I spoke with Jeff Speno at Mission Valley Ford today. They will sell to buyers from outside of California. I was not the first to ask. (We do not yet know the shipping charges.) With this heavy discount, the cars may not last long.
On the other coast, Eurostar Automotive Group is also discounting, although not quite as deeply. Eurostar's webpage today claimed a base price of $26495, although I have not called them yet or checked details on delivery and such. SEE UPDATE ABOVE, price now matched on east coast.
As I reported earlier, Green Wheels Chicago still is listing Think cars on their website, as does Clean Cities.
I'm thinking about getting the Think City. I have a 70 mile round trip commute daily. I do have the possibility of charging at work.
ReplyDeleteI can only charge outside at home, and it is 30 feet away, any ideas on charging other than an extension cord to a 110/120 outdoor outlet?
Can the Think work for me?
emoll, that should be practical. I would ask what you mean by having "the possibility of charging at work"? If you have absolute certainty of access to charging at work, then no problem. When I had a 120 mile commute, I got permission to charge from the highest authorities at work, I had a backup place to plug in if the primary location had a problem, and I knew where both circuit breakers were. Still there were complaints from some union colleagues who said they should be given free gasoline until it was made clear that I was paying for the electricity I used.
DeleteAs far as charging at home, installing an "EVSE" near the parking spot is always the best, but if you must use an extension cord, I recommend at least 12 gauge wire, preferably the heavier 10 gauge. I use the thicker 600 volt insulation for outdoor charging for long term durability. It is a good idea to unplug the cord when you are not charging. You could alternatively cover the receptacle on the extension with a lockable cover, I use one meant for "lock out tag out" industrial safety. A cover also keeps the receptacle dry. Be careful of tripping hazards for pedestrians if you need to run the cord across sidewalks.
If you drive carefully, it should be possible to make the 70 mile round trip without charging at work but I recommend this be seen only as a backup plan. The 100 mile range for the Think EV is best case at city driving speeds, using mostly regenerative braking in temperate weather. Driving faster can cut maybe 10 miles off the range, cold weather can cut maybe another ten miles, snowy roads can cut maybe another ten miles. Worst case, you might have to drive without the heater to go 70 miles in adverse conditions. So I used to drive very lightly on the way to work and save the fast driving for the way home when I had the Mini E with a 120 mile range and a long commute, just in case I might need to leave early, before I was charged.
If you can count on access to charging at work, I say have no fear and go EV. You will be happy you did.
What I meant by could charge at work is that there are two public chargers in the garage where I park.
ReplyDeleteI have also thought about running some wire underground, and under the sidewalk and set up a level two charger right next to the car. Do you know of any level 2's that could easily be plugged in and out?
emoll - No problem charging at work then for you. Any chance of both charging stations being in use? Any problem with teenagers trying to vandalize things in that neighborhood?
ReplyDeleteLeviton makes an EVSE that you can plug into a 240 volt outlet, I don't know if it rated for outdoor installation:
http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ProductDetail.jsp?partnumber=EVB22-3PM§ion=37741&minisite=10251
There have been rumors of compatibility problems between Leviton EVSE and a couple brands of cars, so maybe buy it from a retailer with an easy return policy.
I bought a "Think" brand 240 volt EVSE from Norway and converted it to US style plugs. The "Think" EVSE is nice because it has a button to switch between 12 and 16 amp charging rates. It can be hard to find from the US, I got it through the forums at www.elbil.no using Google Translate. You can see the Think brand EVSE in the picture on my blog post from 20 March:
http://minie458.blogspot.com/2012/03/guerrilla-charging.html
It is the black box to the right. It was actually a little cheaper than the Leviton, even with shipping and changing the plugs. And it is quite water resistant, the enclosure looks the same as the yellow one used by Clipper Creek.