Specialty Garage in San Francisco Turns Hybrids into Plug-Ins

The following story is going to contain an overwhelming amount of clichés: San Francisco hybrid owners now have the option of taking their Priuses into a specialty shop for conversion into plug-in electric vehicles.

Carolyn Coquilette, owner of Luscious Garage, offers the option of installing an extra plug-in battery pack that allows the typical Prius to go 12 to 15 miles on electric power alone before shifting to the gasoline engine. The conversion costs $6,000, though, so the investment can take more than five years to pay off. Toyota has remained neutral on the issue of the conversions, saying only that it will not void the warranty unless the installation is responsible for any problems that arise. That’s a considerable concession from an automaker.

Coquilette has found takers, citing ideological motivations for environmentally conscious car owners from the Bay Area.

Luscious Garage is not the only specialty hybrid shop in San Francisco (there are four others), nor is Coquilette the first person to offer conversions for hybrids, yet she’s hoping her business (of which she is the sole owner) will become a model as car repair moves forward to deal with hybrid technology.

Still, Luscious Garage has yet to become a profitable business, even by Coquilette’s admission. It may be a few years before hybrid-centric garages prove they are more than novelties.

At Specialty Garage, Making Hybrids Even Greener (New York Times)