Anyone Can Have a PHEV for $25K Today
With so much talk about the impending release of the Tesla Model S for an affordable $50K and the Aptera to be sold later this year in select areas of California on a limited basis it sort of feels like plugin hybrid vehicles (PHEV's) aren't ready for prime time. If you really want one you either have to sign up on a waiting list or fork out a lot of extra cash... you have to settle for a crazy design or compromise on top speed and possibly safety. in many cases you need to do a little bit of each of these things.
Now I'm definitely excited about hybrids like the Honda Civic and the upcoming Ford Fusion, but I want that extra pure electric range - ideally I would like to go gas free for all of my daily city driving. Pure EV's are cool, but there really aren't enough chargers installed yet to facilitate owning one as your only car. That's what makes PHEV's so exciting, they have decent EV range (25-40 miles at 35mph on flats) and don't really require gas on a daily basis (depending on your commute), but they still accommodate the use of gasoline for those extra long trips and hills! That is why Toyota, BMW, Honda, and many other car companies are planning to release new PHEV's over the next couple of years. That said, buying a new car isn't cheap and you still have to wait, so what can be done today, as in right now?
Just as the title of this article suggests, you (or anyone in the US) can have a plugin hybrid electric vehicle today (or within a few weeks) for roughly $25,000. The vehicle will get approximately 100mpg, seat four passengers, and meet rigorous safety and quality standards including the federal crash testing safety standard which costs $2M to complete. How can this be accomplished you ask? Simple, you buy a second generation Toyota Prius or newer off of Craigslist, eBay, or through you local newspaper for ~$15K or less (which is very possible) and then you convert it to PHEV through a program offered within your state or using Pat's Garage in San Francisco for $10K ($9,400 after state tax credit). To learn more about this program and the resources in your state visit the Hymotion website here. For those who don't know, Hymotion was one of the original companies that created the system for converting a Toyota Prius to a PHEV, they were recently acquired by A123 Systems (which makes advanced batteries) and have partnered with conversion shops nation wide.
Today I actually spoke with Pat, of Pat's Garage and got all the details on Prius conversions. It's really pretty simple, and an amazing opportunity for anyone who is excited about plugins and looking for a low cost way to get into a top quality PHEV. The car will charge using any standard 110V wall outlet (say in your garage, at work or from a ChargePoint or similar program) and can still be serviced by Toyota. Now you might be thinking "I don't live in California so I can't go to Pat's Garage" but that's just not true, you can have your Prius shipped to and from San Francisco on a trailer for under $3K and while that does increase your overall cost, there are other conversion shops popping up nation wide that work with A123 so all you really need to do is look! Heck, you could even take a cross country road trip; California is beautiful and who doesn't want to see the Grand Canyon? Check out the video below for more information and an interview with Pat from Pat's Garage:
Note that while Pat's Garage has had a waiting list in the past, they currently (as of today) have five systems that just arrived from A123 up for grabs. This may not always be the case and I believe there will be a shortage of these conversion systems for private parties very soon (within the next three months). You see applications for fleet conversion credits are being made nation wide in accordance with the Obama stimulus package due May 1st. Entries are to be submitted by May, approvals will be made in June and money rolls out in July. The really cool part about one of these conversions is that they won't void your warranty and A123 has become a trusted supplier making them very attractive to fleet owners.
I asked Pat to clarify on which cars can have this kind of conversion done and he explained that any Prius made after 2004 is a candidate - they have even done a Ford Escape Hybrid conversion (as a proof of concept) since Ford and other companies like Nissan simply license Toyota hybrid technology for their cars. I also asked Pat which components start to go bad on old Prius's (since my example uses an older used Prius to save costs) and he said the shocks and 12V battery start to wear out with replacement costs at $1,300 for new shocks and $175 for a new factory approved battery.
