KAHULUI - A special test vehicle used by the county as part of a national study of hybrid electric cars was unveiled at Maui High School on Friday morning.
The U.S. Department of Energy paid to upgrade the county's 2007 Toyota Prius with an extra battery and plug-in apparatus, so the vehicle can be recharged at a standard electrical outlet and get better gas mileage.
There are only two of the cars on Maui, with the other going to Maui Electric Co. The vehicles are part of a technology test program run by the Idaho National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity.
Unlike the regular Prius, which can get up to 45 miles per gallon of gasoline, the county's tricked-out hybrid can get between 60 and 70 miles to the gallon.
The vehicle can travel solely on electric power up to 35 miles per hour, and uses gasoline at higher speeds.
Besides the county and MECO, four other entities in Hawaii will be testing the new electric hybrid.
Mayor Charmaine Tavares, who has made renewable energy one of her top issues, said the test vehicle meshed with her goals of sustainability and helps show the Maui community an option for the future.
"What it means for us is there are possibilities," she said.
Tavares said she hopes that more of these types of technologies will come to Maui, creating a "green work force."
If it proves feasible, Tavares said, she wouldn't mind integrating plug-in hybrid vehicles into the county fleet.
"We want to see if this is the best thing for us to do. We are responsible for spending money wisely," she said.
Experts said the system costs around $11,000, not including the cost of the car.
Nick Rothman, the lead technician with Green Gears from San Francisco, who was one of the installers of the plug-in system, said, if the car is traveling under 35 mph, it will use only electricity. At higher speeds, it will use gas to go faster.
Green Gears partnered with Pat's Garage to install the plug-in systems.
The system consists of a 5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack and a 110-volt charging port in the car's rear bumper.
The sleek rectangular battery pack fits in the trunk of the Prius.
It can be charged with a 120-volt outlet.
The standard Prius hybrid system includes a nickel-metal-hydride battery, which remains intact when the plug-in option is installed.
Rothman said automakers such as Toyota, General Motors and Ford are eagerly trying to get the plug-in hybrids out in the consumer market in the next two years.
The plug-in battery can be charged every day for 12 years, Rothman said.
Over the next year and beyond, the county vehicle, which is equipped with a small antenna, will be monitored remotely by the Idaho laboratory. The lab is gathering data on the field performance and the life of the upgraded vehicles. The vehicle also has a Global Positioning System that helps track its routes.
Jim Francfort, program manager for the U.S. Department of Energy's Advance Vehicle Testing Activity, hoped there would be 130 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles nationwide by the end of the year.
The Idaho National Laboratory, where Francfort is from, is one of 13 U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories.
The car is also a learning tool for students and teachers at Maui High School, where students and teachers observed the installation of the plug-in system at their campus garage Thursday.
"I think it shows them where the future is going," said automotive instructor Neill Nakamura, whose students had a sneak peak at the car before it was unveiled.
He joked that there is not as much grease involved with this car, and said that its new technology will probably attract different types of students to the automotive field.
Fellow instructor and former award-winning automotive student Shannon Rowe agreed.
"This is right up their alley. It sparked a lot of minds," he said, as students studied the car's data display on a laptop computer.
"This is the future. This is going to be mainstream," Rowe said.
Senior Marcus Villaverde, who watched the installation Thursday, said he was amazed that the installation was complete in a matter of hours.
"This is where everything is going to go in the next 20 years," he said.
But Villaverde, who will attend one of the WyoTec technical schools in California, said, although he believes in eliminating emissions and being more earth-friendly, he still likes regular cars.
"I still like gasoline engines because they go faster," he said, smiling.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.
