Like more detail on availability of electric motor and why no manufacturers look forward to using interchangeable batteries and most importantly to find that local and interstate quick battery exchange stations is the answer to short range of electric battery capacities.   Not more research for longer laster batteries.

Very nice!   cool!  congratulations!

Battery Swapping would be very hard to standardize given all the automobile models, and battery types and sizes, etc.

I like what my friend Ed Bagly Jr. had to say in the movie, "Who Killed the Electric Car"

" What the Detractors and Critics of Electric Cars have been saying for years....IS TRUE ! Electric Cars are not for everyone.  Given their limited range....... they could only meet the needs of................ 90% of the Population !!!!

My point of all this talk of infrastructure, Fast Charging, and Battery Swapping is trying to make the Electric Car in the immage of the GAS Car !!   300 miles between  a 5 minute fill up... Like a delivery van, or a Taxi Cab, or  a traveling salesman on the road, or a family on the way to Disney Land.

When all the while ignoring the 90% of the population who routeenly travel less than 40 miles a day, and could easily Carge at home with a simple 120V extension cord and a normal wall socket.

Don't get me wrong.. An electric car with 200 oir 300 miles of range would be great! But it is not a Game Spoiler to start with something more practical and afordable.

Steve Lough:  President

Seattle EV Association

Good to see this happening in phoenix. when wil this be avaible in phoenix and what is the cost of conversion.

Tony, the low speed limits you mention are for Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV's) which typically don't have to meet (nor would they meet) federal crash standards.  Cars like the Miata and many other conversions are 100% street legal and will readily substitute for ICE powered vehicles.  They may be used anywhere a "regular" vehicle would.

The problem with most EV conversioins is the donor car is too heavy and too much frontal area.There is a certain amount of trade-off between having to lug around alot of weight and frontal area or choosing a donor car that is very light and narrow.This can make the motor/battery pack expensive or affordable.Notice the Rinspeed is lightweight with small frontal area with 1-2 tandem seating.McClaren Racing Designs started using this layout several years ago with great success.Motors and batteries are getting less expensive each year that passes.Be patient and look for the ideal donor.Fiberglass kit cars are a bargain and usually very lightweight.Vintagespyders.com is a good kit car for conversions.

This is good news.  Would a lighter vehicle provide any advantages to this concept.   If a purpose made body and drive train could lighten the load, and reduce drag, could the cost be reduced and the range increased.

THESE ARE AVAILBLE NOW. You can contact electric blue. They also build EV's with AGM batteries at much lower cost. It's up to you about how much and what range you want. They will convert most any vehicle !

I also think they estimated the cost IF MAZDA made these as a new car at 30-40. If you have it done with your car it's less.

http://www.electricbluemotors.com/

http://www.elitepowersolutions.com/products/

ALSO Dave asked about the long ranger trailer for virtual unlimited range, like a removeable hybrid option. That is made and sold by ACpropulsion who designed and made the T-Zero and eBox. They also have V2G in their conversions. They did the tech design uses bt Telsa and also made the 500 MINI E's !!! They are the top company in the world for EVs !!!

The tailer runs on CNG and cost about $10,000 . I think it would be great to own one in an area and share the cost. Then borrow it only when you had to go over 100+ miles. It could be a car rental option ! Think about that as a new business.

Another great example of an excellent conversion. There are so many donor vehicles out there at a reasonable price. I had a 1993 S-10 pickup converted brand new using 20, 6 volt batteries good for 75 mph and 40 miles per charge. Wish I had it back.

How can this writer say, "will cost 30-40 thousand which will be affordable to the general public"?!!  this actually will preclude most of the general public from ever owning an electric vehicle.  the people who do the conversions are burning the general public.

Somewhere in another article about the same company and car I read something about a generator trailer to tow along behind the Miata for a virtually unlimited range. Could anyone shed some more light on that for the rest of us? Don't take me wrong,but I think someone misquoated the conversion cost. I know of several conversion companies that are doing  conversions for between $10,000 to $12000. So unless they can justify 30 to 40 ,they won't be in business long.

I've bought Thundersky LiFePo4 batteries from the owner of this car for use in my 1957 Porsche Model 356 Speedster electric conversion.  http://me.web.com/mjrickard

The costs revolve mostly around the batteries.  Yes, you can do it less expensively with lead acid batteries.  The lead acid batteries for my car would weigh 1350 lbs.  The LiFePo4 batteries I have, which produce much more power and offer much longer range, weigh 489 lbs.  And instead of lasting 2 years, they last 8-10 years.  EVERY battery I have tested exhibits MORE capacity than what they are rated for.

These batteries have really only been generally available to mere humanoids for the past year.  And they are a total game changer when it comes to electric car conversions.  

Frankly, I use these now as starter batteries for my non-converted cars.  They last longer, provide more power, and I'm not left stranded in the snow.

As to range, everyone is used to a 400 mile range and a 10 minute fillup.  So it's the most often asked question, and the least important one.  When you can "fill your car" from the convenience of home, its no big deal.  You drive, plug it in.  Drive, plug it in.  It's as easy as plugging in a toaster.   And no more trips to the gas station - AT ALL.

Those with the constant objections to electric cars just haven't lived with one.  They drive BETTER, they are more FUN and the easiest way to turn a skeptic into a full blown enthusiast is to let them drive one.  Its an epiphany every single time.

Jack Rickard

. 

Only somebody living in la-la land would consider $30-40K to be affordable to the general public! $10-20k is affordable to the general public! I just want a electric car that is the size of a Toyota Matrix, that can do average highway speeds for a 50 mile range. The Miata is impractical in regards to cargo/ passenger load. And they look like a toy windup car.

Congratulations on your incredible achievement!

Now, what can we do to get states to eliminate the

25mph (or so) speed limit?!

I like it but the price of 30-40k is not for the majority of the public. It should be between 5-20k to be alot more attractive. Even less if converting a gas powered to electric. Other than that, the range and the torque is very attractive.