Kinda pricey...

[aaron_ariens]

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/967858046.html


It's a cool idea tho. But, you could get a few new cars for that much.

 

[low_five]

damn that would be perfect for where I live.

 

[97ranger4x4]

always cool. I wish I could get a closer pic of the dash.

 

[kamps989]

Yeah they are cool. Better pics of the dash on Wiki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_EV

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

EDIT, beat me to it

 

[TinyBear]

Actually seen one in person back in trade school. It was a 2000 model and was brought in to show us the "Automotive Future" LOL. Well it had to be towed out as it died in our shop LOL.

Even the guy that drove it their said it was rediculasly slow, had poor rang, and was not exactly reliable. IT also WEIGHED WAY more than the 1999 i had and could not carry as much.

NO intrest in it at all. Give me a damn Diesel any day over that crap untill then im happy with my 3.0L thanx

 

[Danger FX4 Ranger]

I love their sales pitch.

Lucky for you and 399 other individuals, not all of these Ranger EV's were crushed

 

[Skid Vicious]

With a range of 30-40 miles, uh no thanks, me and al gore will stick to our fossil fuel based vehicles.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

Even the guy that drove it their said it was rediculasly slow, had poor rang, and was not exactly reliable. IT also WEIGHED WAY more than the 1999 i had and could not carry as much.

performance is almost identicle to a 4 banger ranger of the era with GOBS more low end torque (electric motors make 100% of their torque at 0 RPM). some owners have reported over 70 miles with a fresh NIMH battery pack, slightly less with lead acids. this is quite respectable for a PEV with the aerodynamics of a shithouse. ranger EV's curb in at about 1,000lbs more than a 2wd 4 banger due to the weight of the battery pack, which reduces the rangers normal ~2,000lb payload by half. when was the last time you carried over 1,000lbs in the back of your daily driver?

i drove a '99 ranger EV that we spotted in an EV dealer outside spokane. it was every bit as wonderful as id hoped. i WILL own one of these trucks one day. the equivilent of 144MPG in a daily driver that doesnt sacrifice all the luxuries of a modern pickup? yes please

 

[racinranger]

That thing really is a joke. it had a very early design of the now Sealed Hybrid Battery Pack used in the escape hybrid. back then the cells were open much like a traditional car battery and they were in the bed. I've seen one and it was a meter checker truck for the electric company. Ford tossed it together to help them pioneed some of the technology used in there more modern hybrids. Tech's gota start somewhere. Btw we must makke good packs now cause a few othere manufactures us the SHBP in there hybrids.

 

[74duster318]

Say goodbye to gas prices...

Say hello to an astronomical electric bill...
________
Body Science

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

what?

im assuming your talking about the NIMH pack. the escapes battery pack (which is just several hundred "C" cell batteries) is somewhere in the area of 3 KWH. the ranger EV carries 34 KWH..apples and oranges.

of coarse the lead acid batteries that most of those trucks use isnt even compareable to the escapes battery pack.

and all models of ranger EV carried the batteries UNDER the bed, not IN the bed. the bed was as open and free for storage as yous or mine.

your electric bill will be higher, but electricity is many times cheaper per KWH than gasoline. if you do that math, you'll come to find that at most electric rates, it'll only cost about $1.49 to charge the trucks 34 KHW battery....thats the equivilent of getting 144 MPG or paying about 6 cents a gallon.

 

[racinranger]

the escapes pack is C batteries. We were going into the packs and opening them up to install a jumper harness in them. there just C batteries through 3/4 of the pack. the rest of the stuff is the internal fans/cooling module and the status modules. Yea the ranger has the conventional batt's under the bed and there lead acid but to me thats like the first step in the evolution.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

ive performed the same recall

lead acid has poor energy density, but NIMH isnt a whole lot better. battery technology has been lagging WAY behind for several years now and is the main problem holding back production EV's (that and the politics, but i wont get into that).

but even so, the average americans commute is under 40 miles (mine is exactly that). so a PEV with a 50-60 mile range would more than do for most of us. its cheaper than running a gasoline vehicle, has plenty of "truck" left in it and maintainance is cheaper...and the greenies enjoy the lack of tailpipe emissions.

personally, i dont see a downside to daily driving a rig like this.

 

[Maverick]

A vehicle with a bettery pack will never do it for me. I like the internal combustion engine wayyyyy too much.