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The Coda Electric Car at the Detroit International Auto Show (Video)
Last week Timothy Lord looked at the Tesla Model S. He also took a quick look at the CODA electric car. Like Tesla, CODA is based in California. Like Tesla, CODA is building purely electric, "plug-in" cars. But unlike Tesla, CODA is making a bland but practical sedan that can go up to 150 miles on a charge and costs about $37,000. That's not exactly a Kia-competitive price, even though Tim says it looks kind of like a Kia. But it's 100% electric and costs less than a Tesla -- really, hardly more than a Nissan Leaf. And it has a fully-usable back seat and a decent-sized trunk. And unlike the Nissan Leaf, it's made right here in the good old USA.
And will probably have to stay there last week we had temperatures of -37C with wind chill of -49C. We could hardly get you dino fuel vehicles to work. 4 years ago it was -52C with no wind chill when I woke up in the morning. My fancy lion powered drills stop working at -10C and will not charge below 0C or above 30C.
I went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast this past weekend. Oddly enough, they had three electric car charging stations near the front entrance. I had to laugh because in all three parking spaces was parked a gas guzzler. For the concept to work, you'd need to instate laws to ticket non-electric vehicles or put the spaces so far away that fat people would stay away from them. Unfortunately, you only need an IQ of about 50 to drive and absolutely no manners whatsoever, so it's going to be a difficult problem to solve.
Final assemby is in the USA. Most of the chassis is made in China, and the rest of the parts are sourced from various places around the world.
Unlike, say, a Hyundai which is almost entirely made in the US.
And if you buy one you are going to need to hire an electrician. And if you rent or live in a condo/apartment try finding a 240v plug in the parkade. Or a landlord that will let you install one. And power in 15c a kW/h plus transmission charges 33c per kW/h.
I asked where they are "made" and the gentleman at the booth said "final assembly in California". I'm not sure what the domestic content is. Anyone know?
Why is "content unavailable" posted over video?
susanai
$37k for a car that can travel *up to* 150 miles on a full charge? My diesel fiat cost less than half that, can go *up to* 400 miles on a tank of the dirty stuff and when I put my foot down it goes like a scalded cat (gotta love turbos). Still not seeing the market viability for full electric cars amongst the real road warriors (30k+ miles p.a.) who, let's face it, are the group of drivers that pollute most.
I'll be ready to listen to a coherent argument for electric cars when they cease to be the vanity articles of the rich doing >1,000 miles p.a.
Besides the high "early adopter" price, this car is missing one serious feature that makes EVs truly preactical cars -Level III fast charging. The Leaf and the i both have it standard, and it really should be standard on an EV. I would say that even if it raised the price of the vehicle an extra $3000, it should be standard. Add a fast charger and this guy is the perfect EV.
I've given up on Slashdot's comment scores.
Let's compare. At 15 MPG for my 30 mile commute, that $14/day in gas. At 48 work weeks a year, that's $1680 a year in gasoline for my beat up, unstoppable pickup. Back of the envelope math says about $650/mo in payments for the $37K car at 2%. 20 years to pay off if electricity is free? Yes, I'm using 30 years of data that shows that the price of gasoline is pretty constant, but also ignoring the whole PG&E assraping. There's a reason that the average age of a vehicle on the road is growing. That beat up old pickup, at $75/fillup is making me rich.
The car is made in China. All that CODA does is install a UQM motor (American made with Chinese parts), Chinese made electronics and a chinese made battery.
This car is 99% Chinese.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Well lets get the standard arguments out of the way so newer, more interesting discussions can happen
1) It ONLY GOES 150 MILES? I always drive 151 miles per trip, even if its only to the corner store I drive around the block 604 times because I love to drive! Why my commute is over 5 hours per day, each way, because I'm a True American (TM) and you "30 minute commute" people are wimps, democrats, terrorists, or whatever..
2) If it can't charge in 5 minutes its dead to me. I only sleep in 3 hour shifts before moving to a new location because the T9000 is after me, so it would never get a chance to charge and I only travel to and from places that have no AC power service because otherwise my tinfoil hat sparks excessively.
3) One model vehicle cannot meet the needs of all buyers, therefore all electric vehicles are useless, because one model of gasoline car meets all human needs. What you say, there are more than one model of gas vehicle? Oh.
4) It doesn't work too well below -40 degrees C/F so I can't buy it. Sure, I live in southern Florida, but I'm worried about resale value. Oh you say my gas vehicle doesn't work too well at -40 either? So what, everyone knows that, I just felt the need to point this out about electrical cars, because I'm sure none of you lowly serfs would think of that yourselves.
5) My gas car's SLI battery was carefully engineered to fail in 3 years to maximize corporate profits, and surprise, surprise, it fails every 3 years. I'm sure an electric car will fail in 3 years too, and I don't care if the average Prius battery was engineered to last the life of the car, and in fact it does last the life of the car, you can't force me to think so I won't. Nahh naahhh nahhhhhh! I don't believe in engineering and you shouldn't either.
