ABG reader sends in Colorado Current electric car update
So, earlier this week we looked into a tip we got about an all-electric car called the Current. The website for the car left a little to be desired, and it looked like maybe another tale of someone promising just a little more than they can deliver. Well, AutoblogGreen reader Brian from Colorado, who lives in - surprise - Colorado, actually paid the show a visit and sent in some pictures and a report. You can find some of what he wrote in his comments, things like that these are Chinese imports (via Pakistan), that they can go 70 mph and that they haven't yet been through any crash testing. Brian also wrote the following to us directly:
He [the shop owner] told me he plans on bringing in 4 to 6 more models in the next 90 days including the car that looks like the Mini and a small truck. He also told me he has been working on bringing and/or making battery powered cars for 5 years. He did not want me to take pictures of the motor, inverters, or the batteries but he told me they are testing several brands. He says he is asked everyday by phone and email what electronic parts he is using in the cars. He said they are available products and he wants to put as much US made products in the cars as he can. He also had a 5 speed transmission that he was testing. Personal observation: he is a car salesman and I have looked at his website and spec sheets and most of the cars I saw did not match, such as AC and CD stereo so take that for what's it's worth. The cars I saw had not been delivered and as you can see in the pictures were being built. The car I was able to ride in on the test drive did have AC but still had a crappy cassette player. I just wanted to find out if the cars are real and available for sale and if they can be driven on the highway and it appears to me that they can be driven, at least in Colorado on the highway. The red car I drove was going to Florida and two cars, Silver and White I think, are going to California.
So, that's what one reader reports. You can see Brian's pictures here (the big ones are from him, the smaller are from the website). Any more questions?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jake 8:53PM (2/27/2009)
Thanks to Brian from Colorado for going out there to check it out. It certainly is interesting, but so far there's a serious lack of specs (kWh, power output, torque, battery chemistry, etc) and there seems to be no mention of price. And being a Chinese car, it likely is not going to do well in a crash, so it's questionable this car is suitable for highway speeds.
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jake 8:56PM (2/27/2009)
And by lack of specs I mean we don't know what they are, not that they are necessarily low.
Yanquetino 10:16PM (2/27/2009)
"Any more questions?" Yup!
Brian: You say you "were able to ride in," but then later said "the car I drove." Can you clarify which --or did you do both? Were you in fact going 65+ mph when you took that photo of the instruments? Yet the "battery indicator" showed a full charge still...? How was that acceleration to "highway speed"?
What did that "battery indicator" tell you about the state-of-charge, both before the ride/drive and after? How far did you go? What range could you estimate for the battery pack, given those parameters?
Did the driver (you?) actually shift those five gears with a clutch?
Even though the vehicle hasn't been "crash tested," did it have air bags? What about side impact beams?
If not EPA crash tested, even if they "can" be driven on the freeway, can they do so LEGALLY?
That charge port obviously had a 220V receptable, probably a 10-30R. Does that mean it has its charger on-board? Capable of auto-shutoff and leveling? How long does a recharge take from empty to full? Can it not also use 110V?
What kind of warranty do they offer?
Would you buy one, given your test ride/drive? Why or why not?
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Yanquetino 10:27PM (2/27/2009)
Correction: Now that I've looked more closely, that plug is likely a NEMA L5-15, No. 4729 (15A/125V), so NOT capable of a faster 200V charge.
GoodCheer 11:55AM (2/28/2009)
I can read 250V on picture 14.
I think it's a NEMA L6-20R. Kind of an oddball size.
If so, 240V * 20 A = 4.8kW, or about 20 miles driving range per hour of charging. (assuming ~250 Wh/mile).
