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When you hear the name Th!nk Ox, you’re probably not thinking of anything car-related.
Already popular in Scandinavian countries, the cars rolling off the assembly lines at the Th!nk headquarters in Norway are designed and engineered with the environment in mind.
Th!nk prides itself on being the most energy-efficient small factory in Europe.
Th!nk global CEO Jan-Olaf Willums promises that his company takes responsibility for all batteries issued with the cars they produce.
That got you thinking yet?
This year at the Geneva Motor Show, Th!nk unveiled the Th!nk Crossover Ox, a five-seater hatch-batch that could be the next great thing in eco-friendly motoring. The Ox is manufactured using unpainted materials, 95% of which is completely recyclable.
The majority of the body is plastic and features aluminum details like the grille, the mirrors and the handles.
It’s also available in a coupe version for those who fancy something a little sportier, and the sunroof is more than a decorative feature: it keeps the car cool and the built-in solar panel provides power for when the car is parked and things like the radio are still on.
It looks the part of a regular hatch in every way, except that this one runs on a 60kW electric motor that can do about 250km on a full charge. The motor can be run by either sodium batteries or lithium battery packs mounted in the floor of the space frame.
Performance-wise it’s not a racing demon, but 0-60 in 8.5 seconds and 130kph at full tilt isn’t too bad for its 60kW power source.
The Ox can be recharged at any European outlet, the same way you’d charge a cell phone or a laptop, and if you use the on-board charger, all of it shouldn’t take longer than 12 hours. That way you could drive it all day and leave it to charge overnight for the next day’s driving.
Besides the sophisticated technology that makes it go, what really makes the Ox a car for the future is what happens when you get inside. People spend hundreds of thousands of dollars customizing their cars, but this one comes ready to be set to your preferences.
It starts up via keyless technology. All you need is the key fob that stores all your personal settings so that when you get in, everything is exactly the way you want it. Enjoy in-cabin internet at the touch of a button. Scroll through your emails before leaving the driveway in the morning.
Adjust mirrors, seating and the position of the steering wheel to the way you like them. This high-tech system also updates the driver on its power status and the onboard GPS system makes sure it’s always on the right track.
If the Ox doesn’t make you want to get an electric-powered car, then nothing will.
The convenience, the week-to-week savings, a clear conscience – there are so many reasons to leave gas-powered cars behind. We regular types will have to wait to give the Ox a go though: production only starts in 2011.
With General Electric pumping funds into Th!nk and A123Systems, the world’s biggest producer of high-power lithium ion, it may be sooner than you think.