There is still a case to be made to build individual and small-company EV conversions. It may not be a for-profit "business", but it's still worth doing. After all, many individuals and organizations don't do things for money; they do them for other reasons that can be just as important.
Not every EV has to be built to include every comfort and luxury of a modern ICE, and turn a profit as well. Some are to investigate market opportunities that the "big guys" have overlooked. The Ford model T, BMW Isetta, VW Beetle, etc. were all unconventional cars that nevertheless were cheap, highly repairable, and wound up selling in large numbers. Some are R&D projects. They test ideas, advance the state of the art, or demonstrate that some alternative approach really *does* work. The Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar, Solectria Sunrise, and Tesla Roadster were all experimental EVs that greatly advanced the state of EVs. Some are "art" projects. An individual may want to keep driving his beloved vintage automobile after its troublesome ICE is beyond repair. Or, he may want to score ecological points, or just do it for fun. The vehicles that the Dutch students are building exactly demonstrate these principles. As-is, they aren't *practical* for-profit vehicles, but they demonstrate that similar vehicles are *possible*. Just as the Aerovironment Impact wasn't practical, but GM turned it into the EV1; a practical car that did prove that EVs could match conventional ICEs in comfort and performance. -- "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win" - Mahatma Gandhi -- Lee A. Hart https://www.sunrise-ev.com _______________________________________________ Address messages to [email protected] No other addresses in TO and CC fields HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/
