Eddie Pankow's 1976 Volkswagen Beetle and a 2009 Zenn EV charge outside Mac and Mac Electric Nov. 20. Pankow converted the Beetle to run on battery power in 2007. He recently switched the batteries in the Beetle from Lead Acid (the same type that power golf carts) to Nickel Metal Hydride (the same type used in the Toyota Prius), dropping the weight by 600 pounds and increasing the top speed to 85 miles per hour and the range to approximately 200 miles. Because the two-seat Zenn is classified as a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle, by law it cannot exceed speeds of 25 miles per hour and has a range of approximately 40 miles. Photo by Sakeus Bankson

But a suspicious yellow power cord pours out of the gas tank of the Volkswagen. A look inside the rear compartment reveals a mess of wires and thick red cables connecting mysterious black boxes. In the center of it all is a shiny red and black cylinder, slightly bigger than a football.

But this is no automotive Frankenstein's monster. This is the poster car for Mac and Mac Electric, a Bellingham-based company that converts existing gasoline cars into practical, zero-emission electric ones, offering a nearly painless gasoline alternative.

With the recent spikes in gas prices and the booming green movement, electric vehicles have started to gain more notoriety. They release zero emissions, are cheap to run—as little as $0.03 a mile versus a Toyota Prius’ $0.13 a mile—and require little maintenance. They charge in a few hours with a simple household outlet and are silent and easy to drive.

The most common production electric vehicles currently on the market are Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV), small light vehicles designed for short-range commuting.

NEVs, however, cost close to $20,000, are limited by law to 25 miles per hour and have a maximum range of 30 to 50 miles.

Mac and Mac’s conversions can hit speeds of nearly 90 miles per hour and go as far as 200 miles on a charge. And Eddie Pankow, the owner of Mac and Mac Electric, said even though production electric vehicles are far cheaper to run and much better for the environment than gasoline, they still require using resources and energy to build.

“NEVs and hybrids are great, but they’re still new vehicles,” Pankow said. “Why not recycle a car that’s already been built that’s going to end up in the junkyard? It’s the re-use thing.”

Pankow took over the business in 2005, but Mac and Mac Electric has been around since 1947. The company, made up of four electricians and a bookkeeper, specializes in electric motors; or as Pankow puts it, they work on anything electrical that moves. But it was only a year and a half ago, in August of 2007, that they converted the Beetle and decided to offer auto conversions.

Pankow said he has been thinking about doing conversions since 1995, when he was going to school at the Coast Guard Electrical School in Yorktown, Va., and General Motors began making their short-lived but much-loved EV1 electric vehicle. But it was his commute to work and high gas prices that convinced him to make it a reality.

“A year and a half ago, back in July, gas was five bucks a gallon, and I drive 24 miles to work because I live in Blaine,” Pankow said. “So in July I spent like $500 dollars in gas driving my Jeep Cherokee. So I wanted to find a solution to that. Essentially I don’t even have a gas bill anymore.”

Mac and Mac charge $10,000 to do a basic conversion, which takes approximately a month to complete. The actual cost of parts and labor is closer to $15,000, but Pankow said he has been offering the lower price to make them as affordable as possible and promote them in the community. A self-conversion, on the other hand, takes $7,000, a little bit of electrical know-how and anywhere from a month to years to complete.

“You need a little bit of electrical skills, but it’s pretty simple,” Pankow said. “And you need a little bit of metal-working skills—it doesn’t hurt if you can weld or know someone who does.”

Greg Aanes, owner of Greg Aanes Furniture on Queen Street, completely converted a used Ford Escort into an electric car and uses it as his own commuter vehicle. Aanes, who has geared his furniture company to be as environmentally friendly as possible, made the conversion for environmental reasons. With global warming and the rapid consumption of fossil fuels, he said it just made sense.

“It was a pretty obvious thing to me, and anyone who thinks about it would feel the same way,” he said.

Electric vehicles, even Mac and Mac’s conversions, have their downsides, the most prominent being their batteries. Their limited range is an immediate turn-off for people, even though Pankow said most people do not drive long distances under normal circumstances. Plugging the cars in and waiting for them to charge—which can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 8 hours—is also a hassle, as well as their limited carrying capacity. The heavier the vehicle, the more batteries are needed to sustain range and top speed. But as Aanes said, there is often pain with progress.

“There may be drawbacks to them,” he said. “But there are drawbacks to any change.”

Despite their downsides, Pankow said he sees a huge value in making electric vehicles, especially in an environmentally conscious community such as Bellingham. He said there are at least a dozen electric vehicles in Bellingham, but that number is quickly growing. As more electric vehicles hit the road, interest will only grow. Within the past week, Mac and Mac has had one customer looking to convert a Geo Metro and another looking to make modifications to an electric truck.

For right now, Pankow said Mac and Mac is plenty busy.

Share this article:
                                   

Be first to comment on this article

Only registered users can post comments.
Please login or register.