Saw an electric express van at the auto show

more info from viamotors.com

dash touch screen

http://i873.photobucket.com/albums/ab291/lotsofmiles/Snapbucket/F0C3981C-orig.jpg


power panel - in and out. enough juice to weld with or power your house

http://i873.photobucket.com/albums/ab291/lotsofmiles/Snapbucket/EC2CF742-orig.jpg

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

More info from the website http://www.viamotors.com/:

http://www.viamotors.com/wp-content/uploads/via-motors-vtrux-powertrain-inside.jpg

$70,000 est msrp. But this would really help my plan to reduce my home electricity bill. Charge at the free charging station, walking distance from my house. Bring the van home and power the house till the batts need recharging. Repeat.

"free charging station" ? Where? Is your state/city sponsoring a free charging station?


BTW, that picture makes it easy to see what a huge advantage electric motors have in terms of power/torque output for a given size & weight, and how likely EVs are to catch on once the battery technology advances enough to provide decent range and quick recharge capability, along with long enough recharge cycle & calendar lifespan for a reasonable cost. Practically every truck stop is located close enough to high-voltage power distribution to provide the power needed for quick recharge, and every home & business already has the capability to provide a slower recharge. I can see the most cities eventually having parking meters of the future with recharge capabilities.

If the battery technology improves enough, I believe the build-up of EV vehicles & infrastructure will be a significant part of the next long-term economic boom that should begin around 2022.

The other part of this equation is this:
http://c1cleantechnicacom.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/files/2011/12/photovoltaic-cost.jpg
(although this chart shows the current retail cost of electricity to be more than double what it is in my area)

And here's something else:
Breakthrough could double solar energy output
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/environment/la-me-gs-breakthrough-double-solar-energy-output-20111216,0,3897047.story

I wonder what burn time is vs Volt ?

We have one free charge station in town right now. Or so I was told it was free. The City has applied for a Federal grant to redo the sidewalks or streets or something downtown. If the grant comes thru, I've been told there will be a free charge station on each side of the street.

Shop, what do you mean "burn time", range?

The reps at the show said 30-45 mile range on all electric. (that is sweet for a guy like me. Most days I'd be on all electric)

After batteries are so low the engine kicks in, powers the generator, and charges the batts.

Total range was about 300 miles.

They yank the factory gas tank, to have room for batts. The replacement tank is about 15 gallons I was told.


One of these vans would be PERFECT for me. But in my van shopping, I'm having a hard time justifing a NEW DMAX van at $45K. ( I dont mind used tho) At $70K i say WTH!

It looks like the Agent (wife) is going to make me take her to the Auto Show, so if anyone wants more info, I plan on talking to these guys some more....

Volts are known to catch on fire. I was being an ass.

they only catch fire when Obama and the federal government get their hands on them

they only catch fire when Obama and the federal government get their hands on them

:Nothing_f

One of these vans would be PERFECT for me. But in my van shopping, I'm having a hard time justifing a NEW DMAX van at $45K. ( I dont mind used tho) At $70K i say WTH!

It looks like the Agent (wife) is going to make me take her to the Auto Show, so if anyone wants more info, I plan on talking to these guys some more....
I assume you've also seen this: http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=31991

For people who mostly can run all electric, one way around the all-electric range limitation is by using a generator trailer:
http://evalbum.com/img/2312/2312d.jpg

If I could hook up deep cycle lead acid batteries I could keep my inventory of customers batteries hooked up and on the van I could have"free"batteries for the life of the van,just keep swappin'em out!! We do average over 100 miles a day,I would like to see the pay off graph on this,i have a hard time even justifying bucking up for a diesel option,in fact I can't !!

It looks like the Agent (wife) is going to make me take her to the Auto Show, so if anyone wants more info, I plan on talking to these guys some more....

yup, she says we're going tomorrow.