CALSTART unveils $10,000 electric car -- teams with European consortium to build it in California; PIVCO prototype electric car proves affordable, fun, practical car can be manufactured now.BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 10, 1995--CALSTART -- California's advanced transportation consortium -- Tuesday unveiled a purpose-built, affordable personal electric car designed to cost under $10,000, and announced plans to bring the car to California for manufacturing by late 1996 or early 1997. The pre-production car Pre-production cars are vehicles that allow the automaker to find problems before a new model goes on sale to the public. Pre-production cars come after prototypes, or development mules which themselves are preceded by concept cars. , known as the PIVCO City Bee, is a roomy, fun and cute two-passenger commuter car that perfectly fits a prime, early market for electric vehicles -- as a family's second or third car used for commuting and errands around town. It will be customized for the California market and provide freeway speeds, air conditioning air conditioning, mechanical process for controlling the humidity, temperature, cleanliness, and circulation of air in buildings and rooms. Indoor air is conditioned and regulated to maintain the temperature-humidity ratio that is most comfortable and healthful. , meet all U.S. safety standards Safety standards are standards designed to ensure the safety of products, activities or processes, etc. They may be advisory or compulsory and are normally laid down by an advisory or regulatory body that may be either voluntary or statutory. -- including dual air bags -- and provide a range of 60-80 miles per charge ... for a price around $10,000. "Some traditional automakers continue to complain they can't make an electric car people will want," said Michael J. Gage, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of CALSTART. "Well -- this is the car that proves it can be done. What it takes is realizing this is a new kind of vehicle, not just a gasoline-powered car with an electric motor. What the personal computer is to mainframe computers, the PIVCO is to gasoline cars -- this is personal transportation." CALSTART has teamed with PIVCO (Personal Independent Vehicle Co.), part of a Norwegian consortium that developed the City Bee prototype, to bring the vehicle to California. CALSTART will help locate a California manufacturing site and investors, as well as identify partners to incorporate California technologies into upgrades of the vehicle. The new California effort will call itself CITI CITI Columbia Institute for Tele-Information (Columbia University) CITI Center for Information Technology Integration (University of Michigan) CITI Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (Clean Intelligent Transportation Inc.). PIVCO/CITI achieves safety, utility and low cost by reinventing how a car is made. Its structure uses a strong aluminum "space frame" -- essentially the car's skeletal framework -- for safety and light weight. It features an attractive thermoplastic A polymer material that turns to liquid when heated and becomes solid when cooled. There are more than 40 types of thermoplastics, including acrylic, polypropylene, polycarbonate and polyethylene. body that resists dents, requires no painting, and can be applied in just two pieces. The result is a fully recyclable car that can be manufactured inexpensively because it requires extremely minimal capital investment in facilities. "We started with a clean slate Noun 1. clean slate - an opportunity to start over without prejudice fresh start, tabula rasa chance, opportunity - a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances; "the holiday gave us the opportunity to visit Washington"; "now is your chance" when we built the City Bee," said Christophe Malaterre, manager of international programs for PIVCO. "We designed a whole new class of vehicle, the personal car. It's safe and fun. It's meant to be efficient to make and to drive. And we think Californians will buy a product that gives them a choice that is both clean and affordable. That's why we're working with CALSTART to build and sell it here." One of the key early markets identified for electric vehicles is as a second car, for use in commuting, city driving and errands. The average mileage driven in such uses is less than 30 miles per day, easily within range of electric cars. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a comprehensive study conducted by the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) at U.C. Davis, the market for such a car represents a significant niche among buyers that far exceeds the minimal requirement for clean, zero-emission cars set by the state of California starting in 1998. "To clean its air, California has demanded that 2 percent of automakers' cars emit TO EMIT. To put out; to send forth, 2. The tenth section of the first article of the constitution, contains various prohibitions, among which is the following: No state shall emit bills of credit. zero pollution by 1998. This car not only meets the emission requirement -- this is the kind of car that can sell," said Dr. Daniel Sperling, director of the ITS program at U.C. Davis. "Our `hybrid households' study showed range is not a huge issue for people who can use a clean electric commuter car together with a traditional car. As for price, people are actually willing to pay slightly more. Here's a case where the price is less than for most gasoline cars. This car will be part of what makes the case for electrics." Already achieving international recognition, the City Bee was voted Scandinavian Electric Car of the Year, 1995. Its design will now be additionally tested in CALSTART station car projects throughout the state. The first, and largest, will involve 40 vehicles staged at four Bay Area Rapid Transit “BART” redirects here. For other uses of "BART" or "Bart", see Bart. The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) is a heavy rail public rapid-transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. (BART) stations in the San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay . The first few vehicles will be prototypes of European design and construction. By next summer, the California upgrade of the vehicles will be shipped, and by late 1996 or early 1997, the cars will be manufactured in California. "Here is an affordable, highly efficient electric car design," added Gage, "that's rapidly moving to the marketplace. It's proving itself now using batteries available today. It's easy to maintain. And most important, it's cute and really fun to drive. It will be tested, proven and in California production by 1997. Can marketable electric cars be built? It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to end the debate and get to work." CALSTART is a California non-profit consortium dedicated to creating an advanced transportation industry in the state. Its 140 participants include electronic, defense and aerospace technology firms, vehicle manufacturers, transit districts A transit district or transit authority is a special-purpose district organized as either a corporation chartered by statute, or a government agency, created for the purpose of providing public transportation within a specific region. , all the state's major natural gas and electric utilities, public agencies, and labor and environmental groups. CONTACT: CALSTART, Burbank Bill Van Amburg or Dave Sotero, 818/565-5606 |
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