Zoomi Life

For some reason, people love Volkswagen Beetles.  Especially the older ones.  Dale Kling in Michigan definitely wasn’t the first to convert one to an alternative fuel or even electric.

People love to do things to their Bugs and there are a lot of reasons they are great for conversion or ecomodding jobs.  First, the engine is all contained in one area and has much simpler components thanks to being air-cooled rather than liquid.  Second, the Volkswagen Bug is relatively light and easy to “manhandle” while working on it.  Finally, their systems overall (electrical, steering, etc.) are simple and easy.

The difference between most converter/modders and Dale is that Dale happens to be a professional in the EV business–he’s an after-market golf cart manufacturer.  When business slowed down (thanks to our current state of affairs economically), Dale didn’t slow down with it.  Instead, he got to work on his pet project to convert an old VW Bug into an EV.  He’s called the finished project the Lightning Bug.

The other difference between Dale and most converters is his other pet project: selling electric car conversion kits.  Since the VW Beetle is so common and so many people seem to want to convert them to other fuels or electric, Dale figures he can sell kits to make the process easier.  Bug-specific kits, no less.

Here’s hoping Dale has hit on a new business plan that will take off.  His conversion is capable of 70mph and up to 100 miles per charge, so he might have something here…

Source: MLive