POWELL - About 20 cents is what it takes for Dorm Land to drive his electric Mazda RX-7 about seven miles from his Willwood home to his auto shop in Powell.

Land, with the help of son-in-law Patrick Feathers, found a 1980 Mazda at Zier's Auto Salvage and converted it to run entirely on batteries. Land said he pays 7 cents for a kilowatt, and it takes between 2 and 3 kilowatts to get the car juiced up and ready for the run to town in the morning.

The boys worked through the winter pulling the engine, installing batteries and generally converting a gas-burning automobile into a silent little sports car.

The fellows figured they invested about $3,000 mostly for batteries on the transformation, with anywhere between 500 to 1,000 hours of labor.

Feathers said the they were sick of pumping $100 into their gas-chugging pickup truck. So the Mazda's gas cap was replaced with an extension cord.

Land estimates his super-duper economy car gets the equivalent of 150 miles to the gallon cost wise. The electric Mazda may not be ready for the Indy 500, because at this point, its top end is only 55 mph with a range of 22 miles between charges.

Now, however, Land never buys gas at convenience stores, just ice cream. With gas at more than $3 a gallon and hints it will hit $4 this summer, he can buy a lot of ice cream.

Twelve 6-volt batteries like the kind found in golf carts keep the electric-blue's wheels spinning. Plans to install four more batteries will increase the Mazda's range to 35 miles.

Land said the average driver might reject a car with such a short driving span, but on the other hand, it might make a great second car for commuting to work.

The Mazda got its motor from an old forklift, but conversion packages can be purchased. One kit can be had for between $8,000 to $10,000 to render a Subaru completely electric. That isn't chump change, but Feathers figures the cost may decrease as technology advances and more competition comes into play.

Would Dorm's Automotive convert someone's car?

"I might consider it," Land said. "It might take a month."

"Or two," Feathers piped in.

Land said the customer would have to be dedicated, because regeneration takes time. The Mazda is street legal with headlights, tires and turn signals. Eleven-county license plates identify it as a local's ride.

"It just looks like a regular car when you are going down the road," Land said.

"Except there is no tailpipe," added Feathers.

And it is quiet as a mouse sleeping under a bed.

"When you come up to a stop sign," Land said, "that's what you hear, nothing."

Land takes the Mazda for a spin. There is no starter motor. He just turns the thing on like a light-switch. As he accelerates, the motor whines a bit as RPMs increase, then the only sounds are the tires on the pavement and the wind whispering across the hood.

When he stops, it is absolutely silent, as though the engine has stalled.