Hybrid Vehicle Conversion Services?

OverkillTASF asks: "My '94 I6 Jeep Grand Cherokee has once again eaten through a transmission... at 105k miles. For one reason or another, this has led me to the following question: Are there any companies/individuals out there who do hybrid vehicle conversions? I'd like to retrofit my Barbie Jeep with the necessary equipment to eek out 5 more MPG, be a little more environmentally friendly, but still allow me to get where I need to go out here in the sticks? Do such after-market conversion services exist?"

Comments

Hydrogen?

[MoonBuggy]

This is moving slightly off on a tangent from the question, but it seems worth saying: United Nuclear are currently working on a hydrogen conversion kit for various cars, and have apparently clocked 50,000 successful miles on their prototypes. Probably the kind of thing to take with a pinch of salt, and the estimated cost is $7-10k, but it will come with a solar powered hydrogen generator, so might be worthwhile.

Re:Hydrogen?

[spectral]

I saw this before, I read the comments before suggesting it. I don't know if this company is legit or not, but the idea seems interesting.

I think this is the closest you'll get to a conversion kit. Hybrid gas-electric vehicles require a vastly different transmission, onboard computer, massive batteries, and likely a lot of engine work to make it stop and start when the vehicle is not in motion. In short, look at around 12k+ if it's even possible and the parts are widely available.. which they aren't.

TDI!

[frn123]

Buy a used small turbodiesel engine for it.

1.9L diesel will have more than enough oomph (unless you're suffering from penis envy) and will move you around with insane mpg.

Cheaper than hybrid. Cleaner than hybrid.

Re:Are you serious?

[Blkdeath]

If you are fixated on going hybrid with an SUV, why not buy a brand new hybrid Highlander or Lexus? You'll spend as much and get the same marginal gas mileage increase, but you'll also get that new-car smell.

Or you could look at the Ford Escape Hybrid and enjoy upwards of 50% fuel savings in a brand-new 4x2 or 4x4 small SUV.

To put things into perspective; the Escape Hybrid has $0 fuel tax, whereas the Highlander carries a $75 tax. Why? The Highlander uses a large 6 cylinder engine and, as you said, only experiences marginal fuel economy improvements.

The Lexus is a nice SUV - but it comes at a Lexus price. A person driving a 12 year old Jeep Cherokee isn't likely to run to a dealer and drop $62,200 CDN (base MSRP) on a new SUV. Even the Highlander comes in at $44,205 while the Escape Hybrid starts at a reasonable $33,495.

The Escape Hybrid uses an Atkinson Cycle variant of their popular 2.3L Duratec engine which, in and of itself is a highly efficient, near zero emission engine. Combined with a 70KW electric motor it produces the same power as the V6 Escape.

The One Tank Challenge demonstrated that on a 62L gas tank it's possible to drive Toronto city traffic for 972 KMs getting better than 5.9L/100KM (or roughly 50MPG).

Re:40 mile commute? Go Electric!

[arminw]

....You're still only looking at $920/year ....

I just got a Toyota Prius hybrid which gets consistently at least 50mpg. For 10K miles and $3 gas that comes to $600. For $4 gas it would be $800 and the nice thing is that it'll go over 500 miles on a full tank. It is a really nice car for general running around in, but I'll still keep our old Ford diesel pickup for hauling things.

Re:40 mile commute? Go Electric!

[RingDev]

Interesting, I had heard that their 45mpg sticker rating was "generous". You are the first person I've seen claim over 45mpg though. But for a trade off, you'll still have to replace your battery pack, and if it goes out at 3 years, just after the warenty, you're still looking at a $1200 bill, which up's your yearly fuel costs to $1000. Which at $3/gal is only a hair under a 30mpg car. Also, a new Prius cost what, $22k+ msrp? VS a $10k conversion kit. And that electric will be cheaper from the start in fuel costs. There is a finite amount of oil on this planet, and we, not our children or grand children but you and I will see the end of cheap oil in our life times. Commuter electrics, hydrogen and bio-diesels will be the future.

-Rick