Gas 2.0

Waaaay back in the yesteryear of 2008, AMP (Advanced Mechanical Products) announced that they would begin performing electric car conversions on the GM Kappa cars. A lot has changed in the past year and a half.  The Kappa cars, the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice, are as dead as their respective brands. But AMP is still proceeding with its conversion plans, and has signed “a letter of intent for a potential long‐term electric motor supply agreement” with Remy International.

So does that mean we can have our electric Kappa cars soon?

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For many years, electric cars didn’t look so much like cars, as they did… well… they didn’t much look like anything anyone would want to drive. I never understood half-covering the rear-wheels (that has never been cool) or the funky lines and shapes electric cars inevitably filled out. And so, in recent years, electric cars have begun to look more like… well… cars. Whether or not this is a good thing is up to you, but Protoscar apparently thinks electric cars should look funky.

Hence the undramatic unveiling of the Protoscar Lampo 2. An awkward name for an awkward car that actually has some impressive features, like a ten-minute charge good for about 60 miles and a 0-62 mph time of under 5 seconds.

So why the horrid name?

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Last year, when the carsplosion really started to hit the fan, GM came before congress and laid it all out bare begging for help. And months later, after some tumultuous change, we have a completely new GM about to emerge from bankruptcy — but now the question is, with its reduced size, influence and output, can GM actually deliver on many of the products that were promised when GM came begging way back when?

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In the last weeks, GM has increased the intensity of its internal dialogue and negotiations with the Obama Administration to keep from being killed off. A summary of where GM is as of right now: Read the rest of this entry »

Starting later this year, Advanced Mechanical Products (AMP), a company based in Cincinnati, Ohio, will take your pre-existing or newly purchased Saturn Sky and convert it to an electric car.

Initially only available for the Sky, AMP will add other Saturn models as company growth allows.

The company is currently taking orders for a limited run of 300 “signature series” Sky conversions. The Sky EV will be able to go from 0-60 mph (0-97 kph) in 5.7 seconds, will have a top speed of 90 mph (145 kph), and can go 150 miles (240 kilometers) before needing a recharge.

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