Last Friday my wife and I joined a big crowd to see the latest developments in electric cars at the Helsinki Electric Motor Show – and quite a show it was. Among the many things I saw there (and test drives were available too) I had a few favorites.
The American made Tesla was on display. An absolutely beautiful car that just happens to be fully electric. And although I am not exactly sure where one could actually do this legally, the Tesla will go from 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in just 3.9 seconds! As you can see from the photo below, the test drive blew the hair right off me and Jyrki.
Here I am with the Tesla and the show promoter Jyrki Mattila of Shift2e
Another really compelling presentation was by eCars-Now! – a Finnish firm that is using open source thinking to create a fully electric retrofit for older cars. Basically they are looking at the most popular gasoline cars on the road today and are designing a drop in fully electric drive system to convert older cars to electric power. Very innovative and potentially a terrific way to “fix” the existing auto fleet as it ages.
Here is my wife, Cody, with Jiri Räsänen, Tim Hitchkock and Eki Leinonen of eCars-Now!
My other favorite was the Think City car – a real vehicle already for sale in Norway (if I recall correctly). Moreover, they are opening a manufacturing plant here in Finland. OK, I want to test drive one as soon as they become available here!
Cody and a Think City car
