Electric Commuter Vehicle: Cool Design, But Iffy Sales Proposition
John McMillian writes:
At Shockwave Motors, we make electric cars cool by providing a high performance electric roadster (pictured) that’s economical, pollution free, and just plain fun to drive!
Our three-passenger roadster has a range of 80 to 100 miles and then plugs into any standard 120-volt outlet for about 8 or 9 hours for a complete recharge. Then the commuter is ready to drive another 80 to 100 miles home. This gives us an effective range of up to 200 miles per day. The top speed is about 75 MPH.
No other electric vehicle, with our level of performance, can get a complete recharge in about 9 hours from a standard wall outlet. This is what sets us apart. We don’t need any new infrastructure or special charging stations – just a simple 120-volt outlet!
Recent Traction Includes:
* SunTrust Bank has partnered with us to provide consumer financing for the Defiant EV3 Roadster©.
* We are finalizing discussions with a nationwide service provider with hundreds of locations across the United States and Canada.
* We are an SAE certified motorcycle manufacturer.
* Patent Pending.
Are you Ready for a Ride?
I look forward to your comments and suggestions. Thank you for your time and attention.
The following conversation ensues:
Craig: This is cool, but I believe your MSRP ($25K) is going to cause you trouble selling this against a Nissan LEAF, whose customers get a fully functioning car with all the modern goodies, including advanced safety features, as well as the support of a top-tier automaker. You should note that a LEAF can be charged with 110V as well.
Of course, any readers who are interested in speaking with John can contact him directly via his website linked above.
John: I also want to address the comment that the Leaf can charge from a 110-outlet. Yes it can; however, the user’s manual apparently states that the 110v trickle charger is for emergency use only and not for normal charging. I know a lot of people do use it – the difference is it takes about 20 hours to recharge a Leaf on a standard outlet and it take about 8 or 9 hours to recharge the Defiant EV3 Roadster(c). This means that a commuter can drive up to 100 miles, plug into any standard outlet and get a complete recharge while they are at work and then drive home up to another 100 miles, giving us the effective daily range of up to 200 miles. This is one key difference that sets us apart from any other comparable, high performance, electric vehicle. When plugged into a Level ll charger the roadster recharges in about half the time of a Leaf.
Our roadster does have options such as air conditioning and has other safety features designed into the body and chassis. Also, in the United States it registers as a motorcycle – or more correctly called an “AntoCycle”.
Craig: Yes, I noticed that this takes advantage of the fact that three-wheeled vehicles are regarded as motorcycles. It really does look cool, and I’m sure it’s fun to drive. Good luck to you.
It’s certainly an interesting and unique design, but so many small firms who design cars forget that most people consider a car simply as that, they don’t want their mind melted by looking at it and the police pulling them over to ask if its road legal
That’s something to consider as well. Good point.
Certainly the roadster is a unique vehicle and not for everyone. (We have taken that into account in our marketing research.) We have never tried to be all things to all people. Our goal is to have an efficient, affordable, and fun to drive vehicle that will get you to work and back safely, economically, and with some style. (One note on affordable – the roadster actually has the potential of a payback period of only 6 years!)
While I have never had a police officer pull me over and ask me if it’s “street legal”, I have had people make U turns and catch up with me and ask if they could see it. I have had people literally hanging out of car windows to take pictures. The roadster in an “attention getter” and people are going to take notice of it and asked the owner questions.
Generally speaking, the roadster seems to be very well liked. For example, last January we took the roadster to an indoor car show. We know that approximately 500 people attended the show. We also know that almost 250 people stopped by and talked to us – based on the number of business cards we gave away. We also maintain a sigh-up sheet of people that are interested in keeping up with our progress – 30 people signed that sheet. Finally, we had two people tell us that if we were in production, that would buy one!