[mikeyjd]

Originally Posted by mechman600

So yeah, the Electric Booger is up for sale, but I think it will be a hard sell. I am already dreaming up a contingency plan if I cannot get rid of it.

First off, I will ditch the MX-3. It's in rough condition (dents and scratches), old in the tooth (285,000 km/177,000 miles), and a bit porky (2332 lbs original curb weight). 30 HP moving over 1.5 tons of car is getting a bit old. It works fine, but it's not ideal, and less weight would mean being able to do the freeway for short stints. So if nobody wants it before my insurance runs out in May, I am stripping the EV goodies out of it and the scrap guy will haul the glider away.

Possible replacements:
Festiva: 1797 lbs
Swift/Firefly/Metro: 1895 lbs
Tercel: 2090 lbs

My first choice is a Ford Festiva. Maybe the coolest nerdy eco car ever.
"Here, Cheyenne [my 4-1/2 year old daughter], draw me a car. Wow, perfect, you just drew a perfect looking Festiva."
Curb weight of 1797 lbs. That's 535 lbs lighter. Also, I will likely buy a lithium battery pack, which will save an additional 574 lbs and actually fit in the car.

With over 1100 lbs lost, I think I will be happy with my current motor and controller. My Alltrax 7245 controller is meant for 72V nominal but it has a max voltage of 90V, so with lithium I will be able to "cheat" a bit by going with an 80V system voltage (25 cells), where 90V will be 3.6VPC.

I would strongly encourage you to go the Festiva route. I am currently making plans to build my own e-festiva and would love to have someone to bounce ideas off and share info. I've owned about 20 cars now (3x 1.3L festivas) and nothing i've ever had is as much fun or had as much personality as a Festy. Also, there is a great support forum for them fordfestiva.com, that has helped me out on several occasions. There is a decent aftermarket contigent, as the chassis make a wonderful platform for a sleeper racer that can still get 50+ mpg. There are also guys that make custom body parts for reasonable prices, if your into pimping out your ride. I am studying and gathering info to get started in the fall when I have the finances. Best of luck with whatever direction you go!