Before I had come to know about this amazing car, if someone had asked what could I create with a Geo Metro, a golf cart, an electric forklift and some used batteries, my answer would have been simple: Not Much! But, thanks to the genius of Darin Cosgrove and Ivan Limburg, now I know better!

Cosgrove and Limburg, who are from Brockville, Ontario, have come up with a truly impressive and innovative car ( that is easy on the pocket too!), using precisely the same materials I mentioned earlier. The duo hit upon the idea of creating this car while searching for a project for Limburg’s new workshop. New in this field, and wary of taking bank loans, the pair, after studying a couple of DIY electric car conversations on the web, decided to build an EV,using second-hand parts and supplies. The duo also managed to get some equipments for free, and even managed to recover some of their costs by selling left-over inputs.

Cosgrove and Limburg sold off the engine and the newish gas tank of their Geo Metro, and acquired most of the electric parts they required from an old forklift, that cost $500. They also managed to recover much of its cost by selling one of the extra motors, and the 16,000 lb chassis.

The car that they designed runs on second-hand lead acid batteries. Regarding the procurement of the batteries, Cosgrove recounts,

We met another EV owner who liked what we were doing, so he gave us a bunch of used batteries he had just replaced in his own EV.

The second-hand lead, however, results in the car covering only about half the distance on charge, compared to a car with brand-new batteries.

This unique electric car is priced at $ 672, a very, very reasonable price tag, judging by any yardstick. (In fact, its not reasonable, its real cheap, isn’t it?) A look at the small 48 volt battery reveals the secret of this extremely low price. Only eight 6-volt batteries have been used in this car, apart from a motor controller ( that was acquired from the golf cart) by Cosgrove and Limburg—hence they have been able to keep the car far from being expensive.

Since relatively more expensive components and extra batteries were avoided by the designers, the target performance level of this car was always low. The car, not being a very powerful EV, does not go very far, or indeed very fast either—although its performance is pretty satisfactory on streets that are not congested.

The top speed of this electric Metro is 65 km/h ( or, 40 mph), and has reportedly covered more than 650 kilometres (400 miles) on charge—since hitting the roads a few months back. No extra fuel, in the form of oil, or gas, had been required. The range of the car is 9-15 miles (on a single charge), and it costs about 3 cents per kilometer, running on renewable, clean electricity. Now that’s pretty cost-efficient, when you consider that the cost of driving a pickup truck is 12 cents per km.

With the second-hand ingredients used, the engine of this electric Metro is, as expected, not of the highest quality. But it really is cost-efficient, giving Cosgrove and Limburg plenty of reasons to smile about!

Source: EcoModder176177