Global Green Cars – Affordable American-Made Electric Vehicles
Filed Under: green automotive technology, zoomilife.com on October 14, 2009
Meet the G-3, one of three models currently offered by Global Green Cars. This one is my favorite, though I’m not sure if the cargo is included in the sale price or not. You’re looking at the most American-made small pickup truck on the market. Bar none.
The company that builds these started in the 1990s under BAT International (as subdivision Green Star Products Int). They were one of only four companies at that time which had a working prototype electric on-the-road vehicle. They comprised three of the seven vehicles offered for testing to the government’s EV America program in 1994.
Located in Kentucky, the company makes three vehicles: a proprietary 2-seat coupe, a converted SUV, and a proprietary small (1/2 ton equivalent) pickup truck.
The G-1 (pictured above) is a coupe designed from the ground up to be a low-cost, first or second car and commuter. It has a top speed of 100mph and a range of 100, 160, or 250 miles per charge depending on your package.
Now get this: the MSRP on this car is $18,000 for the 100 mile option, $25,000 for teh 160 mile option, and $30,000 for the 250 mile option. $18,000 for a working, freeway-capable battery electric?! Holy crap!
The G-1 has a front and rear trunk, is shown without color as the wheels, colors, seat types, etc. are all fully customizable on order, and it has a steel safety cage and all the requirements for USDOT highway use. It’s currently being sold in Asia in several markets.
The G-2 is a converted SUV. It’s obviously a Mitsubishi, which the company sources without motors or transmission and then adds electrical components to. It has a 100 mile in-town range, a speed of 50mph, and sells for $26,950. It’s obviously not freeway capable, but is meant for the around-towner and the suburbanite.
Finally, we come upon the G-3. This one, as I said, is my favorite. It has a range of about 125 miles, carries two passengers (jumper seats in the ex cab, but they aren’t counted), and a top speed of 80mph. It comes in yellow or white and with your choice of bed style: 3-side fold-down, flatbed, dumper bed, standard pickup bed (w/ tailgate), and a box van or refrigerated van.
It’s capable of about a half ton in carrying capacity (1,000 pounds or so), and seems very capable. I’d be more than happy with one of these (even without the great cargo in the pics) and, for the record (hint), I prefer yellow.
The G-3 is a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) with a small gasoline generator on board. It gets 100mpg(e)+ in this configuration.
Global Green Cars seems to be the quiet EV company that nobody’s heard about, but with great products. I hope to see more of them on the road. They are currently awaiting FMVSS and NHTSA approvals for their two proprietary forms, but are taking interested buyers’ queries.
Related posts:
- EVI Takes it to the street with commercial electric vehicles
- Nissan CEO Says Electric Vehicles Will Only Be 10% of Market in 10 Years
- Big Rigs Going Electric – Freightliner and Balqon
Comments (1)
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