Man Converts Old VW Passat to Electric, Does 90,000 Miles in 10 Years

This is one of the most inspiring stories, not because EV conversions are uncommon, but because the guy drove the VW day after day for ten years, racking up 90,000 miles. Think of all that carbon.

The Passat in question is a 2001 model, the popular B5, well known for its simple mechanics and relatively rust-proof body. The owner bought it in 2008 and got a good deal because a seized camshaft made it a non-runner.

For the battery, several small cells were installed wherever possible, mostly under the hood and in the spare tire well. Combined, they offer 33kWh, so even though the conversion was done a decade ago, it's got more juice in the trunk than a BMW i3, which has 22 kWh (18.8 usable). Range isn't fantastic at about 100 miles (162 km), but the owner never took it past 70 miles (110 km).

The electric motor is a 90 kW Siemens AC induction engine from the Ford Ranger EV program. Apparently, Ford made OEM conversions between 1998 and 2002, leasing about 1,400 units. And did we mention it's a manual? Yes, a manual electric Volkswagen.

The total cost of this conversion was $25,000, about half of which is in the battery pack. It's not cheap or particularly cool to look at. But it saves gas, doesn't need any oil changes. Obviously, it's not as simple as putting Duracells in a Passat and calling it a day, so we'll leave it to the owner to explain how he built his own EV drive inverter. Only in California...