Photos of Subaru R1e Electric Car in New York City
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 03.21.08
Our friends at Jalopnik weren't too impressed with Subaru's press event for the R1e, but they did get a bunch of press photos of the electric car driving around New York City, plus a few shots of the interior and what's under the hood.
For more on the Subaru R1e, see Subaru Tests R1e Electric Car in New York City, Previews G4e and Subaru Joins Electric Car Race with R1e. Photos below the fold.
You can see more over at Jalopnik.
An interesting tidbit from the Subaru press release:
Service life for the high-density lithium-ion battery is estimated at 10 years and 130,000 miles, another environmental benefit of Subaru technology. The battery pack is also designed to be easily recycled. The laminated battery packs are flat, rather than cylindrical, and can fit in a space four inches high, offering EV manufacturers wide latitude in vehicle design and packaging for better weight balance. The battery's basic design and composition consist of laminate, manganese, and lithium ion.
About battery recycling, see ::Here's What Happens to a Tesla Electric Car Battery at the End of its Life
Interested in electric cars? Check out: 17 Electric Cars You Must Know About
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So cute! I'll take two, please. :-)
I like it!
Wow! Another car I can't buy and will never see in stores. Joy! Why don't you rub it in with an estimated sticker price of $19.95. That'd show me.
I love the idea of electric cars, but my question is how does a typical urbanite recharge theirs? If you live in an apartment, there is a good chance you park on the street.
I only see charging these convenient if you live out in the suburbs and have a 3 car garage and an extension cord.
"I love the idea of electric cars, but my question is how does a typical urbanite recharge theirs? If you live in an apartment, there is a good chance you park on the street."
When there are enough EVs for that to be a problem, there will be demand for a solution and supply will follow.
I acn easily imagine charging stations that are like regular meters. You put a buck in them, plug the car and get a charge.
Very cool!!
Yes a couple of friends of mine were saying they'd have a tough time getting a charge parking on the street. There will come a time for capacitors which get charged up quickly and will store a decent amount of energy. So you could do the meter thing for an hour or two while shopping or something, or maybe there will be stations you could go to for a charge taking several minutes.
It's funny to look at the guage and see a gas station pump to represent state of charge!
Very nice. I hope Tata can crank something like this out.
vsk
what might be an interesting feature would be a removeable battery/capacitor. Every night you take it out and recharge it in your house/apartment. No need for extension cords and makes the car virtually theftproof.
Hmmm... that's funny. The fourth photo looks a little too much like an engine compartment to me. I see several fluid ports, fluid hoses, and a cast-aluminum engine block. I think there is even a radiator cap. Do electrics even have radiators? Granted, electrics still need break, transmission, and washer fluid, but this doesn't look like the guts of any electric I've ever seen... something's fishy!
Luc
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ed. Possible explanation: afaik, There also exists a R1 non-electric version. They probably kept a lot of the layout and parts. Not quite like building an EV from scratch.
Hey Luc, Many electric motors are liquid cooled. Plus the car still needs fluid for brakes, power steering, AC.
Otherwise the box on top of the "engine" is most likely the controller, sitting on top of the actual motor.
Nice to see a company finally discussing the life cycle of the battery pack, AND addressing battery recycling :)
Now we just need a price of
I saw an interesting website last week about a Company that is making slim fit, factory looking, & very good looking solar panels for the roofs of Prius's.
I don't think it takes much modification to allow that type of ongoing charging to occur while the car sits in the parking lot at work. I only work 10 miles from home, my fastest speed in rush hour is probably only 45 mph, it takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get there (or back home), and it sits for 8-10 hours a day in the blazing sun.
Drawback is if you try to upgrade the car to something that makes sense like this, it will void the mfr's warranty.
Unless these companies get on the stick and provide this kind of self sufficient vehicle, they won't sell many.
I saw a row of electric charging stations over ten years ago at the Galleria Mall in Birmingham AL...electric cars are not new, if big oil and detroit three didn't intentionally stifle invention, it would be a lot different now and we could all breathe easier...as it stands, they need to all go bankrupt immediately and force change....otherwise, they will keep their grubby hands out for taxpayer bailouts with no incentive to modernize....as long as they are getting theirs....