West Palm Beach company converts Toyota Priuses to plug-in Hybrids by Rich Pollack Saturday, February 14, 2009
Jonathan Ortiz is a man of vision. Several years before Mercedes-Benz agreed to bring the Smart Car to the U.S., Ortiz had persuaded his family to buy the cars from importers and begin selling them at the family's West Palm Beach dealership, Foreign Affairs. "We knew it was the time for it," Ortiz says, who had Smart Cars in 2006, when SUVs were still the hottest wheels on the market. "We knew there was a change coming." Ortiz and Foreign Affairs are now setting out to get ahead of the curve once more, this time taking the technology that will power the cars of the future and using it on cars of today. Beginning this month, Foreign Affairs will be converting Toyota Prius vehicles from traditional hybrids to plug-in hybrids. Essentially, what that means is Prius owners can spend an extra $10,000 to have a kit -- the A123 Hymotion Plug-in Conversion Module -- installed in their car and transform it into one that can run on electricity for the first 30 to 40 miles. "This is especially ideal for a person who drives around town or for fleet vehicles because you're going to get 100 plus miles to the gallon," says Ortiz, director of business development at Foreign Affairs. While the conversion kits have been around for a while -- until recently there were only five authorized Hymotion installers -- Foreign Affairs is the only site in Florida that has been approved as a certified Hymotion installation provider. Ortiz set his sites on getting an agreement with Hymotion because he knows that plug-in hybrids will be big in a very short time and demand will grow. By the end of next year and the beginning of 2011, plug-in hybrids like the Chevy Volt and similar offerings from other manufacturers will become available but initially, production of those will be limited and the cars hard to get. The kit from Hymotion makes it possible to use the same technology that will be the heart and soul of the production plug-in hybrids and use it in today's cars. Here's how it works: The factory-made Prius, like many other hybrids available today, runs on a combination of electricity and gasoline. Nickel metal hydride batteries are charged by the gasoline engine during the driving process. When the car reaches certain speeds the gasoline engine kicks in. With the conversion kit, a lithium ion battery -- the same type that will be used in the Volt -- is fitted where the spare tire is now. When the car is running, regardless of speed, it is being driven entirely by the electric engine. If the battery runs low, a sensor is triggered and the car automatically converts to the gasoline engine. Using a regular household outlet, the lithium-ion battery can be fully recharged in less than six hours. For right now, Ortiz says, the kit is only available for 2004-2009 Prius hybrids, and there's a pretty good reason for that. Before the kits launched, Hymotion went through the process of getting the converted Prius vehicles certified by the government and crash tested. The company also worked with Toyota to ensure that the conversion would not void the vehicle's warranty. The company is, however, exploring conversion models for other hybrid vehicles. Those customers who get a Hymotion conversion will also discover that the work can be done in one day and that all the conversion parts are covered by a three-year warranty. For Ortiz and Foreign Affairs, a company that sells pre-owned foreign luxury vehicles and repairs luxury imports, the designation as a certified Hymotion installation partner is part of a natural progression that has led to the creation of Foreign Affairs Zero!, a division that focuses on zero emissions vehicles. In addition to selling what are known as neighborhood electric vehicles -- small cars that can reach speeds up to 40 mph -- Foreign Affairs also sells the Vectrix VX1, the world's first two-wheel highway capable electric motorcycle which can top 62 mph and has a range between 35 and 55+ miles. In fact, the Vectrix is the only vehicle owned by Ortiz, who discovered electric vehicles -- and smart cars -- while studying in Rome for a year. "What I saw in Europe was that electric vehicles are just fascinating," he said. "There's less noise pollution, the latest technology and zero emissions." To find out more, visit www.ForeignAffairsAuto.com. _______________________________________________ Florida EAA mailing list [email protected] http://www.floridaeaa.org
