Aug 22, 2008

Build Your Own Hybrid

Fed up with high gasoline prices? Sick of the oil companies’ record profits? Handy with simple tools? If you answered yes, Robert Q. Riley Enterprises, a product design firm in Glendale, Ariz., has an offer for you. The company has announced the release of construction plans for anyone who wants to build its XR3, a two-passenger, plug-in hybrid that can record up to 225 mpg.

The three-wheel sports car’s modular design can be outfitted with different power trains to create a 125-mpg, diesel-only vehicle; a 100-mile-range, battery-only vehicle; or a hybrid for increased performance and fuel versatility. Since no computer controls are needed on the hybrid system, costs are reduced and the need for reprogramming is eliminated. In addition to conventional printed drawings and instructions, the do-it-yourself plans include electronic 3D models that can be viewed on an ordinary PC, computer files vendors can use to make parts and a DVD that shows the car being built. The plans cost $200. 

“During the two years it took to develop the XR3, we received more than 2,500 advanced order reservations for the plan set,” said Robert Q. Riley, company president and author of Alternative Cars in the 21^st Century. “We’ve taken CAD technology used by today’s designers and put it in a form that anyone can use. Not only is there nothing like the XR3 coming from the world’s carmakers, there’s nothing in the DIY field that’s even close to the information technologies we’ve used in the XR3 plan set.”

The XR3’s Li-ion battery pack can achieve 80 percent of its full charge in just 1.5 hours by plugging into an ordinary wall outlet. Although 40 to 50 miles is possible on battery power alone, switching the car to diesel power combined with its three-cylinder engine can result in up to 375 miles on a mere three gallons of fuel.