On Monday, January 26, I gladly accepted the invitation to attend the conference held by Dr. Pancella at WMU – Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
I met Paul at two EV events last fall — first in Kalamazoo, then in Hastings (Michigan) — both excellent lessons in how to organize low‑budget electric mobility events where interested visitors can speak directly with EV owners.
Build Your Dreams!
Today, after BYD (Build Your Dreams) has become the world’s largest EV manufacturer, the slogan is easy to understand — almost a rallying cry for the entire Chinese auto industry. But back at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show, when I first saw a BYD model (gasoline‑powered), the design, bodywork, performance, and especially the copied BMW badge left me with a rather “modest” impression, to put it politely.
Yet the same phrase, associated with Paul’s hybrid vehicle and his encouragement to students to experiment with ecological transport ideas, brought back pleasant memories — especially now, as we celebrate 8 YEARS of the Electromobility project.
e‑Quest – Dr. Paul Pancella, Western Michigan University
The hybrid vehicle Paul presented is not a teaching experiment — it is used daily, continuously improved, and only occasionally used as teaching material to explain applied physics and ecological personal transport.
Starting Point: EFFICIENCY
To reduce energy losses, aerodynamics was the starting point of the design.
The carbon‑fiber shell of a Dutch‑made Quest velomobile was purchased second‑hand and, after many hours of tinkering, transformed into what is now e‑Quest.
Paul kept the mechanical drivetrain — pedals, chain, multiple gears — and added:
- a rear‑hub electric motor
- a battery
- control electronics enabling monitoring and regenerative braking
Specifications as of January 2026 are listed below:
After comparative tests in summer and fall 2025, the energy‑consumption results were charted and presented during the conference.
The highlight was the difference made by the aerodynamic fairing (black curve) compared to a recumbent bicycle used in parallel (yellow curve).
For routes with elevation changes, Paul emphasized the importance of energy recovery on descents — a familiar concept to EV drivers.
Future Plans
Memories of other events for students
Paul’s didactic approach reminded me of the conferences I held at my alma mater, Politehnica University of Timișoara — first in February 2018, when we announced the launch of the Electromobility project, and again in March 2019, when I presented two fully electric cars (Hyundai Ioniq and Tesla Model 3) during a lab session for Automotive Engineering students.
That’s where I met Tudor, proud owner of his 4th electric vehicle (Hyundai Ioniq/Hyundai Kona/IONIQ 5/Peugeot e‑208) who became our first external volunteer contributor. Nearly seven years later, Tudor continues to collaborate with the team, coordinates most of our EV‑promotion events, and this year launched the EV Radar România series for BEV registration statistics.
What about you?
- What “electric toys” have you invented or used?
- How have you contributed to promoting electric mobility?
My lifelong automotive career started with design and testing of ICEs, continued with service and sales, followed by 20 years of global seat design, requirements and knowledge management.
My recent passion for electric vehicles found its home at 24auto.ro and electromobilitate.
