Projo Cars Blog

Possibily the most sought-after technological innovation since Captain Kirk first flipped open his communicator is the plug-in hybrid, a vehicle that runs first on a battery charged from house current, and then on gasoline, according to The New York Times.

Big car companies have talked about it, but they do not yet sell plug-ins. Beginning this week, a company in the Boston area will be taking orders for what it says is the first mass-produced aftermarket conversion kit. The company, A123 Systems, is starting out with the Toyota Prius, with what it calls a range extender module. The module fits in the well normally occupied by the spare tire, with a charging port installed on the back bumper.

The A123 conversion will allow a Prius driver to substitute electricity, at about 3 cents a mile, for gasoline at three or four times that price. And it would let the United States shift toward the use of coal, wind or sun energy sources instead of imported oil.

One snag: it currently costs about $10,000.

---