Deciding on a drive train...

[ddanz27]

2000 Dodge Neon, originally FWD. Should I...

[Daox]

What is your goal here? Obviously not saving money lol. If you wanna make the most of what you got, go for it. If you wanna take a small step and upgrade to a manual tranny for P&G you'll see substantial gains. If you want to make a hybrid I say go for it. Of course I'd like to see a hybrid like that so I'll say hybridize it.

[Big Dave]

Sooner or later you have to decide what is your goal. Just saving money or high MPG. You can trade you fuel sipper for a dirt-cheap gas hog and it will reduce your payment so much (assuming your vehicle isn't paid for) that you'd have to drive to the moon to save fuel $$$ enough to offset up-front cost. That is particularly true now. You can get SUVs for scrap prices now. I even saw a Mercedes 6.9 for $2,000. Yeah, it only gets 10 MPG but 2 grand is dirt cheap and it probably will go back up in value. Hint: There's one in Jay Leno's garage (then again, what isn't?)

To me the MPG bragging rights have become a goal of their own.

[Christ]

The automatic tranny will actually work to your advantage if you're using an electric motor, given the weight of your chassis, especially if you're using a smaller motor than what would normally be used. It provides a variable set of gears that allows the motor to run in a higher power profile for longer per gear.

If you're not switching to and electric drive system, then you really do need to figure out what your goals are exactly. The RWD conversion for a Neon is not a new topic, in many street performance circles. To do it with an e-motor, you'd be better off using a FWD drivetrain and mounting it transversely, or using the rear setup from a VW Bug.