The Beacon

Brian Sneider, the Engineering Technologies instructor at The Technology Center in Fremont, recently completed a two week training seminar on Electric Vehicle Conversions.  The hands-on class was held at North Central State College's Kehoe Center for Advanced Learning in Shelby, OH.  The class began the last week of July and went through the first week of August.  During the training, participants spent the first hour of the day learning about parts of electric vehicle conversions and the other six hours in the shop actually converting a Dodge Neon to a fully electric automobile.
The car can be driven approximately 60 miles without recharging and can be recharged using any 110 volt household circuit.  The operating cost of the electric vehicle is about 80 to 90 percent less than that of an internal combustion engine.  The initial investment of ten to fifteen thousand dollars takes about five years to break even.  Some advantages include less maintenance costs and less pollution.
The Engineering Technologies class is considering doing a conversion of their own this year in a collaborative effort with several programs at the Vanguard Career Center and Terra Community College.  The class is hoping to find donors for a vehicle, batteries, and financing in general for all of the parts involved.  To kick off the project, Ken Ekegren who taught the class, will be bringing North Central's first conversion; a Chevrolet S-10 to The Technology Center on Monday, October 13 (Columbus Day) for a public viewing.  There will be an opportunity for individuals to ride in it from 1 to 4 p.m.
For more information, contact Brian Sneider at The Technology Center, 1220 Cedar St., Fremont, OH 43420.The phone number is 419-334-5698 ext. 415 or contact by e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it