“Extending that same passion to electrification is a natural next step.”īecause the collector market privileges unmodified vehicles, there was an early emphasis on preserving removed gas engines so they could be reinstalled should the owners later resell. “Classic vehicle restoration is an integral part of GM’s business and history,” wrote Travis Hester, GM’s vice president of EV growth operations. Today, his 40-person team has multiyear contracts with electric vehicle battery, motor, and parts suppliers, allowing them to rehab vintage Ford Broncos, Volkswagen buses, and Chevy trucks and convert them to EVs that cost anywhere from $149,000 to $199,000.Įven Ford and General Motors are entering the category, building electric motors sized to replace their guzzly old V-8 engines. “It performs better, it’s lower maintenance, and it’s actually a roughly equivalent cost.” In 2019, two years after he’d sold his software company to Target and worked on the executive team there, he decided to apply his skills in software, supply chain management, and retail to a new business of old-car electrification, founding Kindred Motorworks in San Rafael, California. “When you think about restoring your car, electrification is so obvious,” he says. With a background in tech and engineering, Howard sought improved outcomes. “No matter what, it always smelled like gasoline,” he says. But the cars weren’t dependable, and it was especially difficult to tune antiquated fuel systems. In his youth, he worked on a 1971 Plymouth Duster with his dad, and as an adult, he restored 1960s Mustangs and modernized a 1957 Chevy station wagon so he could drive it safely with his kids.
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