Thursday, November 12, 2009

Global-E Pulse plug-in electric vehicle

Global-E Pulse - Subcompact CultureAmong the never-ending sea of hot rods, sports cars, custom trucks, and tricked-out compacts at last week's SEMA Show, I ran across an unfamiliar shaped subcompact. At first glance, I thought it might have been a car imported from Japan or Europe—but no. It turns out that this vehicle truly is a new small car. Attractive, sporty, and ... electric?

The car is called the Pulse, and it's from a Louisiana-based company called Global-E. Global-E is partnership of entrepreneurs and automotive enthusiasts—and an Automotive X-Prize team—who share a passion for science, innovation, and design, and the desire to build and bring to market an alternatively fueled vehicle.

The five-passenger Pulse uses Li-Ion polymer batteries and Nippon Chemi-Con "super capacitors" to help its range, which is between 70-100 miles, depending on driving style. Pulse also has a solar roof panel and regenerative braking to help with charging. Speaking of charging, the Pulse will fully charge in six hours using a standard 110V outlet. That means owners can use a standard power cord for charging—no need to rewire an outlet for 220V or the need for a special cord.

Global-E placed an emphasis on safety, too. Pulse has dual airbags, impact door beams, crumple zones, and other safety accouterments found on a traditional vehicle—something many other EVs don't have.

The car's standard interior features include an AM/FM/CD player, heater, power windows, air conditioning, 12V map lights, and more. This Pulse had a manual transmission, although I'm told an automatic will be available. Global-E says the Pulse will go 0-60 in eight seconds—not bad!

Global-E CEO, Carl Guichard, says, "This vehicle is going to change the way people think about commuting. It's going to make it fun and virtually free when you consider that the Pulse gets approximately 100 MPGe, doesn't need tune-ups, oil, spark plugs, mufflers, catalytic converters and about fifty other parts on current cars."

The Pulse at the show had add-ons, such as a carbon-fiber wing and ground-effect kit, 15" Speedy Race Mode wheels with high-performance tires, tinted windows, sport interior package, fog lights, and a Sony stereo system.

Global-E plans to sell a base-model Pulse for $23,000, and an extended-range vehicle (30 more miles to the charge) for $27,000. Production is slated to begin next summer outside of New Orleans, LA. The company anticipates producing 10,000 units its first year with as many as 40,000-50,000 within three years.

Global-E Pulse - Subcompact CultureGlobal-E Pulse - Subcompact Culture
Global-E Pulse - Subcompact CultureGlobal-E Pulse - Subcompact Culture


LINK
Global-E

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

An electric car with a manual transmission?! 0_0 Sign me up!

Andy Lilienthal said...

Yeah, that's what I thought, too!

NCSU Forest Biomaterial Tech Service said...
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