Zoomi Life

The company is Think Global and the CEO, Jan-Olaf Willums, is the driving force behind it. That and the new electric car, called the Think City, which debuted in its production concept at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year.

The car, which looks like a new Volkswagon Bug from the front and a modernized Geo Metro from the side, is not about the electric vehicle itself. Instead, insists Willums, it’s about revolutionizing how people view and purchase a car. Don’t be surprised if GM’s Saturn doesn’t steal this phrase for their next alternative-fuel promotion. It’s right out of their playbook.

The Think City is an ultra-compact electric that, while looking goofy, has a lot of promise. First, it’s scheduled to hit America’s shores and be highway legal sometime in 2009. It has a top speed of about 65mph, depending on payload, a range of about 120 miles in-city, and has all the safety features you’d expect from a “real” car, including airbags.

The biggest bang for the Think’s buck, though, comes from two things: price and green. The think’s sticker will be around $20,000USD and the car is 95% recyclable. Yep, both greens aren’t bad for an electric with this kind of ability.

The car is already on the market in Norway and Denmark and doing well, is in pre-sales in Sweden and the UK, will be available in France by Christmas, and is expected to hit the German market at roughly the same time it comes to the U.S. and Canada.

The highest sticker will be in the UK (close to $30,000USD), but Think justifies that by pointing out that this is a “real car,” and not a plastic Indian knockoff—referring probably to the Tata Nano, which would never meet safety standards in Europe or North America. I’ll get to a third aspect involving the batteries later on in this article.

What’s My Take?

I see two stumbling blocks that must be overcome before the car reaches American shores for sale, however. First is brand and copyright issues, due to the car’s name, and the second is it’s overall dorky looks.

The first issue has to do with the semi-non-profit group of the same name: Think City. They’re an urban beautification and “lifestyle enhancement” group that are gaining ground nationally by pimping community service and awareness. This amazes someone like me, since I live in Wyoming and in our towns, this is the normal way of doing things. We don’t need some non-profit group ordering us to do it. One of many reasons I’ll never live in a city.

The other issue is the car’s looks. That I can speak to. Sorry, folks, but this car is as dumb-looking as all the other “affordable” electrics out there. I don’t know why the car companies that make these things insist on making the affordable ones look like they’re affordable for a reason. I mean, come on, if Honda can make their Accord look like someone might want to drive with the windows down so people can see who they are and still have a realistic price tag, why not all these other groups?

I’m gonna rant for a minute on this because it really peeves me.

Why is it that all of these so-called “green” cars like the Prius (which, hate to break it to you, isn’t all that green, really) and this Think City look like bubbles with windows and headlights? What happened to style? At least the Chevy Volt will look (more or less) like a normal car. Where’s the disconnect? When will people like Dean Kamen (Segway Scooters), Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google)–all heavy investors in Think Global—realize that just because they’re nerds who enjoy flaunting the fact doesn’t mean that the rest of us are interested in driving a nerd-mobile.

But, anyway, this is all coming from a guy who thinks the 1970 International Harvester 393 tractor is the shizznit.

OK, rant is over.

Battery Leasing

Yep, the above is correct. The other caveat with the Think City is its batteries. More precisely, it’s the lease that they require. Calling it a “mobility pack,” they will be leasing them for between $100-200 per month, depending on which market you’re in, but will include not just the batteries, but also car insurance and carbon offsets. Not sure about the insurance, since no details are available, and I’d prefer to opt out of that and keep my current insurance, as I’m sure many others would, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

The bonus with the Mobility Pack will be that when the batteries begin to lose their optimum charging and range capabilities, they will alert the driver (through the dashboard display) who can then request new ones. That could be a big deal, since batteries are almost always the most expensive part of any EV.

I’m sure you noticed some glaring holes in data in this article: no charge times, no 0-60 numbers, etc. That’s because they aren’t available (that I could find) and probably don’t mean much to the kind of person who would buy one of these cars. I suspect the charge time will be at around 4-7 hours (80% and full) for the expected range of this little car. No word on the type of battery for sure either, though I doubt they’re Li-Ion.

For more information about the Think City Car, check out Think’s City Car homepage.

Check out the video below for a great review of the Think City Car: