Miami EV Project converts VW Golf to electric drive
Have you ever sat around with your friend and though, "hey, we should make our car an electric car"? Well, Danny Alva and Donato Helbling did, and they actually went through with their plan. Now, their DIY project is live both online - at Miami EV Project - and in the real world (see above). The two young men took a Volkswagen Golf III, gave it a can't-miss-it paint job, and swapped out the engine and fuel tank for an electric motor and batteries. After about 70 days of hard work, the final product was on display at the recent Green Art Fair Miami 2008. Even though the two were a bit exhausted by the challenge, they're ready to tackle more conversions soon.
Not counting the fancy $5,000 paint job (by the artist LEBO), this conversion cost the duo just over $13,000. They estimate it'll cost them $1.50 to charge the batteries and then go about 50 miles per charge. Alva and Helbling explain their case here, and Helbling's big question is this: "If we can do it, why can't everybody? Do we really need to wait for car companies to sell us a new electric car?" To answer that, keep an eye out for Alva and Helbling to possibly work on a reality show or documentary series called "Green Your Ride." Thanks to Donato H. for the tip!
[Source: Miami EV Project]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dave 10:01PM (12/09/2008)
Every time I see an article like this I think to myself, "This would be cool except:"
1. Fifty mile range is not enough, especially since that is probably exaggerated.
2. There is no way the battery pack holds enough juice to defrost my windshield and keep me warm during New England winters and still provide anything even close to a 50 mile range. So I would need a propane tank and heater or some other such device anyway.
Someday battery technology will justify this expense.
Until then, there will be a whole lot of people sitting on the fence with me.
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ug 10:00AM (12/10/2008)
"If we can do it, why can't everybody?"
They can, but they won't because gas is cheap again and nobody gives a crap about global warming.
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nagmashot 11:14AM (12/10/2008)
why not buying a VW Golf Mk. III Citystromer (all electric Golf III sold by VW in the mid 1990´s)...
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paulwesterberg 11:23AM (12/10/2008)
From the list of parts on the website:
Potbox $93.00
You put your weed in it.
Overall a nice design, I would be inclined to try it if I had an older car sitting around and some extra garage space.
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Ernie 7:47PM (12/11/2008)
I would love to do this. But this is why I haven't:
$13,000 is still a lot of money, especially considering the fact that you have to buy a car first. I suppose it's possible to overcome that, however:
I don't have a garage, thus I have no place to build it. Doing it in the underground parking lot will cause a revolt among my neighbours. Doing it at a rented shop would cost me twice as much.
It takes time. Lots of it. And since I have a 2 year old and a job, I have none available.
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Donato helbling 5:12PM (3/02/2009)
you all have good excuses guys.... however, they are still excuses... here are some answers
1. Fifty mile range is not enough, especially since that is probably exaggerated.
A:Not enough for what? my commute to work is 12 miles. No problem there. That is what you use your car the most for
2. There is no way the battery pack holds enough juice to defrost my windshield and keep me warm during New England winters and still provide anything even close to a 50 mile range. So I would need a propane tank and heater or some other such device anyway.
A: You are right. the same whay it doesn't do that with A/C on in Miami all year long... so range comes down. agreed
3. why not buying a VW Golf Mk. III Citystromer (all electric Golf III sold by VW in the mid 1990´s)...
a: Good question! simple answer, because you can't find them anywhere. Also, this was not about having an electric Golf, but converting any car... we just used a golf
4. I have 3 jobs, but no kids... so I give you that...
The overall message is that it CAN be done if you find the time and money... like most things. This is something that most individuals dont have but car companies do AND LOTS OF BOTH. Goes to show that car companies and media feed us a bunch of BS when it comes to this topic. And for those waiting on the fence... the only way to move the fence seems to be jumping over it, like we did.
Thanks for the comments and support.
Andrej 5:48AM (6/06/2009)
Good idea,congratulatinon! Everybody should respect this,not just criticized.Cant wait to see electric car in our car stores,in this moment we can just buy hybrid cars from Toyota or Lexus...khhhm :/
Andrej from Slovenia
http://www.slovenia.info/en/About-Slovenia.htm?o_sloveniji=0&lng=2
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