Asheville, NC students wash cars to raise money to convert one to electric power
Getting to own an electric car can be expensive. The bar looks even higher if you're a group of high school students. Students at the School of Inquiry and Life Sciences at Asheville, NC decided to use cars to buy a car. They held a car wash that raised money to convert a 1993 Mazda B2600 pickup truck to electric power (Andrew Angellotti would be proud). The car was purchased by the students for $1,000 but more ($7,800) is needed to buy the marine cell batteries they'll use to power the truck. The good news is that $6,000 has already been collected. The car was already entered in a state level contest and finished second place in the autocross course and third place in design. For now, the students will keep on washing regular gasoline-powered cars to raise enough to finish the conversion.
[Source: Citizen Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mark 1:13PM (6/03/2009)
Some some college students can convert a car for 7k but it costs 20k to have it down by a company? What gives?
If a major automaker told me I could have an ICE car for 10k but an EV version would cost 17k I would buy it, but why is this not possible?
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brn 6:26PM (6/03/2009)
Wild Guess: They're getting parts from a donated Ranger EV and plunking them into a Ranger (er, Mazda). Most of the cost is going to be a bunch of lead acid batteries. Maybe the batteries are donated. The end result is going to be limited range, extreme weight, and general cost ineffectiveness. Let's not even touch on performance and safety.
I don't want to take away from the students. They will learn from this experience and I'm glad for them.
TX CHL Instructor 2:19PM (6/03/2009)
For the automaker, there are some additional costs, like labor, engineering, tooling, and certifications. The students are not counting their time as worth anything at all. If they were counting it at UAW rates, the $7K would be closer to $70K.
Which was basically what did Government Motors in. A big chunk of the cost of a GM car went to things not directly related to making a car.
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Bill 3:13PM (6/03/2009)
Lithium batteries for an OEM EV cost just a little bit more than the lead-acid marine batteries these students are using for an EV conversion.
And even the best lead-acid batteries don't last very long in an EV conversion before they need replacement.
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TX CHL Instructor 10:15PM (6/03/2009)
If you think 3-4 times as much is a "little" more, then I suppose. The price on LiON is coming down, and they are getting better, but it's still a long way from being the same price as Pb.