AMP offers converted all-electric Saturn Sky in limited run

If you've been bored by your limited all-electric vehicle choices, we've got just the thing for you. After a year of development, Advanced Mechanical Products (or AMP) is taking orders for a limited run of 300 converted Saturn Sky Roadsters, which will be 100 percent electric. The cars can travel roughly 150 miles on a single charge, go 0 to 60 in under six seconds, and can reach a top speed of 90 MPH. The cost of the conversion and vehicle comes to around $50,000, making this one of the more affordable high-performance options around. The cars are expected to ship to buyers in 2009, so you'd better get on that list quick.

[NHAnimator @ May 23rd 2008 3:44PM]

WORST!!!!!!

[Anthony @ May 23rd 2008 3:45PM]

Seriously?

When they offer a 4 door option I think more people will sit up & really consider these. I know I would.

[couchpundit @ May 23rd 2008 3:48PM]

I've got a better idea--why not have the original manufacturer install the friggin' electric motor and they SELL them that way?

Seriously. Now that gas is about $4/gal and rising, domestic car makers could move in for the kill and mass market real electric cars and enjoy some success.

Or they can keep making Tahoes, Hummers, and Suburbans that get 10mpg and sell them as homeless shelters since no one will be able to afford to fill them up.

[retro77 @ May 23rd 2008 4:12PM]

Seen the new hybrid Tahoes?
http://www.chevrolet.com/tahoe/

Bitchin!

[Taylor @ May 23rd 2008 6:03PM]

Umm... the hybrid tahoes are a fucking joke... I think they get like 17MPG? Do you really think that's gonna pull us out of the oil squeeze we're in? No, it's a marketing sham, and i can't believe people get sucked in by that...
-Taylor

[Marshall @ May 23rd 2008 9:53PM]

Actually it's rated @ 22MPG city / 21MPG highway (still nothing great, but it's a good ~40% better than the standard Tahoe)

[tcc3 @ May 23rd 2008 3:53PM]

I was going to complain that would defeat the purpose of a sporty roadster. Then I looked at the car again. That body style would make a sharp sport sedan.

[Mark @ May 23rd 2008 6:27PM]

I would love it if Toyota brought back their MR2 Spyder with an all electric engine. Can't complain too much about the gas mileage I get on it now though.

[Brian @ May 23rd 2008 4:02PM]

Thank God they chose the Sky and not the Solastice. The Pontiac is much uglier...

[Jerry @ May 23rd 2008 4:13PM]

I like my solstice much better thank you very much. Much smoother and not nearly as jagged as the Sky, not to mention much cheaper. Same exact performance, handling, everything, and better looks to boot! In my opinion anyway. :-)

[Amerist @ May 23rd 2008 5:27PM]

The OPEL GT is by far the best looking version of this car!

http://www.opel.com/brand_sites/gt/

[Tyson @ May 23rd 2008 4:03PM]

not bad... for a Saturn

[Dolemite @ May 23rd 2008 4:18PM]

That's a F-in Saturn?

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/16/video-no-bleep-thats-a-bleep-saturn/

[Ace b @ May 23rd 2008 9:02PM]

@Dolemite

Love that commercial

[Lawson Culver @ May 23rd 2008 4:15PM]

What they don't seem to mention anywhere on the page is how long it takes to charge up. 125-150 miles won't cut it if I need to stop for 4 hours to "fill up" when driving across the country.

[wickedpheonix @ May 23rd 2008 4:37PM]

How many people ever drive cross-country though, and on a regular basis? If I owned an electric car and had to drive cross-country once in a blue moon (read - 5 or 10 years), I'd just rent a car for that one occaision. Save more gas during the vast majority of the time when I'm driving electric.

[Anthony @ May 23rd 2008 5:38PM]

I agree w/ the Evil Bird.

People say it's not feasible to use electrics on a daily basis because once, long ago, they drove to Wyoming.

Guess what: That almost never happens. You're driving to freakin' Target for toilet paper & cat litter, Raley's for tofu & Honey Nut Cheerios & then home.

[rick @ May 27th 2008 6:31PM]

If you need to drive across country, you rent a car and pay for gas with all the money you saved BY NOT PAYING FOR GAS.

