SolarBug models old (right) and new.

It's been a bit over a half year since we last checked in with the pride of Bozeman, Montana - Steve Titus and his SolarBug electric car. A quick refresher: this homemade electric vehicle takes and ATV, encloses it and slaps on some solar panels. OK, it's not nearly that simple, and Titus has been hard at work for a long time on this project and hopes to one day sell a lot of these vehicles as people learn new ways of driving (i.e., in smaller cars). For now, the SolarBug is taking a toll on his family, but this "hobby gone awry" is not yet finished. Luckily, Titus is still energetic about the SolarBug, as a new video called A Crazy Dream shows. Produced by students at Montana State University there in Bozeman, the video is an uplifting two-and-a-half-minutes about Titus' vision. Interest in the SolarBug is not limited to one person. As fellow Bozeman resident Gary R. wrote in to AutoblogGreen, "We are very proud of Steve's effort here in Bozeman!!" Watch the video after the break and, if you're interested in getting one of these critters when they go on sale, download the brochure (PDF) or check out the SolarBug website.

As promised, we got in touch with Steve Titus, the maker of the Solar Bug. We had a question about the price of the updated version of this all-electric modified ATV with a solar boost. Titus wrote back and said:

We did increase the price to $15,000, but along with that comes a 10 fold increase in solar panel performance and a range that should be about doubled from the prototype. The price increase is due in part because we are hand crafting them in Bozeman, Montana and we are not getting volume discounts yet.

Titus also sent in some high-resolution images for our readers, for which we are grateful. You can kind of see it in the picture above, but if you click on the photo and enlarge it, you can easily spot that the Solar Bug Version 1 includes a sticker of Version 2 on the side. Nice. There is more information at the links below and on the Solar Bug website.



Related:

• Update on Steve Titus's Solar Bug - new specs, pre-orders will be filled soon
• Alt Car Expo: Solar Bug NEV ready for production (2006 post)

[Source: Steve Titus / Solar Bug]

At the 2006 Alt Car Expo in Santa Monica, we caught sight of Steve Titus's Solar Bug. As you can see in the pictures in that post, the car was a bit boxy, kind of like a squished school bus, and had solar panels (which only provided a tiny bit of energy) on the side. The enclosed vehicle was built on an ATV chassis and classified as an NEV. Last year, the stats were a 30-mile range from a 4-6 hour charge time, all for $9,500 or so.

Titus's updated version (pictured at right) gets rid of the boxiness in favor of a more aggressive and swooped Tonka look. This is still totally an NEV, but I think the design is much improved. The numbers for the Solar Bug have gotten much better, too. With a top speed of 35 mph (in Montana, where the NEV laws are different, something Titus helped change), the new Solar Bug has a range of 60 miles and the roof-mounted solar panels can provide you with 10-20 miles of emission-free, fossil-fuel-free driving. When you plug into the grid, a full charge still takes 4-6 hours, something Titus estimates will cost you between 30 and 60 cents. The Solar Bug uses lead acid (Absorbed Glass Matt) batteries. There's no mention of cost, but I've emailed Titus if there's been any change there as well. You can check out all the specifics over at the Solar Bug website.

According to our tipster, Steve was on local (that is, Bozeman, Montana) television last night saying that he will soon begin delivering the first vehicles to the 53 people on his pre-order list. Nice work.

UPDATE: Titus explains the price increase here.

[Source: Freedrive-ev, h/t to Gary]