brainstorming an electric vehicle

[MetroMPG]

If the regular commute is 3 miles, and the roads are safe for cycling, what about looking at buying/converting a bicycle to electric? It'd only be good for part of the year, but it'd be a lot more efficient and way cheaper.

(EDIT: plus you don't have the hassle/expense of inspections, insurance, parking, licence plates etc.)

[Matt Timion]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

If the regular commute is 3 miles, and the roads are safe for cycling, what about looking at buying/converting a bicycle to electric? It'd only be good for part of the year, but it'd be a lot more efficient and way cheaper.

(EDIT: plus you don't have the hassle/expense of inspections, insurance, parking, licence plates etc.)

She actually rides her bike in the spring/summer/part of the fall. She's opposed to getting an electric bike though... something about it being too "dorky."

Maybe I should just convert my spare mountain bike to electric for runs to the grocery store.

[The Toecutter]

If you want to do that kind of range on a budget, you're going to need a small, efficient car to keep battery cost per mile of range down. The batteries will be your largest budget component.

You're definately going to need a lightweight car, with lots of efficiency modifications. A heavy, unaerodynamic pickup truck will drive the battery costs for 60 miles range over your budget.

Try to throw out a few specific vehicles, and I might be able to recommend some setups to you. You will definately be doing a lot of scrounging for used surplus starter-generators and you will need to learn how to build your own contactor controller. It's pretty simple to make a battery charger with a bridge rectifier circuit as well.

One of your N600s looks like a great choice of donor, but you might have to remove the back seats to get enough battery room. And its aerodynamics aren't very good; you'll need aeromods. Even at a modest 30 mph, they will make a pretty noticable difference in range. LRR tires can extend range greatly as well.