This Quebec teacher's retirement project? Building his own electric car

Denis Carrier enjoys taking on ambitious projects. He already has two patents to his name.

But the retired high school teacher had never embarked ona project this ambitious before: building a workingelectric car.

"Yes, it's pretty original," Carrier says of his hobby with a laugh.

Once a technical studies teacher in Ontario, Carrier has spent more than a decade on his project. Working out of a workshop near his homeinNotre-Dame-du-Nord, about 700 kilometres northwest of Montreal,Carrierwas initiallydrawn to the electriccar out of concern for the environment.

But he felt the electric cars currentlyon the market had too many drawbacks they take too long to charge and can'tbe driven for more than eight hours.

So, he decided to make one himself.

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Remaking the FordFestiva

When Carrier retired in 2000, he spent between two and three years reading about electric cars. Hethen set aboutfixing their battery problems himself.

His solution was to develop a car that can handlereplaceable batteries. Rather than waiting for the battery to recharge, drivers would simply pop in fresh batteries, much as one would with a flashlight.

"You can exchange a battery faster than filling up a car with liquid gas," he said.

Carrier tore apart a FordFestivato create his latest prototype, taking out much of the mechanics and labelling every wire.

"There are an enormous number of things to keep: the turn signals, the brakes, the heater, the radio," he said.

"You have to keep some functions and get rid of others.The headlights need to turn on.The brake lights need to light up."

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Bigger problems

Carrier has a knack for invention. Along with his patents, heonce restored an electric tractorand developed a device that notifiesfarmers when their cows are about to give birth.

But he says they don't compare to the task he's undertaking now.

"There are many, many bigger problems," he said.

He originally tried to modify a Spyder, athree-wheeled motorcycle.

But after driving 600 kilometres to pick it up, he realized that he could not crack into the vehicle's specialized programs and electronics.

He was not able to get all his money back when he returned it.

"That was a mistake," he said.

It was only one of many. For instance, his first attempts at remaking the Festiva left the car withouta working speedometer or odometer.

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Two-year timeline

Carrier says he simply wasn't conscious of just how big his14-year project would be when he first set out.

"You have to be a bit unaware [in order to embark on it]," he said.

Butaside from burning a few contactors devices for making electrical circuits he has never hurt himself.

As a former tech teacher, he says he is used to putting an emphasis on safety.

Now he has a model that runs at a top speed of 90 km/h on 64 lithium batteries. Although he still has problems to solve, he expects the car to be roadreadyin about two years.

He already has started the process ofpatenting his invention, and hopes one day a car maker will take an interest.

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