Think City Electric Cars Add Juice In Their Batteries

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I’ll admit that electric cars are a great idea and all–nothing wrong with a vehicle with a nearly-perpetual fuel source. But the execution has always been something of an issue, something that the folks out at Think City may be on their way to fixing.

The biggest problems in introducing an electric car here in the United States have been, basically: range, recharge rate, top speed and image. We’re used to getting in the car and going, and should we need a stop for fuel, it’s only after several hours of driving. And we have to have our cars at a certain top speed in order for them to even be legal to operate–a lot of folks would drive go-carts to work if they could.

But Think City, thanks to some new batteries set to be built in Elkhart, IN (not too far from my front door, actually!), is getting some serious boosts to range. Check out the specs on these things: the new batteries are a combination of lithium and manganese offering 25kWh. This ups the range fully double, letting it take a 100 mile trip instead of a 50 mile trip, and when you live 10 or 15 miles from the nearest movie theater, you’re grateful for better range. And if you’re using a 240v plug, you can recharge this thing from dead to full in just about four hours. And how’s the speed, you wonder? Test drivers for Green Car Advisor got this to 68 miles per hour, more than enough for even standard highway (not so much freeway but still all right there) driving.

The price tag is a little unpleasant at $28,000, but that does still beat the Chevy Volt, and it doesn’t factor in the tax credits, thus putting this on par with many other new cars.