article thumbnail

Looking to get in a hybrid for cheap? Used Toyota Prius 1.5 HSD 2004-2009 Review

Green Car Congress

I knew I wanted something for her that was cheap to maintain, had a reliable automatic transmission, came with cruise control, AC. There is a 12-volt battery in the trunk of the car responsible for supplying electricity for the car to start. 11 volts, we can look for a new battery. It was time to buy our first car.

2004 409
article thumbnail

A DIY E-bike Conversion on the Cheap

Cars That Think

Here I took advantage of already owning an electric lawnmower, figuring that the 40-volt, 4-ampere-hour battery I had for it would serve well. Bluetooth module plugged into the ESC. Being an open-source design no doubt keeps the price of this hardware down: The controller I bought set me back a mere $85.

DIY 145
article thumbnail

What plug-in car would you send your kids back to school in? Twitter poll results

Green Car Reports

Last week, we asked our Twitter followers which plug-in car they might choose to send their kids back to school. Options ranged from the relatively affordable Nissan Leaf that offers great lease deals, to a plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt, to a not-so-cheap used Tesla Model S. What plug-in.

Plug-in 66
article thumbnail

A DIY E-bike Conversion on the Cheap

Cars That Think

Here I took advantage of already owning an electric lawnmower, figuring that the 40-volt, 4-ampere-hour battery I had for it would serve well. Bluetooth module plugged into the ESC. Being an open-source design no doubt keeps the price of this hardware down: The controller I bought set me back a mere $85.

DIY 98
article thumbnail

Cash for Volts?

Revenge of the Electric Car

to offer tax credits for buying all-electric plug-in vehicles as part of a $128 billion program to get seven million such cars on the road by 2018. All stressed that plug-in technology already exists and just needs a push on the financial front from Congress.&#. UPDATE:Group Seeks US Tax Credits To Spur Electric Car Use.

Volt 100
article thumbnail

The Business of Plugging In: Building the Full Ecosystem for a Successful Plug-in Vehicle Industry in the US

Green Car Congress

As one of the speakers put it to the attendees, the bulk of which came from Southeast Michigan, plug-in vehicles will a major career path for most of the people in the room. “I’m very encouraged that carmakers now see as allies the utilities, plug-in advocates, community and regional efforts like ProjectGetReady.”

Plug-in 210
article thumbnail

GM Shanghais the Volt

Plugs and Cars

The Technology Review published by MIT reports on the hydrogen fuel cell version of the Volt announced in Shanghai. If you're going to the trouble of building a plug-in and therefore have an electric drive train and a battery capable of storing a charge, then you could have a cheap gasoline engine along with you, or an expensive fuel cell."

Volt 100