DIY Movement Sprouts for Electric Cars

DIY electric cars are not a new phenomenon, but they've been the hobby or interest of a pretty niche crowd for a long time, and it seems like they're becoming increasingly popular around the world, whether the major auto manufacturers embrace the technology or not.

A couple of years ago, two Canadians built a street-legal electric car (named the ForkenSwift) for $672. Before that, some MIT students converted a Porsche to electric, and a man in Utah just did the same all on his own. And while I can't say increasing the demand for yet another mineral is the best way to go to address an environmental problem, UK students have solved one of the obstacles to bringing electric cars to a broader scale by throwing extra lithium batteries into an electric car to give it a range of 248 miles.

Just this month came news of a Chinese man who not only created his own electric car, but made it out of salvaged materials and at a cost low enough to make commercialization appealing. If that happens, the car will cost about $820—making it the world's cheapest electric car. Zhang Haiting has been commuting to work for a year now in this car—which is adorably bumper car-like and is totally worth clicking through for the pictures.

NPR recently reported on Electro Automotive, a company that "has been converting gas-sucking cars into all-electric vehicles since 1979." Electro's founder Mike Brown, according to the story, "was the first to sell parts for gas-to-electric conversions, and he teaches workshops on DIY conversions. 'The market we focused on was the grocery-getter,' Brown says."

The growing market for electric cars may hurt Brown's business, but by increasing public awareness, it can also help it to grow.

And there certainly is growing interest. Online how-to guides are aplenty. And Trexa has put out an open-source model for a DIY electric car priced at $15,999 that Gizmag describes: "Modular and scalable, the standard Trexa platform will feature an aluminum, carbon steel tubing and thermoplastic shell containing open source and user programmable electronics and advanced battery technology."

If the limited range of an electric car still sounds troubling, a chronicle of a Beetle conversion over at Wired does a good job of reminding us why it's important, and that the benefits of emissions-free driving far outweigh the minor inconvenience of having to recharge for every x number of miles.

It's not like stopping to fill up at a gas station is a joy ride.