News from CanWest News Service (May 31, 2005)
by Shannon Lee Mannion
Allan Poulsen, a software design manager who lives and works in Kanata, Ont., says he would bike to work if it weren't for the winter cold and summer sunburns.
Still, he wants to be friendly to the environment, so he bought a 1996 Ford Ranger XL pickup and had it converted to run on electricity.
"For my kids, I want to do my part," the father of two young children said.
Poulsen's truck, named Sparky by his family, was among the vehicles on display at the Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa's EV Expo last week at the Canada Science and Technology Museum.
Modified by Rick Lane of REV Consultants at a cost of about $20,000, the Ford has an electric motor in place of the original gasoline engine, and 22 golf cart batteries in its bed. They allow a range of 50 kilometres between charges, given a speed of 60 kilometres an hour.
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