The Triac: An Affordable Electric Car
California based company Green Vehicles recently began selling an affordable $20,000 electric car called the Triac. The small but efficient 3-wheeled car has a range of 120 miles and can travel up to 70mph on the highway. Charging the lithium-ion batteries that power the 20kw electric motor takes about 6 hours, and there is an optional capacity boost battery pack available that extends the range by 20% (why not include it with the car?). The Triac comes in 8 different color combinations and is available from the dealership in San Jose. See the company website for more details.
YouTube: Green Vehicles – Triac | More Videos
“By providing consumers with a choice they can be proud of, Green Vehicles has become a leading developer, manufacture and supplier of electric transportation. Starting with the sleek freeway drivable commuter, then the rugged work truck, and finally onto petite but chic city vehicles, we offer a full range of pure electric vehicles. Our engineers are constantly working to redefine efficiency and reliability, aiming to expand what is possible for the growing community who make protecting the environment a priority.”
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May 28th, 2008
Very spiffy! Needs the option of either a cheap vertical roof top wind turbine, or pv array charging system. Also a 12v power takeoff (cigarette lighter outlet) would be nice.
May 28th, 2008
Is this car really cheap? I’m an Indonesian and triac may not be affordable. I think an electric car ideally priced at below $10,000. I hope.
June 2nd, 2008
Lithium batteries can be over $10000 alone to maintain capacity. With cheaper new technology batteries, all is possible.
June 9th, 2008
Lukman – This is cheap compared to the Tesla, Tango (Commuter Cars), Aptera, even the Sparrow NMG. If you want something really cheap, look to the Chinese, like the Zap Xebra. But you get what you pay for. A decent electric scooter might be a better option than a real cheap electric car.
June 18th, 2008
Can someone who is six feet six inches tall fit in the Triac?
June 26th, 2008
Can’t wait for one of these to cut me off as I roll down the highway. Oops, must have been a speed bump.
June 27th, 2008
Hi, This is a freeway ready electric (AC Motor with regenerative breaking too!) with a 120 mile range. You can get this car TODAY for just $19.995 or save-up for the Tesla, which is now $113,000 – I’m getting a Triac!
Green Vehicles is also offering a city car (35mph – 60 mile range) for only $11.995… this could easily be a second car for those who live close to work… which is 80% of people.
Remember, these cars are not meant to be your main car. In fact I’ve heard that if you only have an electric, it is almost impossible to get insurance, but if you put this as a second car it’s cheaper than car insurance – plus, in CA. you can drive in the carpool lane alone because it’s considered a motorcycle.
July 7th, 2008
There is the Cree (http://www.cree.ch) car for a lot less. Less range and speed, but far more afordable.
July 10th, 2008
I hardly feel 20k is “affordable” to the average earthling. Even with the falling/failing dollar, 20k to anyone outside of the U.S. is still high priced. Also consider the fact that this car on a crazy highway is about as vulnerable as a motorcycle. When the price of the car and the batteries comes down then this might be feasible. Right now it just appears to be a toy for the rich and an amusement to the gas/oil, so-called fossil fuel cartel! Come up with something that really works and that all humans (especially us working people of the earth) can afford then we can talk!
July 13th, 2008
What is the acceleration 0 to 60? Saying it’s 70mph capable tells me nothing about whether I can accelerate onto a freeway safely. Also, what is the range at 70mph? Everyone’s assuming it’s still 120 miles… that may be 120 miles at a much lower speed. Why no specifications?
August 15th, 2008
Worth every penny at $10k.
October 24th, 2008
I will buy one for 10 000.
November 1st, 2008
Very nice vehicle with lots of innovation. However, there is a large number of people who are making their own by converting their gas vehicles to all electric at a much lower cost – roughly $10,000 and lots of elbow grease and passion. Visit http://www.evhelp.com to learn more.
December 21st, 2008
Two words – Honda Clarity.
January 28th, 2009
Richt on Lucy!!
What a waste of time making these things.
February 4th, 2009
I’ve owned a three wheeler with one wheel in the rear. The weakness is that if you hit a patch of rocks (or snow, ice, rain, slippery stuff, …) then it will slide in that direction. When it stops the car can dump over with a greater weight and force moving on one side (or the other). Although I loved the 100 MPH I got on a High Mileage Freeway, it proved quite a problem. Maybe they have addressed this problem.
