Soleq was a company that built electric vehicles from the early 1980's to the mid 1990's. Their conversions were very technically advanced, and the owner of the company, a Mr. Shunjiro Ohba, oversaw the design of all components from scratch. From what I know, Mr. Ohba had a PhD in electrical engineering and completely designed the motor controller, DC-DC converter, charger, heating, and all sub systems, as well as specifying the custom GE motor.

60 mile range.

40Kw max power output (400A @ nominal 108V).

Powerful regenerative braking (220A @ nominal 108V).

600Watt 108V to 12V dc-dc converter.

Current selectable charger up to 30A.

3Kw heating system that can be set to preheat/cool the cabin while plugged in.

Air condition system.

Separately excited motor controller.

These specifications are still at the top of the class for converted DC electric vehicles. New Li-ion and Ni-mhi batteries are significantly eclipsing these specs, but only 20 years later.

Auto Services in Illinois

Wheel-Go Camping Inc ★★★★★

Automobile Parts & Supplies, Recreational Vehicles & Campers, Truck Caps, Shells & Liners

Address: 13515 W 159th St, Morris

Phone: (708) 301-9110

Wellfit Parts International Corp ★★★★★

Automobile Body Repairing & Painting, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Automobile Parts, Supplies & Accessories-Wholesale & Manufacturers

Address: 607 Lambert Pointe Dr, Brooklyn

Phone: (314) 731-5550

Weber Automotive ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Automobile Inspection Stations & Services

Address: 214 Greenwood Rd Ste C, Highwood

Phone: (847) 676-2566

Top Value Auto Repair ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service

Address: 4857 W Division St, Forest-Park

Phone: (773) 287-7280

Swedish Car Specialists ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Performance, Racing & Sports Car Equipment, Automobile Racing & Sports Cars

Address: 916 Lunt Ave, Medinah

Phone: (847) 891-3133

Streit`s Auto Repair ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Parts & Supplies, Brake Repair

Address: 411 N Grove Ave, Elgin

Phone: (847) 695-4433

Auto blog

Ford and 'Dirty Jobs' pitchman Mike Rowe part ways [w/videos]

Thu, 20 Feb 2014

Former Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe has one less job as of today - the pitchman is no longer a pitchman for Ford, with yesterday's announcement from Rowe ending a seven-year partnership between the TV host and the Blue Oval.
Rowe made the announcement to political pundit Glenn Beck, saying the two are "going in different directions" and wishing Ford "every possibly success that any car company could ever have," according to The Detroit News. Rowe and Ford got together in 2005, right around the time the 51-year-old came to prominence as the host of Dirty Jobs and the narrator for Deadliest Catch, two of the Discovery Channel's most popular shows.
Take a look below for a few video snippets of Rowe's tenure at Ford.

Watch how Ken Block spent his weekend in Barbados

Thu, 22 May 2014

Regardless of what you think of his skill as a racer, Ken Block is an expert showman. At this point, he has a career of showing up around the world to do vehicular stunts, and he's still able to go racing as well. It's a pretty sweet niche to carve out. Recently, Block was in Barbados to participate in Top Gear Live and the first event of the Global Rallycross Championship season, and Ford Racing produced a short video to show off his exploits.
It looked like a great show. Block got to race Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes-Benz Formula One car and had a very weird crash during a Rallycross race that put his Ford Fiesta on its roof. Top Gear also released an extended look at Block and Hamilton's spectacle with the two of them expertly sliding around. Scroll down to watch the videos and get a taste of Block's tropical racing adventure.

Ford says C-Max mpg reduction has hurt sales

Tue, 22 Apr 2014

The Ford C-Max is having a rough time. Sales for the five-door hybrid hatchback were down 39.1 percent in March to 2,295 cars, and sales from January through March were down 42.5 percent to 5,566 units. In an interview with The Detroit News, Ford Americas boss Joe Hinrichs places the blame on lowering the model's fuel economy rating.
"We're definitely seeing consideration on C-Max decline over time. We need to reinvest in the product because it's a great car," said Hinrichs to The Detroit News.
The company was hit with bad publicity over the C-Max when owners in multiple states filed class action lawsuits that alleged the cars weren't able to meet the stated fuel economy. Ford eventually re-rated the model from 47 miles per gallon city, highway and combined to 40 mpg city, 45 mpg highway and 43 mpg combined. To soften the blow of the change, the automaker sent checks to the owners to make up some of the difference. Initially, Ford claimed that demand remained strong for the hybrid. However, the latest sales figures and Hinrichs' statement seem to show the opposite.

1988 Ford Escort Evcort on 2040-cars

Ford Escort for Sale