1 00:00:05,463 --> 00:00:08,963 Good morning Grid Connections listeners, I'm your host Chase and the Grid 2 00:00:08,963 --> 00:00:13,163 Connections podcast is the podcast designed to help empower your electric 3 00:00:13,163 --> 00:00:14,563 vehicle knowledge. 4 00:00:14,643 --> 00:00:18,643 Today we're exploring converting traditional combustion engine vehicles to 5 00:00:18,643 --> 00:00:20,943 electric and general EV maintenance. 6 00:00:20,943 --> 00:00:25,963 Our guest today is none other than Mavrick Knoles, the co -founder of Legacy EV. 7 00:00:25,963 --> 00:00:30,083 His company is an aftermarket automotive company helping educate the workforce on 8 00:00:30,083 --> 00:00:34,379 electric vehicle conversions and provide electric vehicle parts distribution. 9 00:00:34,879 --> 00:00:38,879 Legacy EV is really trying to make EV conversions and maintenance easier for 10 00:00:38,879 --> 00:00:39,919 everyone. 11 00:00:39,939 --> 00:00:44,309 I actually was able to take Legacy EV's in -person electric vehicle conversion course 12 00:00:44,309 --> 00:00:48,219 at their facility in Tempe last May and I've included a link to it in the show 13 00:00:48,219 --> 00:00:49,039 notes. 14 00:00:49,059 --> 00:00:53,129 It was a great experience to meet others in the space, most from traditional but 15 00:00:53,129 --> 00:00:57,369 high -end mechanic shops to learn not just in a detailed classroom environment but 16 00:00:57,369 --> 00:01:00,567 also get extensive hands -on experience in the shop. 17 00:01:00,567 --> 00:01:04,797 to see what making a traditional combustion car into an electric vehicle is 18 00:01:04,797 --> 00:01:05,967 all about. 19 00:01:06,107 --> 00:01:10,037 I'm actually working on my own electric vehicle conversion currently of a 1987 20 00:01:10,037 --> 00:01:12,127 Land Rover Defender 90. 21 00:01:12,127 --> 00:01:14,927 And in a previous episode, we spoke with Chris Hazel. 22 00:01:14,927 --> 00:01:19,857 He's the founder of Felton and their Defender kit, among others that they offer 23 00:01:19,857 --> 00:01:24,187 for converting your own combustion vehicle to electric. 24 00:01:24,507 --> 00:01:25,929 Quintin, coincidentally, 25 00:01:25,929 --> 00:01:30,079 Legacy EV is one of Felton's distributors of their conversion kits in the U S and 26 00:01:30,079 --> 00:01:33,519 I've also shared a link to that in the show notes for today. 27 00:01:33,699 --> 00:01:38,249 Anyone that is listening should also check out that episode because it really is a 28 00:01:38,249 --> 00:01:43,199 great intro and covers a lot of different topics of what it takes to get the right 29 00:01:43,199 --> 00:01:46,469 kit for your conversion and kind of some of the interesting ways that Felton's 30 00:01:46,469 --> 00:01:47,459 approaching that. 31 00:01:47,459 --> 00:01:52,593 And just to clarify, Legacy EV also does supply many other kits from other vendors. 32 00:01:52,599 --> 00:01:55,869 But, uh, it's just been great to speak with the team at Felton because of my 33 00:01:55,869 --> 00:02:00,029 personal interest around their defender kit, but legacy V, especially if you're 34 00:02:00,029 --> 00:02:05,509 based in the U S really has a, just about a kit for every use case and different car 35 00:02:05,509 --> 00:02:06,499 out there. 36 00:02:06,499 --> 00:02:11,509 So I really recommend checking out their site, but today's conversation was really 37 00:02:11,509 --> 00:02:12,739 fascinating with Mavrick. 