100% Electric Sport Utility Truck (SUT)
It’s amazing the progress these small independent auto makers are making in the areas of plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars, and now trucks. Phoenix Motorcars has developed an all-electric sport utility truck that can keep up with the gasoline and diesel alternatives.
It’s a five passenger truck with a top speed of 95 MPH, 130 mile range (200 mile range is in the works), a 10 minute recharge with a special stand-alone charger, or trickle-charge overnight when plugged into a 220V outlet. Cost of recharge is a small fraction of the cost of the fossil fuel alternatives.
The magic behind the range and speed is a new kind of battery, similar to the lithium-ion battery but without the thermal runaway problems. The NanoSafeTM battery is a lithium titanate battery developed by Altairnano a leading battery developer. This new battery can take fast charging and is expected to last about 12 years.
Phoenix Motorcars will sell to fleet buyers and consumers. There is a waiting list so if this little truck sounds like an option for you contact them sooner than later. With all the press from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this past week there is bound to be a lot of renewed interest in renewable fuel vehicles like this.
It will be very interesting to see how successful this all-electric truck is. My money is on plug-in hybrids for the best short-term solution simply because it leverages existing infrastructure and technology. New technology like they are putting into this truck seems a little risky but leading edge usually also means taking educated risks. I can also see many small (and large) companies looking into small fleet orders since the operational cost of these vehicles is so low. It may prove to be the perfect solution for many businesses.
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perfect for Pizza Man!
The reason these are desirable for fleet use is the low maintenance footprint (about 25% of internal combustion power). They need so many fewer vehicles to keep the required number available that the capital cost savings are material. Think about it:
The motor has one moving part and there’s no transmission. And there’s no:
cooling system and coolant to change
lubrication system and oil & filter to change
exhaust system and muffler to change
ignition system and plugs & wires to change
fuel system w/air filters to change and injectors to clean
power takeoffs w/fan belts to change
system bolt-ons to wear out
lead acid battery to replace
And induction breaking to recharge the battery when stopping means pads & disks last dramatically much longer. Periodic maintenance is rotating the tires and replacing the wiper blades. What’s to not want?
I always wince when I think about it because I realize that big oil has made fools of us and nearly ruined the environment in the doing. Hopefully that will end soon enough to avoid catastrophic consequences like the 20 foot sea level rise that’ll happen if the Greenland ice cap breaks up.