I have seen several of these conversions out around town here in Mountain View and San Jose and had the chance to interview drivers about the experience of conversion and use. Both of the drivers I spoke with were very enthusiastic about the system and it's performance. One driver swore that he hasn't put a drop of fuel in his car for over four months (and he commutes to and from work 25+ miles daily) he was actually concerned about fuel going bad in his tank! Consider these options and if you're interested in doing a personal conversion be sure to move quickly while units are still available from A123.
Now I'm definitely excited about hybrids like the Honda Civic and the upcoming Ford Fusion, but I want that extra pure electric range - ideally I would like to go gas free for all of my daily city driving. Pure EV's are cool, but there really aren't enough chargers installed yet to facilitate owning one as your only car. That's what makes PHEV's so exciting, they have decent EV range (25-40 miles at 35mph on flats) and don't really require gas on a daily basis (depending on your commute), but they still accommodate the use of gasoline for those extra long trips and hills! That is why Toyota, BMW, Honda, and many other car companies are planning to release new PHEV's over the next couple of years. That said, buying a new car isn't cheap and you still have to wait, so what can be done today, as in right now?
Just as the title of this article suggests, you (or anyone in the US) can have a plugin hybrid electric vehicle today (or within a few weeks) for roughly $25,000. The vehicle will get approximately 100mpg, seat four passengers, and meet rigorous safety and quality standards including the federal crash testing safety standard which costs $2M to complete. How can this be accomplished you ask? Simple, you buy a second generation Toyota Prius or newer off of Craigslist, eBay, or through you local newspaper for ~$15K or less (which is very possible) and then you convert it to PHEV through a program offered within your state or using Pat's Garage in San Francisco for $10K ($9,400 after state tax credit). To learn more about this program and the resources in your state visit the Hymotion website here. For those who don't know, Hymotion was one of the original companies that created the system for converting a Toyota Prius to a PHEV, they were recently acquired by A123 Systems (which makes advanced batteries) and have partnered with conversion shops nation wide.
Today I actually spoke with Pat, of Pat's Garage and got all the details on Prius conversions. It's really pretty simple, and an amazing opportunity for anyone who is excited about plugins and looking for a low cost way to get into a top quality PHEV. The car will charge using any standard 110V wall outlet (say in your garage, at work or from a ChargePoint or similar program) and can still be serviced by Toyota. Now you might be thinking "I don't live in California so I can't go to Pat's Garage" but that's just not true, you can have your Prius shipped to and from San Francisco on a trailer for under $3K and while that does increase your overall cost, there are other conversion shops popping up nation wide that work with A123 so all you really need to do is look! Heck, you could even take a cross country road trip; California is beautiful and who doesn't want to see the Grand Canyon? Check out the video below for more information and an interview with Pat from Pat's Garage:
Note that while Pat's Garage has had a waiting list in the past, they currently (as of today) have five systems that just arrived from A123 up for grabs. This may not always be the case and I believe there will be a shortage of these conversion systems for private parties very soon (within the next three months). You see applications for fleet conversion credits are being made nation wide in accordance with the Obama stimulus package due May 1st. Entries are to be submitted by May, approvals will be made in June and money rolls out in July. The really cool part about one of these conversions is that they won't void your warranty and A123 has become a trusted supplier making them very attractive to fleet owners.
I asked Pat to clarify on which cars can have this kind of conversion done and he explained that any Prius made after 2004 is a candidate - they have even done a Ford Escape Hybrid conversion (as a proof of concept) since Ford and other companies like Nissan simply license Toyota hybrid technology for their cars. I also asked Pat which components start to go bad on old Prius's (since my example uses an older used Prius to save costs) and he said the shocks and 12V battery start to wear out with replacement costs at $1,300 for new shocks and $175 for a new factory approved battery.
I have seen several of these conversions out around town here in Mountain View and San Jose and had the chance to interview drivers about the experience of conversion and use. Both of the drivers I spoke with were very enthusiastic about the system and it's performance. One driver swore that he hasn't put a drop of fuel in his car for over four months (and he commutes to and from work 25+ miles daily) he was actually concerned about fuel going bad in his tank! Consider these options and if you're interested in doing a personal conversion be sure to move quickly while units are still available from A123.
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