I would think so, just due to less mechanical parts, way less.  Assuming the parts in the kit are quality to begin with.  Check out their site. They are based in Palo Alto, so not too far from you.

tonka92x wrote:

theleveler wrote:

Well I'll be damned...  Gonna discuss this with the wife tonight (we're in the market for a third car).  I wonder how hard this would be to maintain myself.  Possibly easier than a bmw with a real engine in it?

Daily maintenance will likely be required. 

I've seen plenty of DIY conversions that have ranged from extremely crude to extremely well done, and I'd place this conversion at slightly better than average.  All of the conversions I've seen required daily maintenance because, for the most part, these people don't have a clue at to how to make them reliable.  This one isn't any different.  Exposed electronics mounted to a battery terminal will fail, it isn't a question of if but when.  The battery pack is highly suspicious, they obviously haven't done any thermal testing an have no means to cool or heat the batteries.  I doubt the battery pack will last more than a couple of years.

When you look at a Volt, Leaf, or a Tesla, you will see that they are light years ahead of these guys in understanding and implementing what it takes to make for a reliable.

Excellent points!  I definitely see your wisdom after seeing this guy:



I do not trust that haircut with my car.

Tonka wins.

Take a look at the engine bay close up.  CPU fand on teh heat sink, rat's nest wiring... Looks like a nightmare.

Last edited by tlow98 (2012-05-24 08:18:50)

Love that school bus puke orange color 

100 mile range?  Meh.

Electric cars are a joke anyway.  Useful maybe for city run-abouts, but not as a viable large-scale solution.

tonka92x wrote:

When you look at a Volt, Leaf, or a Tesla, you will see that they are light years ahead of these guys in understanding and implementing what it takes to make for a reliable.

Of course Tesla, Nissan, and GM are light years ahead, agreed.  I spent a couple days at the Tesla plant last year, drove their roadster, and spent time with their new S line.  You are right, light years ahead.. and awesome cars.  That is what over 800 million dollars of funding and R&D will buy you.  I fully support Elon, Tesla, and what they are doing.. I just can't afford 100k for the roadster, or 72k for their new sedan that is being released very soon.

As far as the EMW, and their owner w/ the bad haircut, I am more interested in buying the kit than having him build one for me.   But I like to see an independent company doing what they can to try to compete with the big guys.

Silently wrote:

DeltaV wrote:

100 mile range?  Meh.

Electric cars are a joke anyway.  Useful maybe for city run-abouts, but not as a viable large-scale solution.

Yet.

I can imagine people at the turn of the 20th century...  "You mean you have to fill that thing up with gas every so often?  That'll never catch on, my horse goes for days..."

Horses are made from grass and, well, other horses, which were plentiful and self-processing.

Cars are made from iron and run on oil, both of which were (at least at one time) plentiful and reasonably easy to process.

Fancy battery packs, however, rely on materials which are much less plentiful, come from countries such as China which are just a hair friendlier than the Mid East & Venezuela, and require more advanced and environmentally complicated processing.  There is enough of the stuff around so that urbanites can feel like they're doing something to help the environment (and it may be a good choice for them if it is mainly used for short-distance commuting with the occasional day-trip), but not enough to 'fuel' even the transportation needs of America (cars, buses, heavy trucks, and aircraft), let alone the rest of the world.

Justin80 wrote:

It's no E30