Why not turn that gas guzzling Ford F150 into a plug-in hybrid, PHEV?
How does it work? Well, the Illinois Institute of Technology has a Master’s program on hybrids and it came up with the genius idea to spin off a private company working on converting these types of trucks to PHEV. Talk about one stone, two birds. Our friends at Gas2.or picked up on this story.
So what’s the gist? The new company called Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technology, HEVT created a bolt-on module to convert your every day Ford 150 into a sipping 41mpg PHEV, a heaven sent compared to your 14mpg it normally gets.
How does it work? 15 miles on electricity and the rest is gas operated at a sober 41mpg.
Converting pickup trucks and SUVs into PHEV would make a very big difference for many people stuck with vehicles becoming harder and harder to operate. Here is what further picked our interest: “the larger the vehicle, the greater the benefits – in gas costs, particulate and greenhouse emissions, and sound pollution.” according to HEVT who feels transit and school buses will greatly benefit from these types of conversions. It makes sense, when heavier trucks cost more to operate, converting saves money in a few years.
OK, what’s the cost? $60,000 might seem like a lot but considering an F250 will set you back $100,000 to own it the first 5 years and the conversion makes sense. Factor in the price on driving a mile on regular gas and you clearly have a winning solution for many people.
As always, the more conversions done and sold, the most likely the price will come down. We believe, once people factor in the price of ownership and gas, it will make sense to squeeze in a few more hundred miles out of these trucks.