[bryan @ May 28th 2008 10:07AM]

the average american only drives 30-40 miles a day and it only takes 3 hrs for a full charge. I mean I'd probably keep a gas car for long business trips but for the day to day this would be awesome.... its like 3 cents a gallon when you factor in the cost of your electric bill

[Dolemite @ May 23rd 2008 4:14PM]

On the one hand there is this, and on the other hand there is the Sky with the LS7 in it.
http://www.mallettcars.com/sky-conversion.htm

Electric is better because it means less money to the lousy Saudis. If it was a bit more affordable.

[LarryLarryLarry @ May 23rd 2008 4:18PM]

At $5.00/gallon, you'd have to burn about 4000 gallons to make up the price difference. If the gas-powered version gets 25 mpg, that's 100,000 miles of electric driving just to break even.

You can also view it as 350 gasoline fill-ups to break-even.

Unfortunately, you're going to need a new set of batteries long before you break even, and that's going to crush any dreams of saving money.

So yes, if I'm looking for a way to be less-efficient than a gasoline car, this is a great option.

[David @ May 23rd 2008 4:35PM]

Also, electricity isn't free.

[Stace @ May 23rd 2008 4:40PM]

@David: No, it's not. That's where the 3 cents/mile figure comes in.

[Elod @ May 23rd 2008 4:42PM]

Since when is the move to electric about saving money?

[disciple83 @ May 23rd 2008 5:04PM]

@Elod,

Since my electricity bill is always cheaper than my monthly gas pump bills. If gas was cheap, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Well, some of us might, but I certainly wouldn't. It's not that I don't care about the environment or anything, I think that the rise in gas prices and Al Gore inventing global warming all work hand in hand to raise awareness about alternative energy. 5 years ago, I couldn't have cared less. Now that the world is showing me the effects of my carelessness, I am finding selfish means of chipping in and doing my part. This includes going electric because it does actually save me money.

[Derrick @ May 23rd 2008 5:28PM]

@Elod: Since gas prices passed $3/gal.

[nikola @ May 23rd 2008 6:04PM]

lawy, lawy, lawy.

Eat a dick, bro. Nobody who buys a $50,000 is thinking about breaking even through gas economy. Go shove a pipe up your ass and blow smoke.

Always some idiot who brings this up.

[CREEPING DEATH @ May 27th 2008 3:42AM]

@NIKOLA
LARRY WAS JUST SIMPLY WORKING OUT THE ECONOMICS OF OWNING SUCH A VEHICLE. THE TRUTH IS THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE ON THE PLANET DON'T HAVE THE LUXURY OF DISPOSING WITH MORE OF THEIR INCOME; IN ORDER TO BETTER THE ENVIRONMENT. IF YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING TRULY SELFLESS. HAVE THE COURAGE TO JOIN YOUR COUNTRY'S ARMED FORCES. FOR THERE IS NO ACT MORE SELFLESS THAN TO DEFEND THE FREEDOMS OF THE OTHER 90 % OF THE POPULATION. *********GO AHEAD COWARDS, UNLEASH YOUR HATEFUL REMARKS!!!********

[Frankenstein Black @ May 23rd 2008 5:09PM]

Add this stuff to the shell of that ride and
http://www.konarka.com/
well, nuff said...

[jntaylor @ May 23rd 2008 5:11PM]

The Big 3 DO NOT want all-electric cars:

1.) They will have a much lower cost of ownership. (Less trips to the shop)

2.) Fewer moving parts. (Belts, filters, ect) Causes item 1 above. Would kill the 3rd party auto OEM and after-sale industry.


Yes this conversion is $$$. BUT, start mass producing these cars and the price drops. As more of these companies start these conversions, a major car company will build one off the floor and it will take off. Wait till Toyota and (maybe) GM bulids the plug-in Hybrids. People will $hit when they see they can get a car that gets 120 mpg.

BTW, check this out:
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/12/05/evs23-just-try-to-catch-these-bad-ev-boys-all-electric-musta/

[Ace b @ May 24th 2008 12:12AM]

Basically you got all of that from "What happened to the electric car?"

