Phoenix Motorcars Added to PG&E Fleet
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA 
on 03. 1.07
Phoenix Motorcars continue to expand their brand and are starting to get their all-electric sport utility trucks out there, a little bit. In the news recently with an appearance at the White House, but on our radar since last year, with more coverage here and here, they've just signed a deal with PG&E (who has endorsed climate change legislation, among other initiatives to help the state be a bit greener) in California to add the Phoenix SUT to its fleet. Four will be delivered in June of this year, and PG&E plans to order 200 more to help them cover 70,000 square miles in central and northern California. The SUT will be handier than, say, a Tesla roadster, for example, in that it can haul five people, a payload in the back and still do freeway speeds. Its range is around 100 miles, and can be recharged in 10 minutes or so, making it particularly well-suited for short-to-medium length trips with a home base that's ready to power it back up. According to Phoenix's website, fleet sales will be the primary focus for 2007 as they continue to produce more vehicles and work whatever kinks in the system may appear. California TreeHuggers, keep your eyes peeled for a PG&E SUT later this summer! ::Phoenix Motorcars
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One thing to note that 10 Min recharge time must be with a special charger. Charging at home on 110 or 220 is gonna take hours.
Q: How do you charge the vehicle?
A: They charge with an on-board 6.6kW charger that plugs into a 220V outlet, the same as an electric dryer outlet in your home. Off-board charging can be accomplished with a special charger in as little as 10 minutes.
How long do these cars last, I mean a normal ICE car lasts about 10 years which is really and reinforces the hedonic treadmill, so if I were to drive this car for about 15000 miles per year how long would it last, does anyone know this?(man that's a long sentence)
Also what if you were to use the overcharge thing for about 7000 of those yearly miles (for traveling) would this effect longevity?
**Author's comments**
Hi Lenny,
Phoenix says their batteries are rated to last 250,000 miles/12+ years. Get more details at their site, and cruise all the links in the story for more coverage (there's some good stuff in the comments sections of the other stories) if you're looking to learn more.
Thanks for reading!
CD
110 mike take 2x time
Congratulations for all those who worked on this project. I hope the oil companies won't try to buy them out to destroy the electric vehicle like they did with the EV1.
I have a gas car that I have to constantly go to a filling station, often dirty and seedy, to refil with the smelly fuel. I drive about 80 miles per day, 5 days a week. I wish there was a clean reliable family vehicle that I could fuel with home electricity when I get home.
They are making an SUV also, that should be out next year. Hopefully it will be with the new Altairnano battery that gives it a 250 mile range.
Check it out! I was invited to test drive one of these in Dallas at the Texas unveiling. Here's my review of the test drive, and the information about the vehicle that I got from the handout at the event.
http://www.practicalenvironmentalist.com/eco-gadgets/test-drive-phoenix-motorcars-electric-sport-utility-vehicle.htm
I cannot wait to test drive these vehicles. After watching "Who killed the electric car?" I am ready to go electric the first chance I get.
I cannot applaud you enough for this venture. I only wish the vehicle roll out was going to be faster.
California alone could buy up 100% production for the next 20 years. Once you get the money rolling in I hope you start up plants across the country. God knows we need to get off the dependency of oil.
Nice work!
Phoenix and AltairNano made an appearance at our San Diego Prius Club meeting and we were allowed a ride and drive of the vehicle. It was a preproduction model so there were a few kinks, but the immediate response from all the attendees was "sign me up." There is really no compromise in interior volume, acceleration or function from a typical ICE SUT. I liken the size and space to a Ford Explorer Sport Trac. The rapid charge option will eventually make full-electric vehicles a no-brainer. I am thinking about buying a service station in Barstow, adding the rapid charger (cost ~$4k) and watching everyone roll up from Socal on the way to vegas. A 10 minute rapid charge every 100+ miles on a road trip is not really much of a compromise and, once we stop giving $$$ to Halliburton, et. al., we could even subsidize the industry to accelerate what is already a significant market-driven area of growth.
I agree with the comment about the oil companies. Watch out. There is no length they won't go to, to kill off any EV interest of the public. Use caution when selling them your cars and be prepared for some negative feedback campaigns to hit the media. Actually, I'm sure you have already thought of this. Great work on producing this car!
The US automakers are now paying for killing the EV1 in California. With thier financial and low sales today, I do not feel any sympathy for them today at all. They were dealt the Ace card and blew the bet!!!