800 Miles On One Tank Of Gas

Re-Go Electric co-owner Shayna Berkowitz had a problem. Her car’s demise loomed large, and she'd taken a vow to never buy another combustion-engined vehicle.

She and her friend Alex Danovitch did the only sensible thing two people with little automotive knowledge could do: They got out the toolbox and hit the books. In doing so, they hit on a business that helps its customers go 800 miles between trips to the gas station.

“It was quite the thing,” Berkowitz said, laughing as she described converting Chevy Ventures, Toyota Ravs and other cars into battery-powered electric vehicles. “It was an incredibly steep learning curve.”

Today, they run a business called Re-Go from the cavernous workshop behind Dan’s Nicollet Car Wash.

On The Cutting Edge

Five prototypes after their initial discovery, Danovitch, Berkowitz and their team of electricians and automotive experts ran into a problem. They had come up with working, practical designs—all five prototypes have been sold off to eager buyers—but the labor costs were enormous.

In the time it takes to complete just one electric car conversion, Berkowitz and Danovitch realized, they and their employees could convert between eight and 10 hybrid electric cars such as the Toyota Prius into “plug-in hybrids.” These are cars whose batteries can be recharged from a simple garage wall outlet. It sounds simple, but the technology is evolving so quickly, Re-Go's installers are now working with the sixth generation of the battery technology.

They weren't all-electric cars, but the converted hybrids went a long way to addressing Berkowitz’s carbon concerns—her customers, she said, generate on average 4,000 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide than the average combustion-engine car. This is about twice what's saved by the average hybrid driver. And at $5,000 a pop, the price was potentially within reach of many more customers than could buy one of their all-electric conversions. 

800 Miles On One Tank

That’s not all plug-in owners save.

“I’d say we get about 800 miles on each tank of gas,” said Longfellow resident Jeanne Burns, while waiting on a tune-up for her car’s batteries. “We probably go to the gas station about once a month.”

Burns is definitely one of those “dedicated” people Berkowitz said plug-ins require. To feed their converted Prius, she and her spouse installed roof-top solar panels and a switch that automatically cuts the car off when its batteries fill up—usually after three or four hours—to avoid needlessly running up their electrical bill.

“Because it’s cutting-edge technology, and because we’re early adopters, (the car’s) been a little persnickety, but it’s been absolutely worth it,” Burns said.

The pair have 60 hybrid conversions and four years under their belt, and Re-Go’s conversion schedule is booked at least a month in advance—all signs the business is set to continue thriving right through the economic downturn.

“We love what we do,” Berkowitz said, drawing out the second word. “We’re really proud of Re-Go and what we’ve created, and of the impact we’ve had (on the world) and the jobs we’re creating.”