Nicely engineered electric conversion kit

BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
Replacement of a battery pack is not as prevalent as one might think.
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I’ve had a Prius for 12 years now. When I got it the scuttlebutt was that the hybrid battery pack was good for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Mine is going strong at 95K miles, not showing any particular degradation in mileage or range other than what can be attributed to replacement tires. It’s not even on my radar any more. Furthermore, I’ve not heard any of my acquaintances, many of whom drive hybrids or Teslas (here in Silicon Valley, the Tesla is overwhelmingly the EV of choice, at least prior to DOGE), having had to replace the running battery. If battery pack replacement was common I’m sure I would have heard about it, and I’m sure specialty shops would be opening up all over the place like muffler shops and radiator shops used to be.

FWIW, there is a guy who has an electric Model A pickup (it may be the same one in the YouTube video, I haven’t seen the truck) that has brought it to several MAFCA events in the west. Several of our club members who have attended these events have driven it. They say it’s a kick.
 
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I expected comments about the EV battery that only takes 18 seconds to charge. You cannot fill your gas tank in 18 seconds.
 
Battery longevity was a bugaboo when people were thinking of battery types, such as nickel-cadmium, which have been superseded several times. Big money is being invested all over the world to create better and better battery systems. The upside is enormous. I’m guessing that the solutions we see in daily use in five years will make today’s best look mediocre.
 
There was actually an issue with early generations of the Prius. I can't remember if it was the 1st gen or 2nd gen or both. The batteries could only be charged via the engine, and if you let the car sit for a long time, like over a month, the batteries would run down and be irreparably damaged. A friend of mine bought a used Prius but didn't use it immediately, and when he went to use it the battery was toast. Took it to a couple of repair places but no one could do anything.
 
According to that infallible source of truth, the internet, there are now several shops that sell rebuilt battery packs for both the Prius and Nissan Leaf. It seems we’ve gotten to the point that the supply of used EV’s (the most popular ones that have been in production for awhile) is a good source for used and reconditioned parts.
 
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