Ford Th!nk Neighbor
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Ford Th!nk - my personal experience
We had 2007 Club Car Precedent in our family to use it in our summer community. I installed all bells and whistles (rear seats, lights, turn signals, blinkers, seat belts etc) on that golf cart including re-programming of the controller to make it go faster. But... It still felt like a golf cart.
We started looking for NEV. Test drove couple Chrysler GEMs. Even though they look good (that retro look is really something), the drive did not impress.
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And then ... we saw this Ford Th!nk sitting pretty on a dealer lot. It immediatelly cought our attention. My wife said "This thing is so ugly that it looks beautiful!". As for me, I will rephrase another Ford Th!nk enthusiast "I thought, "this is the Cyclops" from cartoons that Stan Mott drew for Road and Track magazine, 40 years ago" This car immediately impressed with its wide base (that screams stability on a road), big windshield, large open space and bright colors. We took it for a test drive. Good seat position, good vision (you sit high enough to see and be seen in traffic), great steering wheel feel (rack & pinion), and surprising performance. The Think was easy to get in and out, with the grab handle in the right place. The three position seat belts hold you in the care securely. It drives and feels like a larger/heavier car. The vehicle that we were test-driving already had GEL batteries and Q-Charger (which is around $1,500 altogether) We bought it right on a spot ! |
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Our first family drive on Th!nk:
The first afternoon right after the Think was delivered, I took my wife
and my two kids for a "drive" in the our summer community. With four people aboard the Think had surprising performance, and it's quiet. (You don't realize how much noise a gasoline powered vehicle makes until you drive an electric vehicle.) I drove around the
community for about six to eight miles, until it got dark.
The cornering ability of the Think is unbelievable. The independent suspension gives the ability to corner faster than I thought possible. The low center of gravity and weight of the batteries contribute to this stability.
We would stop several times to visit with our neighbors, and the first words
were not "Hello", but "What in a world is this thing?"
Everybody were asking where we get it and how much it cost and if
the dealer had more of these. If we wanted, we could have sold it with
good profit the same day !
Some setbacks :
Yeah, there were some. In a month, the cluster stopped working, I googled the problem and it seems like cluster was one of the major problems with this vehicle. I found some interesting stats on a web - for 7,800 Ford Th!nks made, Ford manufactured about 20,000 clusters!
I found this really great guy, that fixes these clusters and actually knows the reason why the act this bad. He fixes the problem by re-programming clusters. I believe that there is nothing there that he does not know about Ford Th!nk. His information is posted in "Tech Tips" section.
I replaced the cluster myself (about 30 min job) and 300 miles later it is still holding strong.
Overall :
Yes, there Th!nks do have their problems and are expensive to fix. But the joy that you experiencing driving it and seeing envy in your neighbors eyes covers all the setbacks !