MIDDLEBURY —The Addison County Regional Planning Commission (ACRPC) purchased a used Toyota Prius on March 24 with funds from its regular operating budget. Then, at the end of May, the planning commission went to a third-party provider in Boston called Hymotion to convert the car into a plug-in hybrid using federal stimulus funds.
Essentially, what Hymotion did was take out the spare tire in the trunk and replace it with a rechargeable 5-kWh battery pack. The car is now a hybrid with extra energy storage in the back that is charged using an outlet.