[ausev] Donated cars, was Z3 Conversion Starting

[Carey King]

Chris,

I agree with most of your questions. Brian Menses of 800 Charity Cars 
sounded kind of up for the idea of either also donating money or teaming 
up to raise money to convert cars. In that sense, maybe we could convert 
cars and (1) use them for educational purposes, (2) donate/sell them to 
other non-profits, or (3) something else. What to do with them IF it all 
worked out somehow is not clear to me (as to what a good idea is).

As far as the types of cars go, I would assume we could specify the 
types of cars that we'd take. Their program as it is does some sort of 
evaluation of the cars, as they either salvage the car or give it to 
some low income family. Thus, we could get cars that are 'pre-screened' 
by them according to EV-friendly specifications, then further review 
could dictate their EV conversion feasibility. If the vehicle doesn't 
seem good enough, then perhaps we could do the same as them and just try 
to get some money from salvage.

I'm not sure how many cars and of what kinds of quality the charity car 
place gets, so that would likely determine a lot in terms of feasibility 
of some kind of partnership at all.

Anyway, that was my basic thinking just in terms of getting more EVs on 
the road (whether or not someone in Austin EV drives them). A lot 
depends upon how much 800 Charity Cars cares to partner up, if at all.

carey

Chris Robison wrote:

>On Wed, October 25, 2006 9:30 pm, Carey King said:
>
>  
>
>>FYI I've been trying to recontact the potential source for donated cars
>>for EV conversions from the car donation program, and he sounds
>>interested but claims to be too busy to think about it much. I'll keep
>>politely nagging him.
>>    
>>
>
>Can you elaborate on your plans and reasoning for doing this?
>
>In my opinion such a source of cars to convert is of uncertain value, for
>a few reasons:
>
>First, typically the car factors as a minor proportion of the cost of a
>conversion. By saving a couple thousand on an old used car, you're making
>only a small dent in the cost of a conversion, and it may be worth it to
>most people to spend a little to get the car they want, instead of just
>taking whatever comes their way via donation.
>
>Second, selecting a car to convert is a process that involves examining
>the structure of a particular car, looking for what advantages and
>disadvantages that car might present for holding batteries, motor, etc.
>
>Then there's the personal angle -- the car to convert needs to be in good
>shape and aesthetically pleasing. It needs to be a car you *want* to drive
>and "preserve" for the future with an electric powertrain.
>
>Say we do succeed in getting a supply of donated cars to convert -- what
>then? Who gets them? What do we do with them?
>
>  --chris
>
>
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