38 00:02:12,739 --> 00:02:16,949 It was pretty interesting to learn about his own experiences with how he got 39 00:02:16,949 --> 00:02:19,991 involved with electric vehicles and how he kind of. 40 00:02:19,991 --> 00:02:26,061 made a pretty big pivot from teaching to co -founding Legacy EV and what it takes 41 00:02:26,061 --> 00:02:31,811 to really be in that space with making it as easy to find the right parts and deal 42 00:02:31,811 --> 00:02:37,131 with supply chain headaches to also being able to provide the education that's 43 00:02:37,131 --> 00:02:40,311 definitely needed for those who are kind of curious about converting their own 44 00:02:40,311 --> 00:02:45,231 vehicles or even if you're a mechanic in a shop and want to learn more about working 45 00:02:45,231 --> 00:02:48,919 on electric vehicles or what it takes to really know. 46 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:50,619 and how to do that safely. 47 00:02:50,619 --> 00:02:52,279 So I really enjoy this conversation. 48 00:02:52,279 --> 00:02:55,839 I'm hoping to have people like him and more in the future. 49 00:02:55,839 --> 00:02:57,593 But with that, enjoy. 50 00:02:57,877 --> 00:03:01,504 thank you for joining us today, can you just give us a little information about 51 00:03:01,765 --> 00:03:04,026 yourself and Legacy EV? 52 00:03:04,900 --> 00:03:06,060 Yeah, absolutely. 53 00:03:06,060 --> 00:03:11,243 Well, Legacy EV was founded conceptually back in 2019. 54 00:03:12,204 --> 00:03:17,167 My co-founder Rob Ward has been lifelong gear head and a little bit skeptical 55 00:03:17,167 --> 00:03:22,050 towards the EV movement until he took a ride in a Tesla P100D and really felt the 56 00:03:22,050 --> 00:03:25,792 torque and performance that EV platforms have to offer. 57 00:03:26,092 --> 00:03:30,095 And at the time, I think I was one of the only people he knew that drove an EV. 58 00:03:30,095 --> 00:03:31,988 I'd been an early adopter. 59 00:03:31,988 --> 00:03:38,812 in the EV movement was driving a 2014 Ford Focus Electric with a 72 mile range. 60 00:03:39,052 --> 00:03:45,216 And actually the first time that I went to drive that car, the dealership was about 61 00:03:45,577 --> 00:03:49,620 50, 55 miles from my house and I knew the car at a 72 mile range. 62 00:03:49,620 --> 00:03:55,744 So I bought it and got on the freeway in Arizona and turned on the AC and the range 63 00:03:55,744 --> 00:03:57,525 went from 72 down to 48. 64 00:03:57,525 --> 00:03:59,326 I was like, I'm not going to make it home. 65 00:03:59,326 --> 00:03:59,927 This is crazy. 66 00:03:59,927 --> 00:04:01,207 What am I supposed to do? 67 00:04:01,540 --> 00:04:07,206 And just real quick, like learning experience with EVs that, okay, there's 68 00:04:07,206 --> 00:04:12,331 other factors that have parasitic loss impact on the battery range and what can 69 00:04:12,331 --> 00:04:12,752 happen. 70 00:04:12,752 --> 00:04:18,498 And so Rob spent many days picking me up with a stranded battery and no range. 71 00:04:18,818 --> 00:04:21,881 So that was my introduction into EV. 72 00:04:21,942 --> 00:04:23,272 Professionally, I started out... 73 00:04:23,272 --> 00:04:26,276 a truly a crash course that is. 74 00:04:26,758 --> 00:04:27,239 I love that. 75 00:04:27,239 --> 00:04:27,960 That that's wild. 76 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:28,882 No, I I'm sorry. 77 00:04:28,882 --> 00:04:29,782 Keep going. 78 00:04:30,060 --> 00:04:31,120 No, no, you're good. 79 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:32,340 Yeah, it was wild. 80 00:04:32,340 --> 00:04:35,741 And I love to have that story to share back when people are like a 72 mile range. 81 00:04:35,741 --> 00:04:36,241 That's crazy. 82 00:04:36,241 --> 00:04:38,302 I didn't even know they made EVs with that little battery. 83 00:04:38,302 --> 00:04:42,083 And it's like, yeah, in the early days, that's what they had. 84 00:04:42,643 --> 00:04:48,785 Now it feels like 140 is a really low mileage range, but yeah, anyway, I started 85 00:04:48,785 --> 00:04:50,845 out professionally in education. 86 00:04:50,845 --> 00:04:54,806 So I graduated from the University of Washington and had plans to go to law 87 00:04:54,806 --> 00:04:55,606 school. 88 00:04:56,047 --> 00:04:59,347 So I applied for a program called Teach for America. 