« Catherine MacLeod's question for Tony Blair | Main | Why doesn't tech business succeed in Britain? »
July 27, 2005
The car that is "any colour you want as long as it's green"
According to the Going Green website there are now more than 200 Reva G-Wiz electric cars on the streets of London. The car (not advertized to keep the price down) was designed in California and manufactured by Reva in Bangalore.
The G-Wiz costs about GBP 7,000 and is exempt from road tax (and the London congestion charge). Fuel efficiency is claimed to be equivalent to 600 mpg. There are three test drive sites in London.
Could it cope with the Edinburgh hills? Also it’s worth remembering that the car is only as clean as the electricity that goes into it. If the electricity was made from coal in Cockenzie or Longannet then the car would actually be contributing to global warming.
Posted by Simon Holledge at July 27, 2005 10:04 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.skakagrall.com/cgi-bin/MT/mt-tb.cgi/506
Comments
Depends if it's self-charging. Suddenly hybrids start to make sense.
Or better yet, a bicycle.
Posted by: Mark Gamon at July 29, 2005 11:01 AM
I have just been looking at the car's spec. It is completely electric, not a hybrid.
It has a maximum speed of 40 mph with a range of up to 40 miles on one charge. A full charge takes 6 hours (or an 80 per cent charge in 2.5 hours). You can charge it at home or at some London car parks. Running costs are supposed to be less than 1p a mile.
I wouldn't want one here in the Scottish hills but if I lived in the centre of London it could be practical - though using it with a spare battery would be good (not an option I think!).
Posted by: Simon Holledge at July 30, 2005 11:12 AM