Ford TH!NK.

The Ford TH!NK was a line of electric vehicles produced by the TH!NK Mobility, then an enterprise of Ford Motor Company. The short-lived line included four models: the TH!NK Neighbor and the TH!NK City, small electric automobiles, and the TH!NK Bike Traveler and the TH!NK Bike Fun, electric-powered motorized bicycle. Ford sold its stock, and the resulting company, Think Global, now produces electric cars in Norway.^[1][2][3]

TH!NK City

The two door TH!NK City could seat a driver and a passenger and had a top speed of 56 miles per hour (90 km/h). The car had an acceleration speed of zero to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) in seven seconds and weighed 2,075 pounds. The model was 9.8 feet (3.0 m) long, 5.25 feet (1.60 m) wide, and 5.1 feet (1.6 m) high.^[4]

TH!NK Neighbor

The Neighbor was designed to meet the NHTSA specification for Neighborhood Electric Vehicles. Design and manufacture was unrelated to the Th!nk City. The Neighbor was initially offered in two models, a two-seater and a four-seater, with a two-passenger utility truck version offered near the end of production. The TH!NK Neighbor had a fixed roof over an open enclosure; a rain cover was optionally available to protect the passengers from the elements. The normal top speed was governored to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) per NHTSA requirements, and it also had a "turf" mode that set its maximum speed at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) for golf course use. Many options were designed for use on the golf course: it featured a bag rack, a holder for scorecards, tees, and balls, and a club washer. Additionally, there was a trunk option for the four-passenger version that could double as a cooler.

Disposal controversy

A major controversy erupted when Ford decided to crush off-lease TH!NK City cars stockpiled in the U.S. After protesting by environmentalist groups, including a Greenpeace rally on the roof of Ford's Norway offices, Ford decided to ship the excess vehicles to Norway.^[5]

See also

• Plug-in electric vehicle
• Th!nk City

References

1. ^ "CSPC, TH!NK Mobility Recall Electrically Assisted Bicycles". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 2001-09-18. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml01/01525.html. Retrieved 2006-06-18. 
2. ^ "2002 TH!NK Recall, Auto Recall, Safety Problems, vehicle Defects". AutoWorld. http://www.autoworld.com/autorecall/recallnew.asp?fmake=TH!NK&fyear=2002. Retrieved 2006-06-18. 
3. ^ "TH!NK Again Protesters". A Better Earth. September, 2004. Archived from the original on May 12, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060512112327/http://www.abetterearth.org/article.php/785.html. Retrieved 2006-06-18. 
4. ^ "TH!NK Different". Automotive Design and Production. http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/120003.html. Retrieved 2006-06-19. 
5. ^ "TH!NK Again: Ford Does a U-Turn". Greenpeace. 2004-09-17. Archived from the original on 2006-06-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20060609043839/http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/th-nk-again-ford-does-a-u-tur. Retrieved 2006-06-18. 

External links

• Official Ford TH!NK page^{[dead link]}
• Wendy Priesnitz (2000-01-12). "Ford Launches LIne of Electric Vehicles". Natural Life Magazine. Archived from the original on 2000-08-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20000819033338/http://www.life.ca/nl/72/ford.html. Retrieved 2010-09-13. 
• A review of the Sport Version of the TH!NK Neighbor at TropiCar, Inc.