Since there was such a big response to my update on Andrew Angellotti the other day, I think that even more news on what this Michigan teen has been up to in the home electric vehicle conversion front would be in order. According to a story in the Flint Journal, Andrew has put around 2,500 miles on the batteries and electric motor. Also, and this is the real reason I wanted to update the tale, he does have a small 12-volt heater in the cab for winter driving. As for his next project, converting a Toyota Tercel, Andrew wants the car to go fast - at least 80 mph - on a 120 hp system. The Tercel should be ready in the spring.

Andrew told the Journal that, "I think alternative energy is very important in our future. I just wanted to get the word out that electric vehicles are possible." He's certainly done that. Even David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, is impressed. "I give a lot of credit to a young person who's capable of doing that because it's not a very easy thing to do," Cole told the Journal.

[Source: Melissa Burden / The Flint Journal]