March 19th, 2009
Anyone interested in really cool electric should check out the Aptera. It’s a 3-wheeler with zip and all the latest in high-tech gadgets. Best of all, it’s going to be available this year.
April 11th, 2009
The price may seem high but it will come down as battery technology progresses. It’s hardly a “waste of time” since cars like these are the beginning of innovative thinking in using alternative energy sources. 20K may seem expensive but you will save quite a bit on gas and repairs over 5 years…
I think it’s truly exciting that this type of technology is fairly affordable. My only concern is that it is taking Triac so long to get the car made and ready for the public. Another vehicle, the Aptera, also looks really good.
May 14th, 2009
So, it has 3 wheels. Could that be bacause three wheels qualifies it as a motorcycle, and therefore exempt from the safety standards of a car? The car may be green, but in an accident, you might be spilling a lot of red.
May 15th, 2009
You are correct Steve. Three wheels do allow the car to be released much quicker because it does not need to meet certain safety testing standards. This makes it faster and cheaper to get to production. The cost of these vehicles is mostly in the battery.
However, the 2 front/one rear, three wheel vehicle also allows a vehicle to be more of a tear drop shape (meaning more aerodynamic) and it’s also lighter (less energy to make it move). So for an electric vehicle it makes sense to use this design.
Funny thing about this vehicle is the company is based in Marin, CA. I commute through this corridor and the average highway speed is 65-80 miles per hour. So they need to up the cruising speed before I would seriously consider buying this car. Make it a 100 mile range at 80 miles and hour and I’m on the waiting list.
May 16th, 2009
I would not be interested, but so long as anyone would want to buy it, it should be available– we need lots of choices to make an EV society a reality.
I am almost finished converting a BMW coupe to full electric power… it will have better performance than it had with gasoline power.
Buzz Saw: you obviously never studied physics– yes, solar panels could help, but only marginally unless you park the car during the day where there is lots of sun. But to put a wind turbine on the car would not INCREASE its range, but DECREASE it– the inefficiencies of generators combined with the aerodynamic drag of the turbine and the significant drag that all generators have when making electricity would make it impossible to have a net gain of energy when driving.
The only time it might be theoretically possible to use such a turbine for an net increase in battery charge would be when the car is parked, but the excess weight of the generator would reduce the overall efficiency of the car, especially in hilly areas, and so would likely make it difficult to win that battle, either.
Gasoline cars are on their way out. Just how much growing pain we will have before EVs replace them will be determined by just how quickly battery technology advances. Several new technologies may make it possible within the next few years to recharge an EV nearly as quickly as it takes to gas up an SUV, and far more economically. We need batteries that are affordable over a given life span, that can be recharged rapidly, that are safe to use and provide a range of 100 miles or so between charges.
June 26th, 2009
20000 is still a bit too expensive. Personally waiting for the Volt to come out by GM. (if they survive)
July 7th, 2009
20k? Sorry, with the economic collapse very few people would buy it at 20k. Mainstream auto ownership will stay away from electric cars until they have dropped to the price most can afford.
July 11th, 2009
tio:
You can’t compare electric vehicles directly to gasoline cars and reach reasonable conclusions. EVs must be evaluated on their own terms.
Purchase prices for EVs are higher (for now) than gasoline, but once you buy one, you spend far less every month to drive it than you would driving a gasoline car. The dramatically lower cost of operation can make it possible to buy a fully electric car; as time goes on and gasoline prices continue to spiral upward as they are, it will become more and more apparent that an EV is the better investment.
And since EVs require virtually no maintenance– no oil changes, oil filters, air filters, spark plugs, oxygen sensors, mufflers, catalytic converters, timing belts, fan belts, radiator hoses, smog tests and similar expenses that EVs do not, you save there as well– I don’t know about you, but my time is valuable, and I enjoy being able to drive my friend’s EV and never having to stop at gas stations and repair shops, and I’m so very glad I’ll be able to drive fuel-free very soon.
I plan to install a solar panel on my roof as one of my friends has done, which he uses to recharge his EV, and he sells the excess back to the utility company. When you have a solar panel, virtually the only expense you have driving an EV is your car insurance.
