VIDEO: Dodge Ram plug-in hybrid converter wants to transform your truck
David Taylor calls this pickup truck the nation's first Dodge Ram plug-in hybrid and he's hoping there will be a second and a third and they'll tell two friends and, well, you get the picture. The award-winning ASE Master technician, in a well-crafted video on YouTube, proudly shows off his handiwork and explains how it works. And proud he should be since the company that originally made his now-hybridized truck won't have their own hybrid on the market until 2010 and even then it won't get the kind of mileage his is capable of now. A gauge on the dash gives a readout of 29.6 mpg at one point in the video and is even capable of some all-electric driving as well.
And although Dodge does possess factories able to crank out their two-mode version when the time comes, David has his own happening shop that should keep his environs of Lee county, North Carolina, supplied with some no-nonsense gas savers in the months to come. If he's as nice a guy as he appears to be in his video, his business might just blow up in a big way. See what I'm talking about after the jump.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Richard 12:16PM (6/12/2008)
-What's the cost?
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Pacman 10:13AM (6/13/2008)
If you could average 29mpg in a truck that big it would be awsome. I hope its as good as it apears
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Noah 11:30AM (6/13/2008)
I think the cost alone in batteries would be $1500. Those batteries are over $100 each. This is probably a $4k-$6k job...conservatively. So it gets up to 29mpg, I wonder what the average is for in-town driving.
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mroverlord 6:40PM (6/13/2008)
What I want to know is: What type of electric motor does he use DRIVE the vehicle?
There has to be some type of interface between the ICE and the electric system.
It's a great idea, but agree that those Optimas are NOT cheap (run them in all my vehicles). The 2009 Dodge Ram hemi is rated at 23mpg hwy with an ICE. I will be very curios to see what it gets with the Two-Mode Hybrid in mid 09.
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