89 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:04,021 And that program placed me in Phoenix teaching at a new charter school. 90 00:05:04,021 --> 00:05:09,242 I was teaching, uh, reading and writing to, um, English language learners. 91 00:05:09,342 --> 00:05:11,583 And really just fell in love with education. 92 00:05:11,583 --> 00:05:13,603 I was like, wow, this is, this is awesome. 93 00:05:13,603 --> 00:05:17,505 Had a ton of fun and, uh, was getting ready to apply to law school. 94 00:05:17,505 --> 00:05:20,325 And my wife was getting ready to apply to grad school at the same time. 95 00:05:20,325 --> 00:05:23,146 And so she got into grad school up in Washington and I was like, you know what? 96 00:05:23,146 --> 00:05:26,287 I'm going to teach for a few more years, stay in education. 97 00:05:26,347 --> 00:05:28,528 And, uh, I actually found a new charter school. 98 00:05:28,528 --> 00:05:31,950 that had just been started up in Washington that I was able to join on as 99 00:05:31,950 --> 00:05:33,251 the math director for. 100 00:05:33,251 --> 00:05:37,774 And they were a charter school that was all project-based learning, very hands-on, 101 00:05:37,774 --> 00:05:39,435 like engineering, STEM, and robotics. 102 00:05:39,435 --> 00:05:44,279 And so I really got to learn the ropes of building curriculum there, where we 103 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:48,262 developed all new curriculum programs that were based around math that were very 104 00:05:48,262 --> 00:05:52,125 hands-on, project-based learning, had students working on Arduino technology, 105 00:05:52,125 --> 00:05:55,807 like every day, building really, really cool things, prosthetic arms, you name it. 106 00:05:55,807 --> 00:05:56,324 And 107 00:05:56,324 --> 00:05:59,745 just really opened my eyes to how much can be done when you can implement like really 108 00:05:59,745 --> 00:06:03,806 rigorous learning activities with hands-on approach to learning. 109 00:06:03,927 --> 00:06:08,508 And so that's kind of the basis for how we approach learning at legacy. 110 00:06:08,508 --> 00:06:12,110 Evie to a lot of our learning is built around these hands-on experiences and how 111 00:06:12,110 --> 00:06:16,092 can we make sure they're rigorous, but also really let people learn the technical 112 00:06:16,092 --> 00:06:17,032 by doing. 113 00:06:17,032 --> 00:06:23,114 Um, and so yeah, when Rob approached me to start legacy V back in 2019, I was, I was 114 00:06:23,114 --> 00:06:24,635 actually getting ready to apply to law school. 115 00:06:24,635 --> 00:06:26,040 I had taken the LSAT. 116 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,381 I was writing my applications and I was just feeling like, I don't know if law 117 00:06:29,381 --> 00:06:30,942 school is for me. 118 00:06:30,942 --> 00:06:33,703 So when he approached me with the idea, I was like, absolutely. 119 00:06:33,703 --> 00:06:34,563 I'd love to. 120 00:06:34,563 --> 00:06:39,265 That sounds way better than reading contracts all day, which I ironically 121 00:06:39,265 --> 00:06:42,147 spend a large portion of my day doing when we have big deals coming through the 122 00:06:42,147 --> 00:06:42,627 pipeline. 123 00:06:42,627 --> 00:06:45,088 But yeah, it's been really fun. 124 00:06:45,088 --> 00:06:46,628 It's been a wild ride since we started. 125 00:06:46,628 --> 00:06:48,909 And I guess that's my background. 126 00:06:48,909 --> 00:06:52,931 I didn't talk much about legacy, but I can dive into a little bit about who legacy is 127 00:06:52,931 --> 00:06:54,031 now as well. 128 00:06:54,230 --> 00:06:56,971 for anybody that's new if that sounds good to you, Jason. 129 00:06:57,719 --> 00:06:58,679 Yeah, that'd be great. 