Sustain the World's Environment

Ashton Stark is only 14 but he has converted his grandfather's old VW Beetle into an electric vehicle at the cost of just $4,000. The Canadian youth isn't even old enough to drive his handiwork! After researching the technology behind electric vehicles and after a year of labour, he completed his project and now has a fully functional electric car that can travel up to 50 miles on a full charge, at speeds up to 45 mph and all for less than 10 cents a day! “It is my grandpa’s 72 Super Beetle,” he said. “I think he would love it and be incredibly proud of it.” He used 9  separate 8 volt golf cart batteries, with 5 in the rear and 4 in the front of the vehicle. The vehicle  is driven by a single cylindrical drive shaft which is connected to the original shaft of the Volkswagens transmission. Noel Stark, Ashton’s father, said he has driven the vehicle many times, and he believes it is not only green conscious, it is also inexpensive and practical to operate. For more...

Image by Kevin Krejci via Flickr When a company the size of Ford starts taking an interest in electric cars then it means that the idea of electric cars has become mainstream. The Ford Focus is one of the most popular small family cars on the market. Since its introduction in 1998, almost 10 million have been sold worldwide. Thus year will see the third generation of the model. However, the electric version was demonstrated in 2008 and Ford plans to have it launched later this year in the USA . It will launch in Europe in 2012. Like other electric cars this will have a lithium-ion battery - though with a difference. Ford have announced that it will be liquid cooled battery and its hoped this will increase battery life and increase the range the car can travel before requiring recharging. Another innovation is that when the battery is being recharged, the battery will be brought to an optimal temperature before recharging starts. This is meant to maximise the performance of...