Saab History Interviews Electric Saab Expert, Mark Ward

Posted on 12. Feb, 2008 by Ryan in 2000-2009

Photo Credit: Mark Ward

I got the chance recently to briefly chat with Mark Ward of St. Charles, Missouri about his accomplishments on the new electric Saab NG900 briefly and here is what he had to say:

Thank you Mark and again, congrats!

Saab History: What inspired this project?

In 2005 Gas went over $2.00 a gallon. We have all seen what has happened since. I became determined to reduce my need for gasoline. The project proves that we can can choose not to be slaves of the oil industry by using alternative energy sources. There are a lot of ways to make electricity. Not so with fossil fuels.

Saab History: How long did this project take you to get this far?

About 2 and a half years. It could have been faster, but I made the mistake of relying on someone else for work I ended up doing myself later. I have taken breaks from the project along the way, so it could have been done about a year sooner if I had hurried. I like the results I am getting and don’t regret the time I spent.

Saab History: How much $$ do you think this would cost someone to by an exact duplicate of this setup?

I don’t think you could exactly duplicate all of it. Some of the main things I suppose, but a lot is hand made and designed on the fly. However the main items, motor, controller, batteries & charger can be purchased. Total cost of the conversion is about $7000 and I did most of the work myself and got a lot of material donated. Kits for other more common cars can be purchased, but you still have to do a lot of design yourself. There is no kit or instructions that will work for every car and Saabs are very complicated.

Saab History: Do you think this setup would work with other Saab’s such as the C900 or Saab 9000?
Older Saabs would be problematic with their odd transmission design unless you replaced it with a different type. There would be no reason a 9000 couldn’t be done or any other model up to about 2003 could be converted since they are all similar. You have to be prepared to send your transmission to the company that makes your adapter plate for the motor if you can’t do it yourself like I did. They mostly convert manual transmissions so stick to a 5 speed if possible. (mine is automatic..I am a rogue to the ev community).

Saab History: How far do you think Sabrina will drive currently on one charge and how are you charging the system, is there a plug-in interface?

Everyone asks me that usually as the first question. I say to them it will meet my daily driving needs. A majority of the population drives less than 25 miles per day. The Saab should do that with no problem but I won’t know until more driving has been done. I drive an average of 10 to 12 miles per day and it has has a twist lock plug where the gas used to be.( Sending you a photo with this email.) It can be plugged up to 220v at my house and 110v anywhere else with the 75 foot cord I plan to carry around. Charging time varies depending on how much the batteries are run down.

Saab History: How far will you end up taking this project now that you have it running?

My first goal is to get everything working including all of it’s original features as a luxury automobile. EV conversions are always a work in progress if you ask anyone else that has done one. I want to inspire others and be an emissary for development of electric vehicles. I plan to take Saabrina to car shows, alternative energy events and use it as an eductional tool. You would be surprised how many people don’t realize that there are all electric cars and not just hybrids. I have been invited to Earth Day this year in St. Louis and plan to attend.

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