130 00:06:58,679 --> 00:07:02,101 I definitely want to come back to learn more about how you landed on the Ford 131 00:07:02,101 --> 00:07:06,743 electric because that is such a rare car and was such low volume. 132 00:07:06,784 --> 00:07:10,506 So no, I think first let's, let's go into legacy V and then I have so many questions 133 00:07:10,506 --> 00:07:11,586 about that alone. 134 00:07:11,586 --> 00:07:12,807 Uh, but this is great. 135 00:07:12,807 --> 00:07:16,809 And coincidentally, my wife is a lawyer in the energy law space. 136 00:07:16,849 --> 00:07:18,230 And I think she would probably agree with you. 137 00:07:18,230 --> 00:07:19,590 You made the right choice. 138 00:07:20,789 --> 00:07:21,989 Yeah, that's funny. 139 00:07:22,049 --> 00:07:25,290 Yeah, don't connect with people very often that are also lawyers in this space, but 140 00:07:25,290 --> 00:07:26,190 that's cool. 141 00:07:26,230 --> 00:07:27,670 And yeah, happy to talk more about the Ford. 142 00:07:27,670 --> 00:07:32,352 I'll keep the intro on Legacy EV a little bit shorter than I did my own, but Legacy 143 00:07:32,352 --> 00:07:36,793 EV is a aftermarket automotive company focused on EV parts distribution and 144 00:07:36,793 --> 00:07:38,433 workforce development. 145 00:07:38,514 --> 00:07:44,355 So we distribute aftermarket parts for EVs focused on mostly EV conversions, but we 146 00:07:44,355 --> 00:07:45,715 also support... 147 00:07:46,076 --> 00:07:49,599 EV repair shops and replacement equipment for electric vehicles. 148 00:07:49,599 --> 00:07:52,161 And then we provide all the training that's needed to come along with that. 149 00:07:52,161 --> 00:07:55,123 So that's really how our customer journey starts, is people come to us to get 150 00:07:55,123 --> 00:07:57,285 trained so they can understand this stuff better. 151 00:07:57,325 --> 00:08:02,729 And then they really trust us as this brand agnostic parts hub to come and get 152 00:08:02,729 --> 00:08:05,652 the equipment they need to go out and do the work that they've now been trained 153 00:08:05,652 --> 00:08:06,372 for. 154 00:08:06,412 --> 00:08:10,996 We also support like junior colleges, tech schools, high school CTE programs, STEM 155 00:08:10,996 --> 00:08:14,719 programs with the curriculum and hardware they need to teach programs around 156 00:08:14,719 --> 00:08:15,739 e-mobility. 157 00:08:16,464 --> 00:08:20,709 So to date we have about 50 authorized installers around the country. 158 00:08:20,709 --> 00:08:26,415 That's how our parts get out into the world, to the end user really, is we have 159 00:08:26,415 --> 00:08:29,678 authorized installers that convert vehicles from gas to electric for 160 00:08:30,119 --> 00:08:32,642 customers and we support them with the parts and training that they need. 161 00:08:32,642 --> 00:08:36,185 And then we're supporting about 18 schools around the country right now and growing 162 00:08:36,185 --> 00:08:38,627 probably will be at about 30 by the end of this year. 163 00:08:39,403 --> 00:08:39,683 Oh, wow. 164 00:08:39,683 --> 00:08:40,483 That's awesome. 165 00:08:40,483 --> 00:08:44,787 I knew just kind of from following you guys that program was starting to take 166 00:08:44,787 --> 00:08:46,948 off, but it's great to see that there's been so much growth. 167 00:08:46,948 --> 00:08:52,312 I guess if anyone is listening, what would be the best way that if they have a school 168 00:08:52,312 --> 00:08:54,934 or kind of educator that wants to reach out to you to learn more about that 169 00:08:54,934 --> 00:08:55,754 program. 170 00:08:56,172 --> 00:08:57,052 Yeah, absolutely. 171 00:08:57,052 --> 00:08:59,253 You can reach out to us at info at legacy.com. 172 00:08:59,813 --> 00:09:01,394 You can also check out our legacy. 