Electric Car Conversion?

Anon

How difficult/expensive would it be to convert a rwd import into an electric car with the motor(s) in the trunk? Would it be better to have the batteries closer to the motor or in the front where the engine would normally be? Would it be better to have an independent motor for each wheel or just one motor for both wheels? Is there any way to get a car like this to 120-140 mph? What would be the best car to try with as far as lightweight? I am obviously not a car guy, and this is just an idea for a project if it is possible to accomplish. This car would be built like a racer/drifter depending on what is possible.

Please no haters, this is just curiosity.
@dick car guy- What if the car was for short races, 1/4 mile or short drift courses. and the transport was mainly towed by trailer? Wouldn't it require less batteries and possibly offer longer battery life from less use?

Answer
well I was looking this up myself yesterday, and from what I read it's enough info to discourage me from wanting to convert unless my engine dies on me. What I picked up from research generally was a complete kit will cost anywhere between 4000-8000 dollars, u need countless hours of work or you can get someone to do the work for you for $3000, and mileage and speed is limited (around 50-100 miles on a full charge and up to 80 mph). Oh you also need your entire front engine bay and a good part of your trunk to house the bulky batteries used to power your vehicle.
I'm not trying to discourage you from going through with this conversion, I'm just letting you know it's not easy.
If you really want an electric car, I suggest you search around your area where someone is selling his/her already converted electric car. Although theres only a few out there, you're bound to find some. Good luck on your project!

Looking for a Govt. Grant to purchase an New Electric Car.?

sacp

Please tell me where to find the right grants to apply for. Please no member ship sites as grants are free and so is the application.

Answer
No such grants -- otherwise everyone will be buying electric cars, which you obviously know is not true

You can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two FREE sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support your purposes.

There's none

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Why do car manufacturers make hybrid and electric cars ugly?

best looking electric cars image

John P

It seems as though most hybrid and/or electric cars built by the big manufacturers are very ugly to look at. Why is this? One could almost get the impression that they don't want them to sell.

Answer
Your question doesn't make much sense to me.

Most hybrids look identical to the non-hybrid model version. The only hybrid that looks different is the Prius, because it has no non-hybrid version, and is designed that way in order to make it the most aerodynamic car on the road, which is part of the reason it's got the best fuel economy available.

The Civic hybrid looks like the Civic, the Explorer hybrid looks like the Explorer, the Camry hybrid looks like the Camry, etc. etc.

As for EVs, for one thing again they have to make them aerodynamic, and there's not a big market for new technology anyway, so they're trying to make the cars appealing by making them look 'futuristic' or 'cool'. What you think is 'ugly' another person will think looks cool.

That being said, if you want a standard (some might call boring) looking EV, there is the Miles Javlon and Phoenix SUT:

http://www.milesev.com/index.asp#hsv.swf
http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com/index.php

Tesla the way to go for an electric car?

Jepedo47

Ive been looking at purchasing an electric car recently and have found tesla motors to have some banging cars. However I couldn't find many others. So, dose anyone out there know of any company's that are currently selling electric cars that don't look super strange?

Answer
There is the global project called Better Place that is aiming to mass produce electric vehicles that cost the same as regular cars because you buy the car not the battery. They are working to supply the infrastructure to charge and swap batteries all powered by renewable and costs less than petrol. If you check out these sites itâll all be explained. It might not be happening near you yet but if you check out the sites youâll find out when you can access the future of private automobiles.

http://www.betterplace.com/global-progress/

http://www.ted.com/talks/shai_agassi_on_electric_cars.html

P.S. Good on you for thinking about your purchases impact on the Globe

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