Converted Toyota Prius Achieves 583 Mpg

April 27, 2010 - PRLog -- PAPILLION, NE --  27 April 2010 --  After completing a trio of system upgrades that included several software patches, as well as the installation of a more robust accessory battery charger and new system control panel, a 2009 Toyota Prius achieved 583 miles per gallon over an 11-mile city commute.  The car, owned by EV World.com publisher and his wife, Bill and Judy Moore, followed the identical route that Mrs. Moore drives daily between their home in Papillion, a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska and her workplace,  a distance of 5.4 miles one-way.  

The Prius, which the Moore's bought last September after it was totaled in a collision in Texas and restored by Steve Woodruff in southern Indiana, was converted by San Diego-based Plug In Conversions Corporation in early October, 2009.  The conversion involved replacing the standard Panasonic 1.3kW battery pack with a Gold Peak 6.1kW pack, giving the hybrid the ability to drive up to 30km (20 miles) on electric power or in "blended-mode," which sparingly uses the Prius' 1.4L gasoline engine for assistance.  In blended mode the car can achieve upwards of 120-160 mpg.

The new upgrades now make it possible to better manage the flow of energy from the battery and control when the engine turns on.  During the 11-mile round-trip test commute with four adults on board, the car used the gasoline engine for approximately one mile to assist in climbing a hill on the route.  The rest of the time the car traveled at speeds up to 47 mph in electric-only mode; its top speed in this mode being 70 mph.  Apart from the minute amount of gasoline consumed during the trip, the car utilized half of the energy in the battery pack, approximately 3kW, or roughly the equivalent of 20¢ of electricity at local utility rates.

Video of the test drive is now available on the EV World.Com (http://evworld.com) web site, as well as on YouTube, Yahoo, Viddler and Blip.tv web sites.  

EV World is one of the Internet's leading information gateways to the wider world of electric mobility from electric-assist bicycles and scooters to electric cars, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen vehicles.   In 2009, the New York Times recognized it as one of the Top Ten 'No Hybrid Hype' web sites on the Internet.

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Contact:
Bill Moore, Publisher
EV WORLD.COM
Papillion, NE
402.339.9877

Kim Adelman, President
Plug In Conversions Corporation
San Diego, CA
619.318.9972

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