Electric car goes 60 miles for $1.20

By: Dave Balut

Tampa, Florida - From the inside, the car Victor Juarez is driving doesn't seem much different than any other vehicle, except for the sound.

"Well it's like a little 'weee' and someone told me it's like a monorail sound."

This 1997 Nissan Sentra came from a junkyard near Mexico City, and is now a demonstration vehicle, capable of getting around with plenty of pep. But it's hard to tell why this car is so different, until you take a close look at the $8,000 conversion under the hood.

Seven batteries under the hood and eight more in the trunk power this pure electric car with a 27-horsepower motor, not an engine.

"It's about the same horsepower as a regular four-cylinder, 100 horsepower engine."

Juarez is converting municipal vehicles and taxis in Mexico City to electric cars. He's hoping to do the same thing in the Tampa Bay area, through his company Clean Vehicle Research Institute, or CLE.VE.R.

"What we will accomplish in Tampa is before the end of the year, we will start seeing electric cars and have Tampa as a lead in the green movement."

Instead of going to a gas station and filling up, you're getting home and plugging in. It takes you about seven hours to charge in a normal charge in a regular outlet, or about two and a half hours if you're using a washer outlet.

And the cost of electricity for 60 miles? According to Juarez, about $1.20.

"So operational costs over the course of four years not just only pay for the conversion, but puts about $5,000... $6,000 in your pocket."

Juarez admits this electric car isn't for everyone, but says it could work for drivers who travel less than 60 miles at a time.

Depending on how the car is set up, it has a top speed of either 65, or 85 miles per hour.

Juarez plans to have his Clean Vehicle Research Institute up and running in Tampa sometime this spring.