The Car of the Summer

Summer usually consists of relaxing at home or enjoying time off, but for TUHS auto-shop teacher, James Hooker, along with students Ryan Hickernell, Jack Layton, and Brendan May, summer included working hard to build an electric car in a sweltering shop class.

For these students, giving up parts of their summer was not a concern as they were able to receive hands-on experience and squeeze in some extra credit at the same time. The electric vehicle took three weeks full of teamwork to build and, as expected, Hooker and the three students are proud of their accomplishment.

With thirty-two 3-volt batteries, the car takes up to 7-8 hours to charge. It contains a Volkswagen suspension in the front, with the power to go up to 75 miles per hour. During this school year, there are plans of disassembling the car and going piece-by-piece putting it back together to show all of Hooker’s students the experience. Each student will have the opportunity to obtain new knowledge in an easy hands-on learning process while in auto shop.