6) I will not be satisfied until an automated robot tentacle snakes out of the wall and plugs itself into the charger socket, mostly because I want to watch youtube videos of what the tentacle inserts in women wearing miniskirts. I don't care if everyone north of the mason dixon line already has a block heater and battery heater and battery trickle charger and they perfectly successfully use it every time it gets below zero, because I'm certain no one will ever be able to plug a car in when they park, after all, I don't, so no one in the whole universe every has, can, or will.
7) What is the charger connector going to be, there is no standard. I don't care if there actually is a perfectly good deployed standard which I could find on wikipedia if I wanted, I just like to post this every singe time there is an electric car article. Also, did you know there is no standard low voltage DC connector? Oh wait, there is. Oh how I love to post this over and over.
8) Thousands of american military personnel have died for oil, and its disrespectful of their memory not to burn as much gasoline as humanly possible, after all you don't want their relatives to think they died for nothing. My Chinese imported yellow support the troops ribbon sticker on the trunk of my 8 MPG SUV absolves me of all guilt, much like purchasing a pre-reformation indulgence.
I think that'll do it, does anyone have anything NEW to offer to the standard lineup of /. electric car stories?
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
It seems to me the problem with trying to create a new technology sedan for the "everyman" is that, in order to get "everyman" pricing, you need the kinds of economies of scale you just can't get when you make 10,000 or 12,000 cars.
I think that GM made a huge mistake with the Volt. I love the idea of a volt - a plugin hybrid that uses electricity till it can't, then uses gas when necessary.
The problem is, it seems they made a car with no glamour or mystique to it. If you're going to only make 10,000 vehicles and they are going to be more expensive than most people can afford, then just go ahead and make it a luxury car. The volt should have been a Cadillac, not a Chevy. It should have had lots of interior luxury and beautiful exterior that was to die for. Maybe it should have cost $50,000+.
GM should have done everything it could to make it the year's "It Car", getting tv, movie, music and athletic celebrities, the children of the rich, and hipster-CEO's to buy it as a green conspicuous consumption item. Then, use those profits to ramp up the economies of scale. Meanwhile, the "average joe" sees all the "cool rich people" driving them, and maybe has increased desire for one of them.
That seems to be the model that Tesla is pursuing. I think GM could have had more clout to get the Volt to be an "It Car" if they had pursued that strategy, but since they didn't, I wish Tesla luck.
$3700 is the kind of price when people would be much less bothered whether a car can go for 600km or 60km. Qualitatively less performance on almost all counts for over twice the price of an ordinary car just doesn't make sense beyond the idealistic fringe with very deep pockets, trying to polish their better-than-thou attitude to the rest of the world.
However, qualitatively less performance for a much smaller price of entry is justifable. Netbooks did this. Of course their performance rather laughable compared to a proper laptop - but you couldn't get laptop for $200. It satisfies the need of a basic mobile universal computer for a price below all other offers. The same would work for cars for a lot of commuters - it need not be all or even most. There are 300 million americans, even if it only appeals to 3 in 100 people, that's 10 mio customers.
"it has a fully-usable back seat"
This is Slashdot. They probably think the back seat is for passengers!
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
I'd be very interested to know how much money this company took/was given by the federal government to get started.
A range of 150 miles is suitable for someone that spends less than 3 hours a day driving, which includes many, many people - but how many of those people can afford a $37,000 (list price est.) sedan? With all the federal and state "gifts" (subsidies, loans, and grants) available to deploy charging stations at owner homes, apartments and stores/offices I don't think the "where are you gonna plug it in" question will be an issue for very long - once the car starts selling, the charging stations will come.
Ken
They have a terrible looking electric car that can theoretically drive about 10 miles further per charge than its closest competitor (the Leaf), but is more expensive and unlike the Leaf which is primarily produced in Japan/USA it's produced in China/USA. Oh, and they introduce the car with showtunes.
I get the feeling this CODA company isn't going to be around so much longer.
As long as we understand electric cars are powered by Coal! Until we figure out that that wind, water, corn, grass, and geothermal power will never meet the demand for powering our cars. That Nuclear power is the only practical green solution. Electric cars will not reduce pollution no there own. None the less electric cars do allow for alternative power solutions. And we will run out of petrol sooner or later.
CODA cost: $37k
Superbly equipped VW Golf TDI with all the bells and whistles (navigation, sunroof, DSG gearbox, etc): $30k.
Going to CODA's site and using their electricity numbers and fixing the price of diesel at $4.00, the mileage of the Golf at 38 (4 lower than EPA highway), and calling it 10k/year* in miles traveled, they say I will save $922 a year.
* = Most of my driving is country roads at 55mph. Actual fuel economy on my 2005 Golf TDI is 39MPG. I drive 60 miles (round trip) to work every day.
