2008 and I still want to convert to a plug-in hybrid

you said cars are weapons of mass destruction and should be eliminated from our world....so, when are you going to stop driving, sell your car and save someones life? or do you just spew out nonsense all the time?
01/Feb/2008
[60208]

More good news from the Chocago Tribune, they see plugin as the way to go in 2008 2008 Shaping Up As Year of the Plug-in Hybrid Source: Chicago Tribune [Feb 03, 2008] SYNOPSIS: From GM to BYD to AFS Trinity, the competition is heating up to get grid-recharged, electric hybrids and range-extended electric cars to the market by 2010 or shortly thereafter. Recommended Reading Photovoltaics : Design and Installation Manual Solar Energy International New $40.77 The Anatomy of Buzz Emanuel Rosen New $14.95 Used $9.25 Boiling Point Ross Gelbspan New $14.96 Used $5.50 In cooperation with Amazon.com Seldom talked about two years ago, plug-in hybrids are popping up all over the auto-show circuit. Saturn says it hopes to sell a Vue plug-in with a 10-mile electric-only range by 2010, and Toyota says it will have a few hundred plug-ins in commercial test fleets by then. Others are trying to get in the game. AFS Trinity Power Corp. of Bellevue, Wash., has equipped a 2007 Vue with a prototype plug-in system it says can go 40 miles on lithium-ion batteries before a 4-cylinder engine kicks in for gas/electric operation. Estimated cost is $8,700 for the Extreme Hybrid system -- based on an automaker producing 10,000 or more cars per year (production costs go down as volume goes up). The 40-mile electric range equals the target set by General Motors for the Chevrolet Volt plug-in it hopes to produce starting in 2010 if lithium-ion batteries are ready. Plug-ins can recharge their batteries with household current. The difference with AFS's system, says chief technology officer Donald Bender, is, "We're doing it with batteries available now. We're not waiting for the technology to develop." AFS uses ultra-capacitors and proprietary electronics to boost battery power and prevent overheating, a key concern with lithium-ion. Bender said the system can be adapted to "just about any" SUV. AFS plans a similar system for passenger cars. "My next dream is that one of the [automakers] will say they want to put this system on their car," AFS Chairman and Chief Executive Edward Furia said. "We could give them exclusive use for two years, and then we could license it to others." Furia said consumers could recover the $8,700 in less time at higher prices. Still David Champion, Consumer Reports magazine's automotive testing director, is skeptical of the hype around batteries. "A breakthrough in battery technology has been two years away for 20 years." That could be why Toyota is testing a handful of Priuses with a plug-in system that can go 7 miles on its nickel-metal-hydride batteries before the gas/electric system kicks in. "Cost is a big part of our research," said Jaycie Chitwood, a senior planner with Toyota's advanced technologies group. "We want to find out how much [electric-only] range people want and how much they want to pay for it. The batteries aren't free." The current Prius does not have to be plugged in to recharge. It operates in an electric-only mode at lower speeds, with the gas engine the primary power source for most driving. The electric motor provides a boost for passing, and the engine and regenerative braking recharge the batteries. Still the front-runner in hybrid sales plans to have lithium-ion batteries in a plug-in test fleet in 2010. Lithium-ions are smaller, lighter and more powerful -- and, right now, much more expensive. Expense is what is also keeping a diesel/electric on the sidelines, despite diesel's 25 to 30 percent fuel economy edge over gasoline. GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz points out that hybrid systems add thousands to a vehicle's cost, as do diesel engines, particularly now that the latter have to meet the same emissions requirements as their gas counterparts. "You can get sensational fuel economy, but you're doubling the cost of the powertrain," he said. "When that happens, people will start saying that gasoline isn't that expensive." Even the Chinese, who are poised to enter the U.S. auto market, are getting into the act. BYD Auto Co., which hopes to sell cars here in three to five years, used the Detroit Auto Show to display a prototype sedan it says can run 60 miles on batteries developed in-house and another 190 miles on a gas/electric system. BYD said the F6 DM (dual mode) sedan will go on sale in China in the fourth quarter for $20,000 to $30,000. The batteries fully recharge in nine hours on household current and can get a 50 percent recharge in 10 minutes with a BYD high-voltage charger. BYD Auto, a subsidiary of one of the world's largest manufacturers of rechargeable batteries for cell phones and other portable devices, began building cars in 2003. The F6 DM uses ferrous batteries, with no lithium content, that BYD says are high-energy density and low cost. BYD also developed the motors and software for the system. The company, which sold 100,000 cars last year, says the dual-mode system costs about $6,000. And then there's the Fisker Karma, a plug-in luxury sedan projected to go on sale at the end of 2009 with a 50-mile range on lithium-ion batteries. Then a 4-cylinder gas engine takes over. Fisker says the base price will be $80,000.
04/Feb/2008
[60228]

after reading this comment, it is obvious you need medical help
11/Feb/2008
[60314]

More good news for a PHEV conversion so my wife can drive it, I prefer my bicycle.

from Hymotion A123 website.You can now sign up!

Individual conversion modules will be available in early 2008. To sign up to receive notice when our BREMs become available, please fill out our Hymotion BREM Request Form.
17/Feb/2008
[60400]

Also this info at the new website ourpower.org

How will the conversions process work?

We have spoken with two battery/conversion companies (A123Systems and Valence) and have established the following requirements for this initiative:

The conversion will cost no more than $10,000. The conversion module will meet federal safety and reliability testing—the same National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) standards automakers must meet. The battery will be at least 5 kWh battery (at least 20 miles all electric range at low speeds) and no emission or drive train parts or components from the original vehicle will be replaced or removed.

The battery company will offer a three-year/36,000 mile warranty for the battery/conversion module.* Conversions to start in early 2008. * An important note. To date, Toyota has indicated it may void the emissions system warranty on any Toyota hybrid converted to a plug-in. The emissions system warranty includes the battery. We hope the company will reconsider this for conversions that meet federal safety and emissions standards. Of the companies that are able to meet the Leadership Group’s minimum criteria, we will select the one that can provide participants with the best deal for their investment in terms of price, technology, and safety.
17/Feb/2008
[60401]

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