it is" not the possessive. There is no apostrophe used in this particular possessive - weird, I know, but it's English.
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Domenick Yoney 3:52PM (1/04/2009)
Thanks for that. I forgot that nouns and pronouns differ in their usage of apostrophes to form the possessive.
stas peterson 11:03PM (1/14/2009)
No thank you.
I will take the EVs produced by Despised Chrysler. It's 30,000 to 40,000 EVs are gargantuan production and mostly unheralded, and unknown, compared to the handful produced by Think.
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