A recent upstart ZElectricBug is having a go at it, one of the cases you pointed out. Will be interesting to watch.
On September 26, 2014 3:15:37 PM CDT, EVDL Administrator via EV <[email protected]> wrote: >On 26 Sep 2014 at 10:15, Rick Beebe via EV wrote: > >> In order to make it work on a massive scale you have to pick one or >two >> models of cars so that you can streamline the process and make >> standardized components like battery racks. Choose the wrong car and >> you're dead because no one will buy it. > >Even if you choose right, you have only a few years at best before the >automaker redesigns the car. Then you have the choice of redesigning >your >conversion, retooling, making new molds and dies and so on; or letting >your >conversions get older and more used. People who are paying something >north >of $25k for a car don't want an 8-10 year old car, even if it's >electric, so >the answer to this one isn't hard to find. > >You could pick a "classic car" glider to convert. But there you run >into >availability problems - clean gliders and parts. You also have to >restore >the vehicle before you can convert it. It becomes a real challenge to >sell >the car for a profit at a price that any normal person can or will pay. > >You could contract with an automaker, almost always in Asia or Eastern >Europe, to supply you with new gliders. You end up buying from small, >financially strapped automakers whose vehicles aren't state of the art >or >appealing to buyers. Your supplier is also more likely to go out of >business >or stop offering cars in your country. (Electricar of Athol Fiats and >Renaults, anyone?) > >Hobbyists have built thousands of conversions, some better than others, >of >course, but often quite successfully. There's a whole mini-industry >that >serves EV hobbyists with components, batteries, and even a few kits >(where >model-specific, mostly for now rather old cars and trucks). It's a >small >but still (I think / hope) viable business. > >However, I can't think of a case where EV conversion has ever really >been >what you'd call successful on a commercial scale. Solectria probably >came >closest, and IIRC they only sold 300-some cars and trucks during the >1990s. > >David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA >EVDL Administrator > >= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >EVDL Information: http://www.evdl.org/help/ >= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = >Note: mail sent to "evpost" and "etpost" addresses will not >reach me. To send a private message, please obtain my >email address from the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ . >= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = > > >_______________________________________________ >UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub >http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org >For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA >(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20140926/0a87819a/attachment.htm> _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