But yeah,I think they do this to honda's.Then I would buy one.

[Jeebus @ May 24th 2008 5:40PM]

"The Big 3 DO NOT want all-electric cars"

Neither do I, until they fix 3 major problems:
1. Distance. Need 200 (preferably 400) miles per fill-up.
2. Charge time. Need to be 5 minutes or less
3. Cost. Need to be as cheap, preferably cheaper, than a regular gasoline car.

Solve that, and I'll buy one. Not to "save the planet", but because it'll be a whole lot less maintenance.

[Rick @ May 27th 2008 6:31PM]

jeebus-
Do you drive 200 miles nack and forth to work? Otherwise, I think you can plug it in every night.

Do you not sleep? Otherwise, I think you can plug it up every night? 5 minute charge? Seriously? This isn't a toothbrush.

A more expensive EV would be cheaper than a gas version by way of not spending $200+ a month in gas over the life of the car.

[Doc @ May 23rd 2008 5:14PM]

OPEC (of which the saudis are a part) only make up 30% of world oil production.

[Tatohead @ May 23rd 2008 5:18PM]

Until we have a much larger nuclear power infrastructure, I just don't get electric vehicles. I mean, isn't one of Newton's laws state that when one form of energy is converted to another, there is a loss (usually heat). So, we need massive-scale coal-burning power generation to supply the coming wave of electric vehicles. An analogy would be putting plastic bags over the exhaust pipes of cars in LA and then sending them to New Mexico or Nevada and open them there.

Also, GM sold a car in 1989 called the Metro XFI (yes, a Geo Metro) that was EPA rated at 57 mpg on the highway. When adjusting for the new 2008 EPA MPG guidelines, that puts the car on par with modern $30k hybrids (the Metro cost $8k). Why don't they still makes these?

[BK @ May 23rd 2008 6:12PM]

Safety regulations have driven the up the weight of said cars.
Try sticking a 3 cylinder engine in any modern car.

[Steven @ May 23rd 2008 5:27PM]

Ok.. Let's see, on Craigslist today, Saturn Sky: $21,000.00
Motor: Controller, Wires, etc. $6000.00 from ElectroAuto Parts Suppliers. 5 Days Labor at $300/Day. Hmmmm...... Batteries- $3000.00

Maybe you better convert one yourself and save the HUGE mark-up!!!!

[Steven @ May 23rd 2008 5:38PM]

Any expense of energy should be worth going electric if we end CANCER!!!!

I pulled this from the web: "Gasoline, Petroleum and the plastics made from it are the single largest cause of cancer in the world. This is a known fact, verified by thousands of studies which the oil industry counters by paying pundits to say: "Well, we just are not sure yet"

This chemical array has killed more Americans than every terrorist since the beginning of time.

The petrochemical bisphenol-a, or BPA, causes precancerous tumors and urinary tract problems and made babies reach puberty early.

Every gas pump has a label on it that oil and gas causes cancer and a host of lethal medical problems.


When there is an oil spill, you are not allowed on the beach because most agencies classify oil as toxic.


A study of childhook leukemia in England mapped every child with the diserase and found they all occurred in a circle, in the center of which was a gas station.
Alberta’s oil sands are one of the world’s biggest deposits of oil, but the cost of extracting that oil may be the health of the people living around them. High levels of toxic chemicals and carcinogens have been found in the water, soil, and fish downstream of the oil sands. The local health authority of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta comissioned the study in response to locals’ claims that the oil extraction projects upstream were damaging the health of citizens. Petrochemicals and their byproducts, such as dioxin, are known to cause an array of serious health problems, including cancers and endocrine disruption.Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) is a term used to describe a large family of several hundred chemical compounds that originally come from crude oil. Crude oil is used to make petroleum products, which can contaminate the environment. Because there are so many different chemicals in crude oil and in other petroleum products, it is not practical to measure each one separately. However, it is useful to measure the total amount of TPH at a site.TPH is a mixture of chemicals, but they are all made mainly from hydrogen and carbon, called hydrocarbons. Scientists divide TPH into groups of petroleum hydrocarbons that act alike in soil or water. These groups are called petroleum hydrocarbon fractions. Each fraction contains many individual chemicals.
Some chemicals that may be found in TPH are hexane, jet fuels, mineral oils, benzene, toluene, xylenes, naphthalene, and fluorene, as well as other petroleum products and gasoline components. However, it is likely that samples of TPH will contain only some, or a mixture, of these chemicals. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that one TPH compound (benzene) is carcinogenic to humans. IARC has determined that other TPH compounds (benzo[a]pyrene and gasoline) are carcinogenic to humans.
Benzene causes leukemia. Benzene as a cause of leukemia had documented since 1928 (1 p. 7-9). In 1948, the American Petroleum Institute officially reported a link between this solvent used in many of their industries used and cases of leukemia in their workers. Their findings concluded that the only safe level of benzene exposure is no exposure at all (2).
The largest breast cancer incidents are in Marin County, California which is tied to the air, water and ecosphere of the Chevron Oil refinery right next door."

