VIDEO: A Change of Pace(r), electrifying the fishbowl on wheels
Back in the early 1970's the late American Motors Corporation created a new compact car that became an icon in car design although perhaps not in a way the designer Richard Teague might have hoped. Although the AMC Pacer is beloved by some, it is far more likely to show up on lists of the ugliest cars of all time. When it first appeared in 1975, the US market was recovering from the first middle east oil embargo and the industry was trying to come to grips with the first big wave of emissions regulations.
All of this prompted some high-school vocational teachers to collaborate with some students to convert a Pacer to electric drive. In internal combustion form the Pacer was never renowned for its performance, but "Change of Pace" most definitely will not be challenging the Tesla Roadsters numbers. The creators used a bank of deep discharge lead acid batteries that pumped up the weight from the original 3,200 lbs to 4,150 lbs. The end result was a range of 30-50 miles, a top speed of "Over 55 mph!" and 0-30 mph time of 13 seconds (no that's not a typo). Driving an electric Pacer is definitely an exercise in planning ahead. Check out the video after the jump.
[Source: YouTube, thanks to Domenick for the tip]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Phil L. 1:10PM (10/08/2007)
The Pacer may have been "compact" for the US in the 70s, but it was still a pretty big car. Recall that it got the AMC straight six - so plenty of room under the hood for batteries and other EV conversion hardware. And enough suspension guts to handle the extra EV weight (I even seem to recall a leaf-spring rear end).
Hmmmm - I didn't know about the Ford Fairmont EV conversion (another fairly gutsy chassis with extra under-hood room). I wonder if any of them are still out there.
An interesting trip back in time. Though I have a hard time understanding almost 2 1/2 minutes of credits within a sub-10-minute video...
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Phil L. 1:25PM (10/08/2007)
Just for fun, a Ford Fairmont EV. I forgot there was a wagon body available:
http://www.austinev.org/evalbum/340.html
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Domenick 7:31AM (10/09/2007)
I was thinking about this video while working and had an idea. Maybe I should convert Aztecs to electric?
Nah.
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