Brian from Colorado 1:14PM (3/02/2009)
Okay guys, I follow green and green autos but I'm no expert and I do not know enough about the technology to speak to motors, batteries and the like. I just wanted to verify that the car was real and that the cars could be purchased, task complete. In the posts and email I could have been a little more clear but I didn't drive the car I was driven by ST. The car I was taken out in was the red car in the pictures. This car had an automatic type of shifter in the floor. The car had a drivers airbag, AC and heat and a central MPH gauge with a battery life indicator next to it. I noticed as we left for the drive that it the power level showed near the top and after a 10 minute drive around the sales office with starts and stops the level went down maybe one bar. We stopped on hills and hit a top speed of 70 twice once in a straight road and once approaching a curve. We hit 55 several times including a long hill. I took three pictures while driving on at 50+ and two separate 70+ pictures during the test drive. Acceleration was good but not the head snapping power I have read for the Tesla. The car has a drivers air bag that ST told me was modified for the US market at the shop. The car has a modified dash and side impact beams all done in the shop. The car is shipped without any motor, batteries or power systems. ST told me he has worked on the the drive train design for several years (over 5) and is trying to use as much US made/designed product that he can. I did no look closely at the systems but he said he could use several brands of batteries and was developing a system that got 200 + miles on a trip. The current setup will use 110 to recharge but he was testing 220 as well. He told me lots of people are trying to get the drive train information from him and he told me that was his development and he didn't want to share this information. I told him I would not take any pictures of the drive train. ST told me that the car can be driven on the highway and showed me the paperwork for him to manufacture the car and assign VIN plates so it is 50 state legal. I ask about crash testing and he told me that he would crash test the cars after 10K in sales but it was not a requirement to sell them today. I did not see proof that the car can be driven on the highway all states only that it can be driven in Colorado as he had a current Colorado state plate on one car and the fact that it was driven to the capital for some event as proof for this state. He told me that he has setup a couple of dealers and sold two cars to California and one to a buyer in Florida (the red test car). The price is $28995 and is listed on the site. I didn't dive into the drive train after he told me about the questions and him unwilling to discuss the specification with others. He seamed to be a genuine guy that wants to make a living selling battery powered cars. He has sold the Smart cars in the past as well as other NEV's. I didn't ask about warranty as he had a customer and news reporter so up before I could finish talking with him. I was impressed that the car was real and drove well for what it was. I feel this is a VW bug kind of car, basic transportation that runs on batteries and will haul 4 people. The claim of 50 miles per charge seams real to me in the car that I rode in. I would buy one if it was half the price as I'm cheap but I think it is worth the current price as it seamed to be a solid car. My personal needs are a car that will travel 200 miles a day because of my long commute but he told me that with some changes the car would do that and I would seriously look into buying one with a 7.5K tax break if it would do that kind of miles everyday. ST thinks that EV is the way of the future and has some supports here in Colorado via the news and local government so I see him selling a few of these this year. I guess we will see how thins like safety work out but he told me directly that he doesn't want people to be unsafe and wants the cars to be easily serviceable. Hope this answers most of the questions.
EV-1 11:00AM (2/28/2009)
Re: "He also had a 5 speed transmission that he was testing."
Five-speed ? For a 70 mph EV ?
Sounds WAY too ambitious to me.
Adds cost AND weight.
And - of course - woulnerability / complication
( as 'Yanquetino's question about clutch indicates ).
Gearboxes are for ICEs, whose lousy powerband forced engineers to add them, including the clutch to enable the crap to get the vehicle running (from idling of course - since that antique engine cannot start by itself ... )
Better to spend the money on a more powerful motor.
And higher capacity battery.
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andrichrose 1:32PM (2/28/2009)
the controller looks like the AZURE DYNAMICS unit to me ,
a fairly serious unit !
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Ray C 11:14AM (5/26/2009)
I don't mean to rain on everybodies parade but I have to add a few comments. First of all thanks Bryan for getting us info and the skinny exactly as you saw it - cheers to you!
First of all any EV or NEV manufacturer who is doing things legitimately will tell you this: For any vehicle that travels on a highway in the US has to undergo extensive crash testing first before they can be approved to go any speed over 25 mph. That is a federal law. Even if the state allows an ev to go over 25 mph, the federal law even says you cannot exceed 25 mph even if it is a state law that tells you otherwise. The only ev that has been crash tested and passed is the tesla roadster. There are other ev companies that are now undergoing crash testing. That is exactly why they have the classification of NEV's or LSV's. The manufacturers only sell them to go 25 mph. If they sell them to go faster than 25 mph and someone dies in a crash they will get their balls sued off. A lot of the NEV's are not built for crash test ratings, and would fail if tested. What the manufacturers of the Current is doing is totally illegal!! Just look at any NEV manufacture's website to see what I'm saying is true!
Secondly, anone who knows about electric motors (DC or AC) vs ICE's knows that adding extra transmission speeds does not gain any efficiency. You actually would draw more current using 6th gear than 1st or 2nd to go the same speed. You only need 1 or maybe even 2 different "gears" to go 70 mph with an electric motor.
lastly, I spoke to the car dealer in Colorado that sells the Current. He told me you can get a battery pack option that will go 400 miles on one charge and charge in 10 min. How do you exactly do that with a 220 V line with a 100 Amp breaker in your garage (I'm being generous with the 100 Amp breaker)? I assume this must be a 30kWh battery pack approximately. 30kWh in 10 min - I smell burning wires!!! Better call your local electrician and take the tin foil out of your breaker box.
I was hoping for better when I heard about the car, but I know better. Let me know if anyone needs info on this stuff. You can find me at raymond@sunmotor.us.
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