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Top Plug-In Hybrid and CalCars Photos
Also see our best audio and video clips, including several of President Obama, and early National endorsements of PHEVs. Get logos and printable docs at downloads.
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Joshua Kramer, Felix Kramer, and Rochelle Lefkowitz in front of their Redwood City, CA home, with their two plug-in vehicles. Shown are the ninth production Chevrolet Volt, delivered December 22, 2010, and the 277th Nissan Leaf, delivered January 24,2011. With the arrival of that vehicle, In January 2011, the Kramer family became the world's first household with both of the first new mass-produced plug-in cars. (Previously, when their 2004 Prius became the eighth hybrid converted to a PHEV in 2006 Felix became the world's first consumer owner of a PHEV. They sold that vehicle, currently equipped with a Hymotion battery pack, to a plug-in vehicle fan in April 2011.) Full-size photo


Joshua Kramer, Felix Kramer, and Rochelle Lefkowitz with their entire personal fleet. In addition to their Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, they own a Brompton folding bicycle and a Torker adult tricycle. These are part of the story because "negamiles" from trips by mass transit, biking, walking, or ride-sharing, are even better than electric miles. (This is the equivalent to the concept of "negawatts" promoted by Amory Lovins: a watt saved from conservation is the cheapest, cleanest energy source.) Full-size photo


CalCars' Ron Gremban and Felix Kramer and Dr. Andy Frank, "father of the plug-in hybrid," celebrated the arrival of their Volts and the achievement of their hopes for mass-market plug-in hybrids at Novato Chevrolet on December 22, 2010. They are holding the GM cable that connects the car to any household outlet. Full-size photo


Felix Kramer's Chevy Volt (awaiting VOLT009 license plate) with portable cable set at Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe in January 2011 Full-size photo


Felix Kramer's Chevy Volt (awaiting VOLT009 license plate) and the San Francisco Peninsula Coastal Range in January 2011. Full size photo


Felix Kramer's Volt (the ninth off the production line) at his family's driveway, with the family's Nissan Leaf (license plate "Coal Bad") in background. Full size photo


Display on Felix Kramer's Chevy Volt after a January 2011 morning of mixed highway driving. Full size photo

Senator Barack Obama talks to Google.org's Larry Brilliant about their PHEV program, at the Googleplex, November 2007, and Senator John McCain views Chevy Volt prototype with GM's Bob Lutz, Beth Lowery and Rick Wagoner at GM design center, Warren, Michigan, July 19 2008. See President-Elect Obama on Plug-In Cars for details, and see older Presidential Candidates Endorse PHEVs for Senator McCain's positions.

Felix with Ali Emadi of IIT, Andy Grove and Andy Frank a Plugin2008 in San Jose, July 2008
At the July 2008 Plug-In2008 Conference after former Intel CEO Andy Grove gave his keynote address, calling for converting 10 million PSVs (Pickups, SUVs and Vans) in four years, he posed with Prof. Ali Emadi, founder of Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technologies and his Ford F-150 PHEV conversion, CalCars Founder Felix Kramer and Prof. Andy Frank, founder of Efficient Drivetrains Inc. and his Chevy Equinox PHEV conversion. Also see another view of this photo at Groups & Companies & Converters. Download Grove's PowerPoint presentation and watch Auto Channel or EVWorld's 30-minute video.
Photo: Mike Kahn/Green Stock Media. Contact Green Stock Media to purchase these images.
Read about Media coverage at Andy Grove Turns Spotlight on Conversions at Plug-In 2008.

Felix Kramer's converted plug-in hybrid Prius
Founder Felix Kramer's Prius, converted by EnergyCS. Full-size photo.
(Silhouette version found at Scenic Shots.)
Felix Kramer is the world's first consumer owner of a plug-in hybrid. He put 25,000 miles on the car in the year after it was converted in April 2006, flew it to Washington to give rides to Senators and Representatives, and put the car at the service of building what former CIA Director James Woolsey describes as the "coalition between the tree-huggers, the do-gooders, the sod-busters, the cheap hawks, and the evangelicals."

Over 1000 miles on one tank!
1034+ miles on a tank! (It would have been better but it included a long round-trip to Sacramento.) Full-size photo


Typical performance for a "mixed" driving day (highway and local). Until the battery gives out after 50.8 miles, we get 85MPG equivalent or 3.5 cents per mile -- about half the cost of a standard Prius. (Assumptions: $3 gasoline, $0.09/kWh electricity) Full-size photo

updated lead acid battery pack
Updated battery installation in the PRIUS+ (summer 2006), with lucite display case and new integration. Full-size photo


Felix's PHEV charges at night; SunPower's photovoltaic modules (installed by REgrid Power) return electricity to the grid in the daytime. In Phase Two, a "vehicle-to-home" (V2H) system designed by CalCars and REgrid will connect the car's batteries directly to the PV system, providing home backup power for extended outages. Full-size photo

2-foot dongle extension cord attached to Felix's PRIUS+
The "dongle" connects to any 120-volt extension cord to recharge the car. Full-size photo

Battery crew with the world's first plug-in hybrid, the PRIUS+
PRIUS+ team: we built the first PRIUS+ conversion Sept 11-22, 2004, starting with a low-cost lead-acid battery pack. Pictured are (L-R) Ron Gremban, Felix Kramer, Marc Geller, Kevin Lyons, Andrew Lawton. See About CalCars for names of those who helped but are not pictured. Full-size photo


This Silicon Valley delegation's August 2006 visit to Sacramento was noted as a balance-tipper toward the successful signing of AB32. See more at See more at CalCars and Global Warming and Felix Kramer's blog.
First row: Ellen Pao, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; Dave Pearce, Miasole; Jack Newman, Amyris; Bob Epstein, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2); Nathalie Hoffman, CA Renewable Energies; Diane Doucette, CA Global Warming Campaign. Second row: Larry Gross, Altra; John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; Amy Christiansen, Google.org; Felix Kramer, CalCars.
Full-size photo

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