40 miles is a viable range for this kind of vehicle. I can see townies making use of it and the police won't hassle you like they do with golf carts on the road. I saw a lot of numbers in the article, but no estimated cost. Is this a $30,000 toy?
It's not the car you'll drive to go on vacation, but it'll get you to the corner grocery and back without using a drop of gas.
After four years of development, Augusta electric vehicle maker Tomberlin Group is ready to produce the Anvil, a four-person, street-legal, low-speed electric car.
"Tens of billions of miles are driven every week by people commuting less than seven miles," company executive Mike Tomberlin said. "We think we have a neat alternative and solution."
Mr. Tomberlin and the Anvil will appear Monday morning on CBS and then cable network news channels throughout the week to promote the vehicle.
More than 60,000 neighborhood electric vehicles are already on streets across the country, said Jennifer Watts, spokeswoman for the Electric Drive Transportation Association.
"It is a growing market. People are finding how useful the vehicles can be as a second vehicle. More fleets are purchasing them," Ms. Watts said.
Even the Army wants 4,000 electric cars in operation at its bases by 2011 for passenger transport, security patrol, maintenance and delivery services. It is asking for bids.
Mr. Tomberlin said the Anvil will target a niche market: close-by commutes and planned communities, such as Riverwood Plantation on Washington Road in Evans, or gated golf course communities, such as West Lake.
He calls it an "aggressive" neighborhood electric vehicle targeting an area that is being served by vehicles based on a golf car platform.
"We felt that we could deliver a better owner experience if we were able to design an electric vehicle from the ground up," Mr. Tomberlin said.
He said the market for the vehicles is in the billions of dollars.
New York-based International Market Solutions studies the small, task-oriented vehicle market, which includes forklifts and golf cars and neighborhood electric vehicles. By 2012, it reported, the entire market could reach $5.5 billion in sales.
The marketing firm sees a lot of that growth in neighborhood electric vehicles.
"Heading into an environment of continuing increases in the cost of hydrocarbon- and bio-based fuels and stringent regulation of emissions, IMS sees major opportunities for small-vehicle manufacturers across all segments, especially when it comes to electric power," said Stephen Metzger, International Market Solutions' managing director.
Gasoline prices might not be high enough to drive a demand for the vehicles, but there is a tax credit that could spark some interest, Ms. Watts said. The American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has a 10 percent tax credit, up to $2,500, for the purchase of a electric scooter or neighborhood electric vehicle.
Golf car makers E-Z-Go and Club Car have been diversifying over the years into low-speed electric vehicles for uses off the golf course, including neighborhood transportation.
Mr. Tomberlin said he has a "healthy respect" for the two golf car giants that make Augusta the electric-vehicle capital of the world but doesn't feel his company really competes with them.
"They are into golf and we're glad they're in golf. We're not in golf. We're not limited by the restraints of a typical golf car," Mr. Tomberlin said.
The Anvil has the appearance of a small Jeep. It has been driven on Broad Street in tests.
"Neighborhood electric vehicle" is a federal classification, so it is limited to a 25 mph speed. The Anvil, which is recharged through a normal household plug, has a range of more than 40 miles.
The Anvil will be on CBS' Early Show at 8 a.m. Monday.
"Driving these things around Manhattan will be a real kick," said Batt Humphries, Tomberlin's marketing director.
Tomberlin executive Andy Johnson said production will begin at the end of July. The vehicle will be assembled locally. The company, which is headquartered at 3125 Washington Road, has more than 50 employees.
Reach Tim Rausch at (706) 823-3352 or timothy.rausch@augustachronicle.com.
SEE THE ANVIL ON TV
The Tomberlin Group, an Augusta-based electric vehicle company, will show off the Anvil at 8 a.m. Monday on CBS' Early Show.
They will appear again at 5 p.m. Monday on Bloomberg TV.
On Tuesday, the company will appear on Fox Business News at 7:45 a.m.
Comments
40 miles is a viable range for this kind of vehicle. I can see townies making use of it and the police won't hassle you like they do with golf carts on the road. I saw a lot of numbers in the article, but no estimated cost. Is this a $30,000 toy?
I love the idea of electric cars, but the impracticalities (i.e., price, distance they can travel before having to re-charge, how long it takes to re-charge, etc.) seem to outweigh any benefit that would make this simply more than a novelty. Also, I have never seen nor heard anyone talking about how much our electric bills will increase if lots of people are driving these things, and ergo, the consumption of fossil fuels used to power the plants that supply the additional electricity.
How safe is it? Seems like it's too slow to use for a trip to the store, therefore it might be dangerous. What's the cost? Can I plug it into my neighbor's house (just kidding)?
At 25mph it would do fine on most neighborhood streets, but is way to slow for any of the arteries. You could drive on Heard or McDowel but better stay off of Walton Way or Central. I can see traveling to the downtown area from the hill section or east Augusta in one of these things, but traveling beyond that restricted area doesn't seem like a good idea. If I had way too much money, this would be a fun toy.
I'm not impressed! This is not a viable option for long term solutions to our energy crunch. i still like the Hydrogen fueled engines but who knows when we will see any type of significant change that will make a difference. If we continue to rely on oil for our major source of energy, we will all be walking or peddling.
I can see using it in the neighborhood or running up to Kroger, but only if I take the back way off the "big" roads. Actually, using it in the neighborhood wouldn't be that practical either, especially if it'd be much cheaper to use a regular golf-cart. On second thought, let's be honest, this is a step above the golf cart, so private individuals who think having one would be a symbol of status would get one because they think it'd place them "above" the common-folk who are poor enough to only have a lowly golf cart! That type of thinking is exactly what got us and this country in the financial mess we're in now. Even though we could afford it, I won't get one.
Replacing gasoline with electricity made from coal does what? What is the NET EFFECT? Do you really think it is free to plug it into an outlet? A car that gets 20 miles to the gallon means that today it would cost you $4.80. to go 40 miles. How much is the electricity that you plugged into? What about the taxes that are necessary to build and maintain the roads that these electric, subsidized, rolling batteries will be travelling on? Add road taxes to your light bill? Is this a rolling entertainment center complete with air conditioning, satellite radio, GPS, a six deck cd changer, and a DVD player? No. It is a sham to take advantage of a government mandated unnecessary experiment in forcing an artificial need for an oil substitute. Want oil to last longer and cost less? Drive slower.
the story doesn't tell us the one thing people would most want to know about such a car: its price tag.
Would you pay $10k for this? That's my guess at the cost of this glorified golf car. EZGO or off-brand Tomberlin? Seems like an easy choice. Better still, $12k for a Mercedes A car.
I bet the MSRP is $15k ++.
It is $16,000 plus change. For their sake, let's hope it's better quality than that piece of crap they got out there now.. the Emerge. What a joke! The article states it's assembled here...but that's not accurate. The battery is installed here but it's actually made in China! LOL!
Why..why..why in the world would ANYBODY think that $16,000 is a good deal for THAT?? There's no way that they have even half that in that thing. I think that if some rich schmo drives down my neighborhood street in one of those, he's going to first get some stares, then get some laughs hurled at him! Oh, well..it's a free country.
Who in their right mind would pay $16k for a glorified golf cart from an off brand small company that is importing the product from China? Amazing. I've seen Tomberlin's lesser priced vehicle, the Emerge, that sells for around $8k. It is not near the quality of either EZGO or ClubCar, plus it is butt ugly. Somebody is giving this company some very bad advice. Either that or the owner isn't listening to anything other than hia dreams of being the electric Henry Ford.
From the Smart Car website - starting at under $12k
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