Zap will sell $24,000 plug-in hybrid kit to make your Prius get 120 MPGe
Unhappy with your plugless Prius? Zap thinks it has an answer for you.
The king of green car press releases has issued another announcement, this time talking about the availability of a Toyota Prius and Highlander plug-in conversion kit. In collaboration with Hybrid Plus, Zap's kit will convert hybrid Priuses and Highlanders into what tests predict will be 120 MPGe (city) and 90 MPGe (highway) vehicles. Depending on the vehicle, the kits cost between $24,000 and $36,000, and Zap says turnaround time is about four weeks. The press release doesn't get into great details, but it sounds like you need to bring your Prius/Highlander to Boulder to have Hybrid Plus do the work. You might also be able to go to a local Zap dealer to have the work done (UPDATE: Zap says that Zap dealers will be able to do the conversions).
While electric car dealerships seen a little more business in the last few years, as a recent New York Times article points out, it's still hard to get by selling nothing but electric cars. Many EV dealers already sell other types of vehicles and, as Hybrids Plus CEO Carl Lawrence says, electric car companies and hybrid conversion companies collaborating is "natural."
[Source: Zap]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
StockDad 8:08PM (3/10/2008)
What a friggin rip off. Sheesh
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Al 9:38PM (3/10/2008)
Wow, 24k for extra batteries. I think it's time for a new approach http://www.physicslablh.com/futureDesign.htm
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mike k. 9:19AM (3/11/2008)
That price is insanity. Merely trying to play to a market of rich people who are looking at the plugin prius as the next big status symbol.
I drive a prius.. i'd love to have a plugin conversion.. but 24k makes no sense when you know in the 5 years Toyota will most likely have its own plugin prius at retail.. which will probably be 24k itself own its own. Which means i drive my car now, with a warrenty, and then get a new prius when they release the plugin and save all that money.
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davewin 9:55AM (3/11/2008)
I wish these shops would stop hyping inflated (and false) MPG figures. It's just plain wrong.
http://www.automanifesto.com/2008/01/150-mpg-fallacy.html
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jake 10:28PM (3/11/2008)
Get real Zap.
Even at the 24K price you could buy 264,000 miles of $4/gal gas for a bone stock Prius.
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PM 12:58PM (3/13/2008)
24K is expensive for that upgrade, its like buying a second car. The thing is, that's how technology develops. Things get cheaper. And long term, electric looks like the best bet. Spending 24K for that is fine for the early adopters, but soon it should be far more affordable.
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Matt 10:06PM (1/02/2009)
I agree,
That is pretty steep for an upgrade. I found some ready to install kits and build it yourself hybrid kits for around $500.00 or less at http://www.convert2hybrid.com
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