PLUG-IN CARS EVEN CLOSER

Ray Magliozzi from NPR's Car Talk: “…There will be electric cars for consumers. Will the majority be electric? Eventually. If I look far enough down the line, I see cars running on nothing but electricity, and that electricity coming from nuclear power. After all, the Klingons are doing it, for God’s sake…we've got to be able to do it! … I think the trend is going to be electricity. And what I envision is that every household would have [its own] power plant that uses some kind of unique technology, maybe even nuclear technology, to heat your house, provide your electricity, charge your car…. You won’t need to go to a facility to get your car filled up”

Tom Magliozzi from NPR's Car Talk: "But that’s still pretty far away."

The Car Guys are so often right, but maybe not this time.

Al Gore’s venture capital firm and another equally serious venture capital heavyweight are financing a California connection for a rapidly emerging Norwegian electric car company, Think Global.

Ray Lane, Chairman, TH!NK North America: “The transportation industry is undergoing its largest transformation since Henry Ford built the Model T. Today we are witnessing a seminal event - the first highway-capable electric vehicle intended for mass production, representing a big step towards a zero emission transportation industry.”

They say they’re going to start selling electric cars in California in 2009 - and if there’s anyplace likely to buy electric cars, it’s California. They say they’re going to have 40,000 or 50,000 of them on the road within a couple of years.

Governor Arnold is going to be pleased because that’s a lot of emissions-cutting. It's equal to taking how many cars off the road...???

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Norwegian automaker plans to sell sub-$25K electric car in US
April 22, 2008 (AP via International Herald Tribune)
and
The “Car Talk” Guys Look for the Car of the Future
Joseph Hudak, April 22, 2008 (TV Guide)
and
Menlo Park firm brings new electric car to U.S.; Small 4-Seaters Will Go On Sale To Public In 2009
April 22, 2008 (San Jose Mercury News)
and
Kleiner Perkins and RockPort Capital, two leading US Cleantech invetors launch joint venture with Norwegian electrical vehicle company Think
21 April 2008 (Think)

WHO
Tom and Ray Magliozzi (aka Click and Clack, aka The Tappet Brothers, aka NPR's Car Talk guys); Think Global (Jan-Olaf Willums, Chief Executive); TH!NK North America (Ray Lane, Chairman); Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers (KPCB) (Ray Lane, Managing Partner); RockPort Capital Partners

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WHAT
With major funding from KPCB and RockPort, Think will bring its electrical vehicle to U.S. markets, via TH!NK North America, at the end of next year in big enough numbers to likely get the jump on GM and Toyota in the plug in car market.

WHEN
The partners expect to be selling the Think vehicle in California and Europe by the end of 2009.

Watch for Think at Hollywood and Vine in 2009. (click to enlarge)

WHERE
- TH!NK North America will be based in Southern California and the vehicles will be assembled locally.
- Think will also begin selling its vehicle in Scandinavia, Switzerland and France next year.

WHY
- The Think is designed as an environmentally-friendly vehicle. It is 95% recyclable. It is emissions-free, gets 110 miles/charge and is capable of 65 mph speeds.
- Think has also partnered with GE and with battery suppliers A123 Systems and EnerDel. (See GE GETS INTO BATTERY RACE and STORING ENERGY GETTING BETTER)

Alex already drives electric - but he's a cutting edge kind of guy. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Ray Lane, Managing Partner, KPCB: "[It’s] a mass-market vehicle…Our desire is to be selling 30- to 40- to 50,000 of these cars in a couple of years."
- Jan-Olaf Willums, CEO, Think Global: “The TH!NK city is the world’s only crash-tested and highway-certified EV and is ideal for markets such as California where we will initiate demonstration projects offering an exceptionally safe and fun car to drive…We are therefore proud to partner with the two pioneering investors in the clean tech field and to launch TH!NK city in North America with them.”