Other benefits: EVs use regenerative braking, or regen, which helps to recover much of the energy you use to stop your car, something gasoline cars cannot do. Regen not only helps to recharge the battery, but also extends the lifespan of the brakes dramatically, too– not only are the brake pads used far less, but the brake fluid hardly heats up at all, so the brake fluids, brake disks and brake pads may all last the life of the car.
EVs use electric motors rather than engines, and the torque curves of motors are far broader than those for engines, which means that an EV can get by with no transmission at all, or maybe just a single forward gear– an EV can back up just by reversing its electric motor, eliminating the weight, complexity and expense of a reverse gear. Transmission repairs and maintenance are among the most expensive and time-consuming parts of operating a gasoline car– look forward to eliminating that from your budget.
An EV’s electric motor only has one moving part, compared to a gasoline of diesel engine– that makes it far more reliable, quiet, and vibration-free… all it does is spin on its own center of gravity, rather than slamming up and down thousands of times per minute as pistons have to do… for this reason, an EV can last for decades with virtually no maintenance.
There are several new technologies that may soon be able to increase the storage capacity of batteries dramatically– 10 times more energy, meaning that an EV may be able to drive several hundred miles between charges, or else the battery packs can be reduced to less than 10% of their sizes today to get the same range between charges.
If you live in a heavily-populated area such as myself, much of your driving is creeping from one red light or stop sign to the next– that drives down the efficiency of gasoline cars, but the slower an EV is operated, the more efficient it is– in gridlock, in lines at fast food drive-throughs, train crossings and similar situations, EVs use no energy at all.
Oil for gasoline will grow progressively more scarce, and increase in price as it does. Get yourself an EV now, or convert a gasoline car to an EV as I am almost finished doing myself, and avoid all the problems.
One more thing: hybrid cars are NOT EVs– hybrids are terribly complex, lugging around twice as much hardware as either a gasoline car or an electric car, which eats into its efficiency. EVs are far more efficient than hybrids; the only justification for a hybrid is that it may help to transition to a society that learns to use plug-in cars, charging at home most of the time, and occasionally recharging at public stations when necessary. As soon as public charging stations are readily available, the need for hybrids will disappear, and the 600 billion dollars we spend yearly in the US can then be spent at home paying off our enormous national debt, and on health care, education, and on repairing our crumbling transportation infrastructure.
July 11th, 2009
Great comment Bill Dale, really interesting. Can I ask where can I take a car for conversion?
greetings.
July 13th, 2009
I have driven the Triac and really liked it.
The problem is. I know of orders placed in August 2008 that today July 13, 2009 still have not been delivered.
I could not possibly trust that company for that reason alone.
August 13th, 2009
20K is a non commercially viable option… that kind of vehicle is similar to a Smart Car which sells here in the UK 6K… about 10k US… so it is miles off… the issue is the cost of the lithium batteries… until they can bring that costs down… it’s a no go !!
August 14th, 2009
Jose:
Sorry for taking so long to reply to your query.
I’m happy to say that you can now see my BMW EV conversion running on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbCpFHJ7GJs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=581OcqLLt1o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brsKlo9NI-k
I don’t know where you live, which makes it difficult to give you much help, but generally speaking, I suggest you check to see if there is an Electric Auto Association chapter somewhere close to you. They can be invaluable. Below is their main address, where you can find links to chapters.
http://www.eaaev.org/
Also, many of the EV conversions that I have heard about have been done with the help or oversight of a technical college, trade school, high school, etc.
There are several books on conversions available, too, if you look for them, and I’ve been told they’re worth buying. Good luck!
October 8th, 2009
Great idea, great car. Hopefully it is C2C. At more than USD22K a unit, it is on the high side. USD5K would be a good target affordable price, even if it means the range would be shorter, say 50km.
Why the high price? Lithium batteries? Small scale of production? What if it is produced and mass marketed in China and the rest for other countries?
January 15th, 2010
I drove an electric car when I was in high school. My parents loved it, short range (I couldn’t run around with friends) and low speed (I couldn’t risk my life as much as those with higher speed vehicles).
However on cool mornings the defrost system sucked (none) and the air conditioner really really really sucked (not cockpit after a long day sitting in the sun).
For any EV to met the wants of an American it need range, speed, fast recharge and a good heater and AC.
Muffy and Biff won’t load themselves into a swealtering car at the end of the work day.