article thumbnail

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

Green Car Congress

On the way there, I made a pit stop at a gas station to buy a bottle of champagne as a gift, hoping to start out a conversation with a stranger on the right foot. They had some inverter issues in the 3rd Generation Prius in which the hybrid technology changed, but Toyota issued a recall for that.

2004 409
article thumbnail

My Conversion Journal - help me begin please

DIY Electric Car

m thinking of converting are an old BMW such as a 318i, 1994 EUNOS 30X, Maserati Bi-Turbo, Lotus Elite; Mazda MX5, RX7, Pontiac Fiero; Nissan Exa, 200SX or any number of sporty Nissans, Toyota Celica or any number or sporty Toyotas, Honda Integra or any number of sporty Hondas, MG 1997-8, old MG sports.

article thumbnail

Best speakers ever

Electric Auto Association

When Straubel—also known for his 1984 Porsche 944 EV conversion—left Tesla, he founded Redwood Materials , a leading lithium battery recycling company in Carson City, Nevada. That was quite a conversion.” It was mostly members with electric conversions. After that, the word spread fast.” Staubel Roadter intro at EAASV meeting.

EV1 52
article thumbnail

Soot and Spin: Two Plug-in Paradoxes

Plugs and Cars

Required reading: Bill Moore's EVWorld review and Martin Zimmerman's LA Times piece about their test drives of the Toyota Plug-in Prius and the hydrogen fuel cell Highlander FCHV. Third-party and DIY converters can't muck with every system on a car. It also spreads doubt about the enviro bona fides of plug-ins.

Plug-in 100
article thumbnail

How to Get a Plug-In Hybrid

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

Conversions are mostly for the Prius, with a few for the Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner hybrid SUVs. At that point, we expect the aftermarket companies prices to have come down sufficiently so that their conversions will be attractive to owners of hundreds of thousands of hybrids already on the road. So far, most start as hybrids.

Plug-in 41
article thumbnail

MAEAA Web Links

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

Chevrolet S-10 :Brian has a new and very nice conversion. Chevrolet S-10 :Jim Coates very clean conversion Chevrolet S-10 :Mark Brueggemanns neat project, and more. Comutacar : Scott HullsC-cars and upgrades DaihatsuFellow Van : Interesting Japanese conversion. FordExpress : Svein Medhus has the first EV conversion in Norway.

article thumbnail

Automakers agree on common plug to recharge electric vehicles

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

Were told that the agreement includes nods of acceptance from the likes of Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Fiat, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Eon, Vattenfall, EDF, Npower, Endesa and Enel, and while theres no time frame for when itll be introduced, were pretty stoked to hear that at least something has been decided upon. In a word, no.