At least twice a week I pass by the glitzy Tesla Motors dealership, which kind of looks like the inside of a Virgin America airplane cabin (is recessed colored lighting in a dark room the new way of showing something is “hip”?). While Tesla can’t seem to get enough adulation in the press for its all-electric car, it is unlikely I will be driving one anytime soon as the current model costs something like $500,000 (although there are long range plans to move downmarket). Of course, if gas cost $50 a gallon like it does in Gaza electric cars start to look a lot more attractive. Now personally I would be too scared to go around modding cars anywhere UAV drones and Apache helicopters are circling overhead, but Waseem Khazendar and Fayaz Anan, two Palestinian engineers have developed a conversion kit to make cars electric.
The car can go a respectable 60mph with 15hp (which are measured differently for electric vs. internal combustion engines), with no reporting on the range between charges, one of the biggest stumbling blocks for electric cars being sold in other markets. Perhaps most amazingly, they engineers claim they will be able to do the conversion for a mere $1,700 a figure some experts find “baffling”. Unsurprisingly, Anan and Khazendar have a huge backlog of people wanting the conversion done and are limited primarily by how difficult it is to get necessary components through the blockade. Oooooh, I bet the Saudis are gonna be pissed if this catches on!
For the record, if gas gets that high I am going to buy a Venture One. It is the craziest car you have ever seen. For a video check out the review on BBC’s Top Gear, which is incidentally the best car show EVAR. I am surprised how many American gear heads don’t know about it. I do hear rumors about the development of a US version, which would probably suck. I mean, we yanks do droll sardonic humor really well (see how bad that was!?!?).
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Ahhh.. The Peugeot 205. So many memories, I used to steal my dad’s all the time… So many late night falafel runs with the boys.
Anyway, thses Gaza guys converted the car away from gasoline? You mean to tell me not all Arabs have secret pumps where they get free gas?
Posted by Fayyad | July 12, 2008, 3:43 pmHate to go too off topic, but I’m firmly in the Top Gear is Great category, and hope to high heaven Americans never, ever, ever try to make their own version.
Posted by Mohammad | July 13, 2008, 1:24 pmWoohoo, love this song! Running to add it to my ipod now!
Posted by Arabiyyeh | July 14, 2008, 10:53 am1) My bad, the tesla costs “only” $110,000.
2) Fayyad, maybe I have been in the ‘fest too long, but a “late night falafel run with the boys” sounds really dirty to me
3)Mohammed, i checked, an american version is in the works, with Adam Carolla as one of the hosts. god help us.
4) Arabiyyeh, …. And then we’ll take it higher!!!!
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Posted by aknvdjczA | June 29, 2009, 10:24 am8grkjl
Posted by Qvmswhsb | July 14, 2009, 5:52 pm