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Mar 6, 2007 8:52 pm US/Pacific
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Bay Area Group Promoting 100-MPG Car
by Len Ramirez
PALO ALTO (CBS 5) ―
Felix Kramer's Toyota Prius runs silent, but the paint job is loud -- for a reason. Kramer wants the world to know that his modified hybrid car gets 100 miles a gallon, while a stock Prius gets about 50 miles a gallon.
Kramer and other owners have started the California Cars Initiative to promote so-called plug-in electric hybrids and pressure automakers to build them.
Converting an existing Prius to plug-in electric power costs more than $10,000.
But Kramer said mass production could reduce the costs, making plug-in power a $3,000 option.
"It's a conversion that we're doing, but we're trying to get the car makers (involved). They can do this in a flash," he said.
To build the 100-mpg Prius, the gasoline motor up front is kept in place, but in the back, a row of special batteries must be mounted under the hatch. An electrical outlet on the bumper completes the package.
The modified Prius uses common household electrical current.
"What we've done is added another small fuel tank to the car, which you fill with electricity instead of gasoline, and you use it first every day. Then, when you go home, you fill it up again," Kramer said.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)