Chuck and his electric Toyota

Spreading the word about electric vehicles

The inside is simple

GEM for around town

Smog Free is one of the benefits of the electic car

Contact Information

Chuck Alldrin
(530) 899-1835
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Project description

Chuck is mechanically minded, and also happens to be a tinker' and a doer.  This magic combo has resulted in an interest in self sufficiency, which really took off about 30 years ago.  He started gardening, using solar power, and converted his fist car from gas to electric.  It was a Fiat. 

Most of Chuck’s experience has come from personal conversions.  But converting cars yourself is labor intensive and takes about a week.  If you are thinking of converting your own car, a small one is the most efficient and will get the best results.  You will also need about $8,000-$10,000 for a converting kit.  Although battery costs have doubled in the last year, the converting kit should be getting better and more affordable.  If you can wait electric cars should be on the market (again) in about 2 years. 

Chuck currently has two electric vehicles; the first is a Toyota he bought in the nick of time before they were pulled from the market in 2002.  It goes for about 100 miles, and charges using a 220 volt system, with each hour it is plugged in equaling about 20% charged (5 hours for a full charge).  His second vehicle, is a Global Electric Motors (GEM) type townie that goes about 25 miles charged.  The batteries will last 150-200 thousand miles.  It costs about 3 cents a mile in PG&E costs to run his electric vehicles.   

The electric vehicle in itself is very simple and actually cheaper to make than a gas powered vehicle.  And there is no routine maintenance, just replacing the battery every 150,000 miles or so.

There are about 50 free charging stations around that you can use to recharge your vehicle, often along routes to make it from one place to another.  There is a route from Reno to San Francisco, and the Electric Auto Association (EAA) is working on getting a route installed that will go from Redding to Sacramento.  The free charging station in Butte County is on the Skyway at the Butte County Air Quality Management District’s office. 

Chuck started the local chapter of the EAA and they meet every other month with the purpose of sharing information about electric vehicles.  Although Chuck knows less than 10 people in town who own electric vehicles, he says the meetings are full and getting more attention from folks who are curious and want to know more.  Every one is welcome and to find out more about meeting times contact Chuck or Google the Chico Electric Auto Association.