Convert your old gas guzzler to an electric car!

One of my coworkers recently bought a brand new car. This is the same coworker that has driven his 80 something toyota corolla wagon for 20 years and put 300,000 miles on it. He has earned a new car. He still has the corolla and drives it occasionally. He has expressed interest in turning the car into a hybrid vehicle, but not in the way most hybrids work. He wants to leave the gas engine alone which is front wheel drive. He wants to add an electric engine to run the rear wheels and use battery power. He would only use the gas engine whenever the batteries were low on power. The gas engine wouldnt charge the batteries though, and charging would only be accomplished by plugging the car in. While I am no expert on electric vehicles, I think that this is not feasible for several reasons, all to do with weight. The 10 or more batteries, electric motor and other electrical system components would greatly increase the vehicle weight, causing a noticeable difference in gas mileage out of the gas engine. I think leaving the gas engine there would greatly decrease the performance of the electric engine too, leaving it almost useless except for very short trips. In addition, the vehicle isnt made to carry that much weight regularly and would have to be modified to be safe, especially with the brakes and suspension.


The alternative would be to replace the gas engine with an electric one. This is probably more popular than you would think, and thousands of people have done this. There are actually kits out there to convert specific cars to electric, as well as universal kits. I happen to own one of the vehicles that has a ready made kit with all the parts and pieces already figured out, including customized connections. This kit is for a Chevy S-10. I do not want to convert that vehicle to electric though. I do own a car that is nearing the end of its usable life though and think that it would be a perfect candidate for conversion. I normally drive it back and forth to work, 7 miles each way, and occasionally to eat lunch, usually fairly close to work. My driving pattern and how lightweight this car is makes it ideal. Maybe when my Mazda 323 stops working I can convert it to electric instead of junking it, giving it a whole new life. From my simple internet searches, the conversion kits and all the other parts currently would cost around $8,000 to $10,000. Now if I only had the time to do it...