So, it will take 7 years for the car to break even vs. a diesel, and I'll STILL need a second car to visit my family, who live about 200 miles away, because I can't get there on one charge.
Their website shows it's $40,798 for a BASE MODEL.
Come on, if you guys at Slashdot are trying to act like journalists, at least get some of your facts right.
This car is a failure out of the gate. It's smaller than a honda civic and costs as much as a BMW 325i.
Cut the price in 1/2 and there is where it has a chance of selling.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Premium price for truly crappy looks? How is that supposed to work? How would that look next to the stylin "long trip" vehicle in the driveway?
The Prius is ugly enough as it is, but what's with the race to produce the worlds first paper bagger car?
Electric cars sound great now, but what happens when 60% of the cars out there are electric? We will see electricity prices skyrocket just like gasoline prices. And now not only will driving cost more, it will cost more to power everything else you use as well. In the long run, is it really cheaper to drive electric than gasoline? Also the only way it is cleaner, is if the electricty being generated is from sources like solar, wind or hydroelectric... but at this time that is highly doubtful especially if/when electric cars make up the majority of vehicles on the road.
The Nissan LEAF is produced in Smyrna, Tennessee (just outside of Nashville). It may not be "good" or "old", but I'm pretty sure it's still part of the USA.
According to the nice young woman manning the CODA booth at the auto show in Detroit, the chassis a tweaked design from a Mitsubishi model not previously sold in the United States. The modifications performed were for the purposes of accommodating the battery packs.
That is all.
When i could have a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR for that price? (This is my current Dream car. It can out run a Porsche 911 and give a lotus Elise a run for its money and it costs about the same as a mustang which is my current #2) ...or Drive a Car that is comfortable, fast, looks damn good, gets decent MPG (for a sports car there is a non sports version for way less that gets really good gas millage), thinks that 100 MPH on dirt is a GOOD idea....and is cheaper?
Chinese Electric car that still uses energy from power plants, and has no personality
Personally I actually want the slower Lancer GT because it has a Real Manual transmission. With a real stick, not a fake manual or a damn dial. Seriously? A dial? WTF, are we driving ovens now?
Ok Perhaps that’s unfair. Let’s use the Ford Fusion 2011 stock (consumer reports recommended).
Half the price.
Way better styling (and it’s meant as a daily commuter).
Decent gas mileage.
A real trunk.
The interior is real spacious, As a 6ft tall person with long legs being able to sit in the back, while another 6ft person can sit in the front WITH OUT adjusting the seat is really important to me.
Ok it was compared to a KIA.
There’s the Kia Optima (also Consumer Reports recommended).
Belter Styling.
Decent gas millage.
The fully loaded version comes with heated and cooled front seats, Carbon fiber insets, leather seats, navigation, etc
A spacious interior (the panoramic roof does cut into that.
Fully loaded, it starts at $29,000
The Coda has no specs on there website.
Styling; not really.
Price $39,000.
There are BMW’s you can get new for cheaper.
Hell even a Camery is more exciting. And that car is the detention of non-descript boredom on 4 wheels. I will wait for the Model S if I’m going to get an electric at all.
I'd have liked to see more of the cars, little bit less of Tim.
Honestly, it's not really a big deal to install some romex and a 240VAC outlet.
There are youtube videos and other resources on the web that will teach any able-bodied person with an IQ above that of breadfruit how to do it without being harmed or endangered. No electrician required.
The "big 3" have 29 models with over 75% US made.
The "imports" have 13.
if 75 percent (by value) or more of a car's parts come from the U.S. or Canada, it's considered a domestic product;
The highest US content is a FORD with 90%.
So how is that "last in USA Made"?
I have to return some videotapes...
I see a couple every show advocating some high tech or fancy design. It is challenging to come up with enough capital to put these into production even on a custom basis. Telsa had dot-com billionaire seed money, alliances with established companies and a successful IPO.
This car doesn't look like a Kia, that's an insult to Kia which currently makes cars with really good styling, that would be REALLY good looking if they weren't so big and bloated as all modern cars are.
No, this looks more like an early/mid-2000s Chevy. Bland, boring, uninspired, with a little hint of "ugly" thrown in that makes it look even worse than Toyotas of the time.
(Toyota almost made a really good looking car recently - look at the Scion FRS-2 concept. Unfortunately it was given a sound beating with the bland stick before it hit production).
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
In music, the coda is the end. Fitting really as EVs are a worse environmental disaster than petroleum powered ones. At least it could be possible to fuel conventional vehicles with farm waste derived biofuels. EVs just suck harder on the nipple of non-renewable resources, with no practical sustainability alternatives.
"Unlike the LEAF made in the USA"??? Last time I checked Tennessee was STILL part of the USA. Last time I checked that is where United States LEAFs are made.