Chrysler's First Electric Car Will Be Sporty Dodge Circuit

While General Motors has focused its green vehicle efforts on the Chevy Volt, Chrysler has shown no less than five electric and extended-range electric cars on the auto show circuit this year. Electric versions of the Jeep Wrangler and Patriot SUVs and the Chrysler Town & Country minivan have made the rounds, alongside a concept midsize sedan called the 200C and a sporty two-seat electric car known as the Dodge Circuit. The automaker has been telling the press for months that it planned to build one of the cars in 2010, but has stayed silent on which car would see production.

Now we have our answer. CNN Money reports, "Chrysler's first electric car, set to be introduced late next year around the same time as General Motors' Chevrolet Volt, will be a sports car with a zero-to-60 time of under five seconds and a top speed of 120 miles per hour." The Dodge Circuit will be released as a 2011 model.

If Chrysler survives, the Circuit may just be the first of many. CNN reports, "Following that...will come electric-powered cars, SUVs and crossovers, some based on Fiat vehicles, according to the ‘viability plan' Chrysler submitted to the Treasury Department."

PC Magazine adds, "No price range has been given yet. But that design," along with the performance figures Chrysler has quoted for the vehicle, "would put Chrysler's car in a virtual dead heat with the Tesla Roadster. Chrysler is even sourcing the chassis from Lotus, the same company that provided the platform design for Tesla's two-seat sports car."

In a way, however, the Circuit is the least ambitious choice Chrysler could have made. There is a limited demand for tiny, two-seat sports cars. Chrysler would likely build only a few thousand Circuits. The other possibilities would have all likely sold in much higher quantities.

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source: http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/daily-news/090417-Chrysler-s-First-Electric-Car-Will-Be-Sporty-Dodge-Circuit/