Why would anybody think to install AC in a car that is consuming electricity as it drives down the road? It just doesn't make sense efficiency-wise. One simple answer.. We are in Texas. Its hot and humid around here from early Spring to late Fall and getting to work in a full sweat isn't one of those things that you look forward to. The lack of AC is one of the things that has been holding back any serious EVs in our market for decades. So...

The Saturn will have AC. We have been working to get it hooked up. Nice thing is that once you spin your AC compressor with a separate motor, you don't have to worry about when you turn it on. Cars have a bunch of AC clutch management logic in their computers to avoid engaging the clutch when the car is accelerating and when it is at a stop and when it is laboring, etc... With this setup, the AC can be turned on whenever Brian likes. He could even start it while the car is still plugged in, before he leaves the garage so that the cabin is preconditioned and doesn't require a bunch of power from the pack while he is on the road.

Most conversions that I have seen that have done AC simply build a bracket to hold the compressor and then an electric motor beside it spinning it with a pulley/belt arrangement. That's the approach that Mark Farver is using in the MR2. It is simple and it should work. However, we don't have a bunch of tall wide spaces to do this in. What we do have is a long narrow space up under the front frame member that runs across the engine bay. We have removed the clutch and pulley from the front of the compressor and what Chris is working on is a fitting that will allow us to hook the motor directly to the compressor. End to end.

The motor we found should provide enough HP and is meant to spin at the speeds where AC compressors are most efficient. So, this should be a great way to run these guys in the future.