Fiachra Cooke 12DEC20
t’s only a matter of time, of course, before we’re all abandoning our old coughing, spluttering cars and 
going electric.
new $26,000 solar-powered, three-wheeled Never Charge car [left] sold out within 24 hours, and the bould and the bonkers Elon Musk is striving ever-onward to make electric vehicles ever-more-affordable and the batteries that power them ever-more-longlasting.
Part of the problem being a complete lack of EV charging points, the town apparently getting on the bad foot with the electrical powers that be when Burnaby residents gave a firm ‘get ta feck’ to having them installed along their roads. Strong rumour has it the residents later changed their minds, it’s been said, but their early refusal has put Greystones firmly at the back of the ESB queue.
Not that any of this has stopped car fanatic Fiachra Cooke from forging ahead with his own electric dreams. Having grown up on a Coolagad farm with four brothers who all liked nothing better than tinkering with cars, that Fiachra was especially drawn to the electrics meant the idea of converting a much-loved old car into a Frankenstein’s Tesla was never far from his mind. Or plans.
Being a self-confessed jack of all trades and master of none, degree of trial and error along the way, but today, with an official 100% roadworthy thumbs-up on October 16th from an auto engineer, and the brave Breda down in Wicklow County Council issuing a new registration doc, reclassifying the former gas guzzler as an electric car, Fiachra’s Audi 8e is up and purring like a cat.
Having worked out all the nuts and volts, Fiachra reckons many more people will follow him on converting their much-loved cars to electric, with replacement engine kits having already on the market.