At the New York Auto Show last week, Subaru announced it would begin testing its R1e electric vehicle in conjunction with the New York Power Authority this summer. Two of the R1e vehicles will join the NYPA fleet, promising a 50-mile range that costs less than $2 in electricity, a 65 mph top speed and an 80-percent recharge in just 15 minutes.
The two-seater is powered by advanced lithium ion batteries that do not suffer from charge memory loss like typical lithium ion batteries, allowing partial charges without adverse effects on their longevity. A full charge takes eight hours via a standard household electrical outlet. The batteries power a 40 kW (about 54 horsepower) AC permanent magnet synchronized motor that drives all wheels, in typical Subaru fashion.
“Subaru’s goal is to become the leading brand in the electric vehicle market,” said Ikuo Mori, Fuji Heavy Industries president.
Similar testing has been in Japan since 2006, with 40 Subaru R1-based R1es doing duty in the Tokyo Electric Power Company fleet, which helped develop the car. Subaru plans on placing another 100 R1e vehicles in Japan next year. Service life for the lithium-ion battery utilized in the R1e is estimated at 10 years and 100,000 miles.
03/25, 12:22 PM
posted by:
jackjimturkey
Let’s see what happens.
03/25, 12:34 PM
posted by:
jjayc08
Does it need to be sooooo ugly and stupid looking?
03/25, 12:40 PM
posted by:
A4
does it have AWD? hahaaa
03/25, 12:42 PM
posted by:
04focus
A4: did you read the article?
03/25, 12:46 PM
posted by:
AmericanMade
Cool idea, would be great for quick trips in the city….
03/25, 12:46 PM
posted by:
Impulsive
50 miles = $2 = BRING IT ON.
03/25, 1:06 PM
posted by:
DeansterTJ
That’s called progress, bitches. A decent ride with practicality all around. Would it be so hard to keep the chassis and make CUVs and 2-seater roadsters out of it?
Sounds like Subaru has totally leapfrogged ahead of everyone else. GM’s Volt can suck my ****ing gooch.
03/25, 1:17 PM
posted by:
Madcapp
Not very witty A4, so watch me….The real question is, does it have horizontally opposed batteries?
03/25, 1:26 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Uh, like how come Subaru has Lithium batteries that work and Toyota and GM are still squirming. Aren’t they supposed to be bigger, better, faster, stronger etc…?
03/25, 1:43 PM
posted by:
SS4LIFE
lol I missed the part saying that it is in fact AWD “AC permanent magnet synchronized motor that drives all wheels, in typical Subaru fashion.”
Lol but I do get A4’s humor. I also agree with jjayco08. Why do all the EV’s coming out have to look like Mini cars? They should look more like the Tesla in my opinion. Which I think is why when the Chevy Volt comes out it should be pretty important.
03/25, 2:00 PM
posted by:
Madcapp
No johnnycanuck…that would be Daft Punk…Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
03/25, 2:02 PM
posted by:
Madcapp
Here’s the Video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgBgnoEY4iM
03/25, 2:03 PM
posted by:
bolex
i dont mind the look, for this specific car. seriously, people in the market for electric cars are likely families. not enthusiasts interested in vettes and porsches. its useless to have this ‘look’ sporty if you cant increase horsepower. plus, if i buy one of these stinkers it would mainly be used to commute to work-nothing else.
the fact weve been seeing these micro sized cars makes em more fuel efficient and possibly cheaper which is perfect for a second car.
03/25, 2:07 PM
posted by:
SS4LIFE
lol Madcapp not only is it a Draft Punk song, it’s also the begining lyrics to Kanye West’s song Stronger. Yuck, can’t believe I knew that…
03/25, 3:00 PM
posted by:
Kaizen
I think you’ll see Toyota Motor Corp looking at this car’s battery performance/concerns to see first if people are willing to plug a car in and if the car’s cost will be recieved positively. I think you could see something like this make its way as a Yaris or iQ. I’d rather see a plug-in Prius/Camry…lithium or nickel (I still think they make more sense).
03/25, 4:17 PM
posted by:
RicardoHead
Je t’aime moi non plus.
03/25, 5:52 PM
posted by:
jayjc08
I think it looks pretty cool, not boring or futuristic like most people envision electric cars, but I’m guessing it’s not all that bad to drive- all wheel drive and electric motor. I am curious however how much it weighs, that will be the big performance reduction.
Kaizen- They already have been. Subaru’s been testing them in Japan for a few years now, Toyota’s gauging it’s success by how people react to it.
bolex- I think more people should think of them as a runabout, instead of comparing it to their gas guzzling, 400 mile range SUV’s with dual tanks and 10 miles to the gallon.
04focus- There’s only one face behind all the stupid comments.
03/25, 7:14 PM
posted by:
Commodore
yes it does need to be this small, ugly, and boring looking (you can’t even see the front in that picture, which is the worst part of the whole car). But yea, this is the future of the automobile apparently. Fortunately, Toy just bought Subaru so maybe they will work some of that Toy magic to make Subaru as exciting as everything else (sarcasm)
03/25, 8:16 PM
posted by:
Htay9500
r-head: Vous etês étrange.
03/25, 10:01 PM
posted by:
autonut
Toyota bought GM interest in Subaru ’cause Fuji Heavy Industries (parent company of Subaru) are heavily invested in batteries research. I am not surprised and I think it is a great idea for a lot of people. Especially since I had horrible luck with Suby engine. Electric car is much easier to produce.
03/25, 11:06 PM
posted by:
jdasch1
Go,Go,Go!!! Hopefully it makes it!
03/26, 7:30 AM
posted by:
E60M5
i’ll take a fiat 500 instead
03/26, 1:14 PM
posted by:
Buhbye
Good thing they made it nice and small so it’s easy to push up on the sidewalk when it goes dead in gridlock traffic. Shouldn’t have to worry though, New Yorkers are known to be patient and helpful.
03/26, 3:04 PM
posted by:
SS4LIFE
ATTENTION EVERYONE. As of todau 3/26/08 I will no longer be posting comments on here due to the lack of maturity, and problems of whoever is using our LLN handles and trying to impersonate me and anyone else, and therefore causing problems.
If any comments after this post are said by my handle, they will have a hyperlink to a gay porn site (Do not click on it) and are deemed offensive to anyone just know it wasn’t said by the real me. After using LLN over the past 7 months, it’s sad it’s come to this. Good luck everyone.