This All-Electric Truck Hopes To Beat Tesla And Turn Back Roads Green

Bollinger Motors

Bollinger B1 All Electric Sport Utility Truck

Most of my neighbors and I try to be environmentally conscious and mindful of our carbon footprint on the planet, but living in rural America it can be hard to make one of the most important lifestyle changes to really reduce our impact. A New York startup called Bollinger Motors is making tentative steps toward changing that with what it claims is the world's first all-electric sport utility truck.

The thing about living in the boonies, as I have my entire adult life, is that sooner or later you're going to find yourself in need of something bigger, more powerful, more versatile and inevitably more polluting than a sedan.

Whether it's for hauling firewood or navigating rough and often muddy back roads, sometimes you just need a truck or a sport utility vehicle. While hybrid SUVs have been introduced in the past, they came with a bit of sticker shock and offer minimal gains in fuel efficiency.

So far, no one has really cracked the code of versatility and environmental consciousness when it comes to vehicles that can deliver both to millions in flyover country and beyond the beltways that would love to have the complete package.

Enter Bollinger's B1, which the company introduced Thursday evening in New York. The right-angled vehicle is throw back to something like the International Harvester Scout that clearly means business.

The company makes the case that a Jeep-like vehicle is the ideal shape for an electric drivetrain in some surprising ways.

"Because the entire drivetrain and battery storage system is located between the chassis rails, the B1 has abundant and unique storage areas and a very low center of gravity providing for unsurpassed stability," said Karl Hacken, Bollinger Motors’ lead engineer.

As Tesla owners will testify, an electric system provides near instant speed, power and torque that lends itself to the varied situations a sport utility vehicle can get itself into (and out of).

The big question with any EV, of course, is range and the Bollinger B1 is above average.

"At either a 120 or 200 mile estimated range (depending on battery options), the Bollinger B1 will have more range than most electric vehicles on the road today," said John Hutchison, Bollinger Motors engineer. "I think we found the right combination of utility, off-road capability and range options."

Bollinger Motors

Bollinger Motors Interior Rendering

Some other lesser-known names like the Workhorse Group have electric trucks aimed at commercial uses and of course Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that his company is also planning an electric truck in the near future.

Bollinger looks to be testing the waters to see how much demand there is for an EV that can go where few have gone before. The company has yet to announce pricing or other key roll-out details, but plans to start taking reservations early next year with a $1,000 down payment.

If the price is reasonable and it delivers on its promises, I'm sure plenty of my neighbors will be taking a long hard look at bringing a Bollinger to the boonies.

To jack in to my brain and get more on the latest in science, tech and innovation, follow me here on Forbes, as well as on Twitter @ericcmack and on Google+.

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