Ford’s Think City Trying a Power Play

Ford Motor Co.’s latest for California isn’t the hot new Thunderbird roadster or the Lincoln Blackwood luxe truck but a bug-like, plastic-bodied, battery-powered two-seat hatchback called the Think City.

Ford acquired the Think product line several years ago when it bought Pivco Industries of Norway to jump-start its own EV program in preparation for the 2003 model year, when California will require the major auto makers to field a fleet of zero-emission and nearly nonpolluting vehicles.

The City, Ford’s idea of what a commuter car for urban areas should be, gets its official launch in the U.S. late next spring or early summer. But for 170 early adapters willing to commit to 34 monthly lease payments of $214, plus electricity, the time is now.

Electric vehicles have met resistance in the past, in part because auto makers generally were unenthusiastic about marketing them and in part because the cars were pitched as potential replacements for the traditional auto--a role they cannot yet fulfill.

By marketing the Think City as a short-range commuter vehicle and not pretending it will be all things to all drivers, Ford hopes to overcome buyer reluctance.

Think gets another boost from renewed concerns about U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Congress is working on a energy bill that contains incentives for buying EVs and other alternative-fuel vehicles. And the House Science Committee is to hold a hearing Tuesday on the issue of reducing petroleum use in the U.S.

“For the first time, it is starting to get through to people that there is direct correlation between what they drive and the geopolitical environment,” said Kateri Callahan, executive director of the Electric Vehicle Assn. of the Americas in Washington.

“We are seeing a new focus on energy security issues on Capitol Hill, one that started even before Sept. 11,” she said. “We’ve got to do all we can to get rid of their dangerous addiction.”

To help set things in motion, Think Mobility, Ford’s San Diego County-based EV unit, has begun a pilot leasing program aimed at getting its electric-powered commuter vehicles on the streets to generate public awareness and consumer feedback that can be used in next year’s formal marketing campaign.

The test vehicles, imported from Norway, were made for the European market. When the U.S.-market versions arrive, they will be equipped with dual air bags and comply with all federal safety standards. They also will be equipped with chargers that work on 110-volt household current (the European standard 220-volt fast-charge system will be optional), an air conditioner and a slightly more powerful battery pack that will increase top speed from a barely freeway-legal 56 mph to about 65.

Five dealerships--one in San Francisco and the others scattered from Ventura to San Diego--have been selected as leasing and service points for the test program.

The program requires City customers to live within 35 miles of their dealership so their cars can be driven in for service when fully charged, said Jonathan Richards, Think’s international marketing and sales manager. The car’s maximum range is 50 miles, and that’s at city street speeds; at top speed, they gulp juice a lot faster and their range drops substantially, to about 35 or 40 miles.

With the nearest dealerships in Ventura and Buena Park, getting to a dealer would become an inconvenience for many drivers in Los Angeles County.

Jan Harmonson, fleet manager at Barber Ford in Ventura, said all 40 of the City cars that Think allotted his store have been spoken for. Most are going into fleet use at Vandenberg Air Force Base or to a ride-share program in Ventura, leaving only four retail customers: two retired engineers, a schoolteacher and an administrative assistant at the dealership.

Think executive Richards said the company kept Los Angeles dealerships out of the initial program because the European-spec cars require a 220-volt system for battery charging and there were concerns that, with so many condominiums and apartments with shared parking, it would be difficult to install individual charging units.

“This is a test program, and we wanted to make it as simple as possible the first time,” he said.

That apparently even includes letting leaseholders do a little experimenting. Ernest Dahl, 81, is busily figuring out how to improve the bright red-and-white City car he leased from Barber last month.

Dahl--a retired civilian engineer for the Navy who designed a battery system still in use in nuclear subs--has installed a sunroof but configured it to scoop air and cool the interior. (His test car, like the others, lacks air conditioning.)

He figures he can add a few solar panels that will drive a cooling fan for added ventilation, and with the flip of a switch, help recharge the batteries when the car is parked in the sun, extending the range to as much as 100 miles.

“I’m already on the list to get one of the U.S. cars when this lease is up,” Dahl said.

The Ken Grody Ford locations in Buena Park and Carlsbad and Pearson Ford in San Diego are the other Southland dealers taking part in the test program.

“It’s amazing that there are several different markets for these cars,” said Mike Lewis, Pearson’s general manager for alternative vehicles. “There are the environmentalists, which is where we all thought the market would be, but some people are also leasing for purely economic reasons--they fit their needs at a great price. And we’ve had one lease, and a couple of inquiries, to parents who have their high school kid using it because it controls distance and speed.”

Think has set up the lease program to be fairly painless: There are no security fees or deposits, and the first payment, which includes registration and title fees, is $369.40. Subsequent monthly payments, including tax, are $214.25, and the lease term is 34 months.

The term is two months shy of three years because the cars are imported under special permit and Think had to agree to collect and ship them out of the U.S. before they are here three years. Several dealers said the cars will be returned to the factory in Norway and recycled.

Charging electric vehicles has become a concern to some even as the state’s power crisis has eased. But longtime EV users say they do most of their charging overnight, at off-peak hours, which should pose little concern to anyone worried about rolling blackouts.

Southern California Edison will install a separate meter for an EV charger and bill it at 8 cents per kilowatt-hour from 9 p.m. to noon, versus an average of 33 cents during peak daytime use in most of Southern California.

The City’s 530-pound rack of nickel-cadmium batteries, installed beneath the seats to help glue the car to the ground with a low center of gravity, gulp about 12 kilowatt-hours for a full charge--at a cost of just under $1 if charged off-peak. Users also can tap the growing number of free public stations in airports, parks, shopping centers and civic centers.

One last--but important--selling point is style. The City, designed in Norway by industrial engineers, won the European Design Committee Mark for Good Design in 1999. Its bug-eyed front end, curvy roof line and tall passenger cabin “catch people’s eye,” San Diego dealer Lewis said.

“Driving one of these is like riding a bicycle down the sidewalk naked. Everyone looks,” he said.