Happy plug-in Prius Monday. Both the Wall Street Journal and the San Francisco Chronicle give the converted plug-in Prius glowing reviews in this morning’s papers.
The Wall Street Journal tests a plug-in Prius with a battery pack from A123 Systems. Ric Fulop, co-founder of A123 Systems tells the WSJ that his company is looking to make plug-in conversion systems available to individuals for the Prius or Ford Escape early next year.
A123 acquired plug-in conversion company Hymotion and the combined company has been doing conversions for clients such as Google and the state of California. For individuals, Fulop says that a system that can extend the electric-only range of a Prius by 40 miles will cost about $10,000, and a 20-mile system about half that. Check out the video clip:
The Chronicle does a test drive of a plug-in Prius owned by Felix Kramer, founder of nonprofit California Cars Initiative. Here’s Kramer’s own write up on his web site. Kramer’s plug-in was converted by Energy CS, in Monrovia, Calif. and cost about $15,000 to convert.
Hybrids-Plus in Boulder, Colorado converted the plug-in that Dave is documenting, and the company gives prices of $ 24,000 for the PHEV-15, and $ 32,500 for the PHEV-30. That’s steep!
Here’s more how-to info if you’re interested in spending some serious cash for a conversion.
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