[poliza @ May 23rd 2008 5:58PM]

Your forgetting food dyes, plastics in a microwave, artificial sweeteners, ground water (radium), preservatives and pretty much everything else. Add to your incessant paranoia.

[Jeebus @ May 24th 2008 5:42PM]

Steven, we just are not sure yet.

[LordJohnWhorfin @ May 23rd 2008 6:16PM]

Might as well yank out the gas engine from that pathetic excuse for a roadster... The only thing this car is good at is in the looks department. The engine is dull, the transmission gears lined up exactly right to NOT get perrformance out of it, handling is atrocious, and they couldn't even get the interior right. And the convertible top takes us all the way back to the 60s back when nobody had a clue how to make a top that sealed and was easy to operate. I can't believe Pontiac and Saturn dealers had the gall to charge dealer markup for this turd (Saturn works around their "no haggling" policy by only selling the car with ridiculously priced dealer add-ons).
I was interested when they released it and made an appointment to see the car. The top on the showroom model didn't even line up and wouldn't operate properly. What a piece of crap. I'm glad I bought a Toyota (more of it is made in the U.S., anyway)

[haX0r @ May 23rd 2008 6:18PM]

We are going to build our own commuter EV plug in VW rabbit. I will post it up here when we finish. I got three sponsers already for the car and someone that is going to paint it for free.

75 MPH and 75 Miles for a homemade car. Works for us because our total commute is less than 50 miles round trip every day. Right now I spend over $4000 per year on gas based on today's price of $3.96 per gallon in NorCal.

[TriZz @ May 23rd 2008 6:20PM]

I totally thought that AMP (the energy drink) sponsored a Sky and made it green (since the can is green).

[Palooz @ May 23rd 2008 6:52PM]

No one noticed it only goes 90mph? High end my ass!
My '83 Mercedes Benz 300TD goes over 100mph. Not even joking.

[christhepcguy @ May 23rd 2008 7:19PM]

Thats nothing, The Space Shuttle goes over 17,000mph

[rcappo @ May 23rd 2008 7:14PM]

If I were rich, I would buy it in a second.

But I'll have to settle for converting a Chevy S-10 for a little more than 10% of the cost of that car.

I wish Saturn would have produced that at the factory. If I could get it from Saturn for $30k, it would be a hard choice to do-it-myself or buy it already done.

[mjgrothaus @ May 23rd 2008 8:12PM]

Umm, isn't that a location from Armageddon and Transformers? I recognize that tree and I remember Michael Bay saying soooo many commercials are shot with that tree in the background....

[kelliot @ May 23rd 2008 9:40PM]

I agree, the cost isn't currently worth the investment. Now when gas gets to $16/gal, let's talk. BTW, the greens won't be happy until we use are using the ultimate gadget again, the horse and buggy. And heating our homes with horsecrap.

[thedesolate1 @ May 23rd 2008 9:45PM]

Its about time and not a moment too soon with gas prices slowly reaching the price of a mcdonalds meal per gallon. lol

[Ron C. @ May 24th 2008 12:42AM]

Before Saturn thinks about a Sky Electric, they better get the gas model right.