What I know about electric vehicles: They are vehicles, and they run on electricity.
I’m not much of a car girl, but I’m EV-curious. So when Miles Automotive invited me to their office at the Santa Monica airport to check out their cars, I roped my car expert friend Damien into joining me for an electric-vehicle test drive.
Miles Automotive’s been getting some good press for their consumer car-to-be. Called the Javlon, this car’s anticipated to go 80 mph with a 120+ mile range per charge — which can be done at any standard 100V or 200V wall socket. And unlike the $100K Tesla, the Javlon’ll cost around $30K — less tax deductions.
Except this car won’t be here for another few months — right around AltCarExpo time — so we couldn’t test drive it.
Instead, we went for a ride in the slower low speed vehicles (above), a crash-tested (to EU standards) car intended as a safer alternative to the golf cart type things you see on college campuses and such. Already in use at some of the UCs and Cal State Univs., these top out at 25 or 35 mph depending on the model.
I even tried driving it — and found out I’m not v. good at making turns sans power steering. No matter — These lil cars are for the fleet market, not for girls like me.
But back to the Javlon: I did get to sit in a gas model of the car (right, with Damien in the back seat), which feels basically like a regular family sedan.
Damien’s note of approval, understated as usual: “They might sell some of these.”
Not sure the Javlon’ll make me quit my biking ways, but this EV might be a viable alternative for would-be-green people who can’t afford a Tesla but need something bigger than the 3-wheeled NMG. Hopefully a model’ll arrive in time for people to test drive at the AltCarExpo.
August 31st, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Cool! Can I get one with a 100ft extension cord? My parking space is too far from my condo!
September 1st, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Now thats something I can afford. The Telsa car is nice but how many people can buy a $100K car? The silver car looks nice to how much is it? Im always on side streets or in traffic anyway so the speed doesnt matter. can only colleges buy them?
September 3rd, 2007 at 9:21 pm
I have an all electric scooter that looks like a Vespa. It goes 40 miles on a charge. When you’re driving around town, it’s amazing how far you can get without having to recharge. American ingenuity can make these electric vehicles a thing of the present, even if the big companies like GM want to stall and play games with their own introductions.
November 21st, 2007 at 7:48 am
Hey that Javlon looks sharp! Think…Mercedes C series. At least this one doesn’t looks like some weird box like contraption.
The 120 mile range sounds good, but very soon, the $30K price point will see vehicles that can do 200 miles per charge as a norm. Think what it’ll be like in 5 years! Very exciting to be certain!