Electricnick, The EV Revolution

Hum, what can we say about the little yellow screamer that is 100% electric, will blow out of the water a big hunking Challenger 6.1 hemi?  Not such a Challenger, after all.  Yes, we like it!

The gist, do you remember when Chrysler was testing out responses to electric vehicles with it’s Zeo?  The final product, in the shape and form of the Dodge EV really took many by surprise.  And the best video of it was pitting it next to Chrysler’s other challenge in this market, the Challenger 6.1 Hemi.  The Dodge EV left it behind.

The car smiles at you with its perfect size that keeps the original appeal of the Lotus Europa, upon which it is based.

The side looks equally as well,

Technically speaking, the Dodge EV stacks it’s lithium-ion battery pack behind the two seat, along its controller and electric engine which is neatly tucked under.  How feasible is the production of the EV?  According to the Dodge folks, it could be ready to roll out by 2011.  However, the conscencious is that one of the three hybrid, HEV and electric vehicle, EV prototypes, the Dodge HEV Minivan, the Jeep HEV will take priority.  Any takes?  As much as we loved the Dodge EV, it might make more sense to ring an HEV Minivan out to the market.

The Dodge EV is a re-engineered Lotus Europa S has a 200 kilowatt electric motor that produces 268 hp with 480 pound-feet of torque.  As a comparison point, the Tesla Roadster uses a 184 kilowatt electric engine which puts out 200 pound feet of torque with 248 hp.  It would be nice to see both cars tested, as it seems the extra weight of the Dodge EV could be offset by the extra power.

There were two other vehicle we were looking forward to, the other 2 prototypes, the plug-in hybrid, PHEV minivan and Jeep.  The Minivan seemed particularly big, though that might have been due to the fact it was elevated on center stage.  The Jeep was also a bigger version of the smaller Jeeps we see out on the streets today.  Which begs us to ask, why hybridize big vehicles when smaller once would have better performance numbers?  Another thing we noticed, which seems to really confuse people at the show is calling hybrids, electric vehicles.  We will go back more on this later, but the Jeep had big EV letters on it and there was confusion as to whether it was really an electricity vehicle or not.  It is a hybrid, albeit serial HEV where the engine only recharges electricity.

For the Minivan, or should we say bigger than mini, and for the Jeep,

It’s hard to say if it will come out and we believe Dodge could open up a niche market with the delivery of this car.  However, will it be enough to sustain the car company?  Certainly not.  If Chrysler can managed to produce fuel efficient minivans, what helped it once bounce back from uncertain times, along more economical to own and operate vehicles, it would stand a chance.  At this stage, anything is possible.