BugE Personal Electric Vehicle

An Oregonian company called Blue Sky Design engineered a single passenger electric vehicle as an alternative to driving an SUV or station wagon around town. The idea behind the BugE is that an SUV is over engineered for running errands such as picking up groceries or going to the post office or commuting to school or work. So Blue Sky Design engineered a vehicle that was more appropriately sized to the task. The BugE is available as a kit from Blue Sky Design’s website (http://www.bugev.net/). A basic kit cost $3500 plus shipping, while a complete kit, including lighting and power, cost $5,276 plus shipping.

An advantage of the BugE is that all the parts are common components on motorcycles, so this means they are easily available and affordable. This also allows the builder to make their own modifications to the design. For those not interested in building their own BugE Harvey Coachworks (http://harveyev.com/bugE/) offers production versions starting at around $10,000 for the standard version. A rang extended version is also available for under $13,000 and triples the standard range to 120 miles per charge. Since the BugE is designed for around town and city driving the car has a top speed of 45 mph.

Besides the fact that the BugE never uses gas and a full charge cost about as much as as running a dryer, the BugE can be especially useful for college students who have trouble parking on campus since it can be parked in the motorcycle parking space. Unlike a motorcycle though the BugE is mostly enclosed, so it will protect you from the elements when the weather is bad. There is storage in the front of the vehicle for about three grocery bags and there are hooks on the seat for attaching a backpack.