What’s a great way to teach kids about automobiles and electricity at the same time? If you go to school in West New York, New Jersey, the answer is Ron Grosinger’s after school activity where a Volkswagon Cabriolet is being converted into an electric vehicle.
According to the video below, it will go up to 70 miles per hour, with a 40 mile range. It will run on 12 lead acid batteries, which produce 144 volts. I’d have to assume the current draw is pretty high as well! This should work for most people, since if you’re able to plug in every night, you don’t really need a car with a 300 mile or more range.
The price tag for one of these cars seems pretty cheap at around $14,000. However, once the “hundreds of hours of work” claimed in the video’s description are taken into account, it might not look like such a bargain! On the other hand, you do get to learn a lot about how it works, and hopefully pick up some useful shop skills in the process.
According to the video, you can plug a car like this anywhere, such as at a friend’s house or even at a coffee shop. If the latter becomes a trend, I can only imagine how much money they will have to start charging for a cup of coffee!
ADVERTISEMENT
