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  • HIgh school student builds electric car.

    Bangshift goodness right here.



    GRANT CITY, MO (KCTV) - With higher gas prices, everyone is looking for ways to save money at the pump.

    But one Northwest Missouri high school senior found a way to get nearly 200 miles per gallon in his transportation.

    Don Gibson, 18, does not have the coolest looking car in the parking lot.

    "A lot of people consider me to be weird... I just take that as a compliment," he said.

    It doesn't really look like there's a lot to his 1994 Geo Metro. But, when he bought it, he pulled out the gas engine and replaced it with an electric forklift engine he bought on eBay.

    "They're fairly cheap on eBay, sometimes you can find them for under $200," Gibson said.

    Gibson has been driving his electric car for his entire senior year and said it tops out around 62 miles per hour. He admits for long trips, it's probably not the car of choice but, for his daily 16-mile treks to school and back, it's perfect.

    "If you were to use better batteries, you could have a range of about 300 miles, but I didn't have the ability to buy those," he said.

    It took Gibson close to three years to complete the project. Finding a way to hook up the five-speed transmission was the hardest part.

    Now that it's complete, Gibson is surprised Detroit automakers are not making smaller electric cars like his.

    "If you live in a small community and you just need to drive around town, this is the most ideal vehicle you could drive," he said.

    The Geo Metro has 12 batteries and pulls 144 volts. It has passed Missouri's inspection and is licensed for the street. Gibson said it takes a six-hour charge overnight to get him back and forth to school.

    The charging costs about 25 cents, so he's getting an equivalent of around 200 miles per gallon compared to a gas engine.

    But cold mornings can cause problems.

    "These batteries don't do well in cold temps, but newer lithium battery technology doesn't have a problem with cold temperatures," Gibson said.

    Gibson plans on being an engineer after college. He hopes to find new ways to make cars like his run.

    "In the future, I would like to do my best to allow cheaper, more efficient, more environmentally-friendly transportation to be available to the public," he said.

    Gibson said his project doesn't end here. His next goal is to complete a wind-powered charging station to plug his car into.

    Gibson has put around $3,000 total in his electric car but said, if he were to do it again, he could probably knock about $1,000 off that price.
    If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

  • #2
    the 25 cent part.

    crock of crap.

    now that gas is 4 a gallon, that car is still barely worth it.

    clever idea..and battery, like all the engineering dead ends is the problem.

    I still think an over unity has an answer.

    a generator/engine riding momentum to feed the power source to feed the engine.

    if the concept of gas is compression and making it bang...why is momentum so scary to implement in real balance.
    it is the reason boxers are not mainstream, and benz cranks missing from v8s...somebody is scared of controlling it.

    I get mad at this subject.

    I am one who hooked up a battery to an electric engine that could drive an alternator..to charge the battery, and wondered why it did not work.

    the void missing is evil.
    /rant
    Previously boxer3main
    the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

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    • #3
      i guess youre missing the point that a high school student...built....the ....car.....and...it ...works...if you dont like electric cars, fine...but you have to give the young man a slap on the back for having built a freaking electric car.
      If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

      Comment


      • #4
        Joe, I am with you on this. The kid engaged his brain and actually made something cool. Now someone get him a hemi.

        Gives you that whole "hope for the future" thing when you know kids like this are out there thinking and creating like Jim's robotics kids.
        That which you manifest is before you.

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        • #5
          Exactly!

          I dont know one kid my daughter hangs out with that is capable of wiping his or her ass without adult supervision...let alone build a car from ebay parts!
          If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue

          Comment


          • #6
            the electric path is a slippery slope. He won't be buying a Hemi, he'll be getting a 2kw Zilla and stealing lithium battery packs from laptops to get his fix.

            at .125 per kw/h , I don't think the math is off on the recharge costs, Barry. Kids who build their own electric for 3000 bucks and don't electrocute themselves probably got that part right.

            I'm sure he's hooked, and good for him!
            Last edited by Beagle; May 8, 2012, 07:17 AM.
            Flying south, with a flock of bird dogs.

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