173 00:09:01,394 --> 00:09:03,914 Evie Academy, it's academy legacy.com. 174 00:09:04,495 --> 00:09:09,197 That's our online learning ecosystem that we just relaunched into. 175 00:09:09,197 --> 00:09:12,738 It's like second iteration now that has a lot of our online learning materials that 176 00:09:12,738 --> 00:09:15,819 where you can start to explore and see what's available for you to learn with 177 00:09:15,819 --> 00:09:16,599 online. 178 00:09:18,051 --> 00:09:21,713 Yeah, I think that's, uh, it's such a great thing that your team is doing. 179 00:09:21,713 --> 00:09:25,656 And it's kind of funny because the way I came across legacy EV was the opposite of 180 00:09:25,656 --> 00:09:26,936 what you're talking about. 181 00:09:27,077 --> 00:09:31,260 I was actually kind of looking for parts to do a conversion, saw a lot of the stuff 182 00:09:31,260 --> 00:09:34,802 that you had and realized that even in my own kind of knowledge base, I was pretty 183 00:09:34,802 --> 00:09:38,585 rusty, um, and still just had a lot of questions, especially with some of these 184 00:09:38,585 --> 00:09:39,025 kids. 185 00:09:39,025 --> 00:09:42,367 So I first did that online course. 186 00:09:42,367 --> 00:09:46,210 That part I think was good, but was pretty familiar. 187 00:09:46,210 --> 00:09:47,170 Like I think. 188 00:09:47,515 --> 00:09:49,475 pretty aligned with what I already knew. 189 00:09:49,715 --> 00:09:53,136 And I took the plunge and then did the actual course in May. 190 00:09:53,136 --> 00:09:56,717 And I think what I enjoyed so much about that was there was obviously kind of the 191 00:09:56,717 --> 00:09:59,638 curriculum where you're in the class and you're learning. 192 00:09:59,998 --> 00:10:04,780 And it was very detailed and subject specific that kind of maybe some of these 193 00:10:04,780 --> 00:10:07,640 other programs, or especially if you're kind of doing like an online course, 194 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:09,921 doesn't get into that fine level of detail. 195 00:10:09,921 --> 00:10:12,662 And then it was augmented with so much hands-on experience. 196 00:10:12,662 --> 00:10:15,042 And I think that was the huge thing for me. 197 00:10:15,551 --> 00:10:19,452 Um, and I realized I was kind of in an interesting, I was kind of just like the 198 00:10:19,452 --> 00:10:24,094 random average Joe in there who was curious about this, uh, with, there was 199 00:10:24,094 --> 00:10:29,476 one other guy that was, um, an educator, uh, I believe at a high school in Boise. 200 00:10:29,497 --> 00:10:33,198 And then it was mostly like Shelby America and like very large, very well 201 00:10:33,198 --> 00:10:39,181 established, um, grouped companies with McCann, uh, techs and that were trying to 202 00:10:39,181 --> 00:10:41,742 really learn about how to now do EVs. 203 00:10:41,762 --> 00:10:43,415 And so it was just a really great. 204 00:10:43,415 --> 00:10:44,476 uh, learning experience. 205 00:10:44,476 --> 00:10:49,042 And I think what was really cool about it too, was just such a wide variation in the 206 00:10:49,042 --> 00:10:51,285 people who were there and why they were there. 207 00:10:51,626 --> 00:10:54,449 Um, so I've really been recommending your guys program and it's just great to see 208 00:10:54,449 --> 00:10:55,630 how much that's grown. 209 00:10:55,984 --> 00:10:56,544 Well, thank you. 210 00:10:56,544 --> 00:10:57,785 Yeah, we always appreciate that. 211 00:10:57,785 --> 00:11:03,007 And you bring up a good point that really, you know, our business model is supporting 212 00:11:03,007 --> 00:11:07,830 individuals and businesses in whatever they need to be able to adopt and adapt 213 00:11:07,830 --> 00:11:10,451 their business to support electrification. 214 00:11:10,451 --> 00:11:15,314 And so that can be these like legacy companies like Shelby American that are 215 00:11:15,314 --> 00:11:19,877 figuring out what does their business look like in a world of EV to companies that 216 00:11:19,877 --> 00:11:25,339 are providing paint for battery modules that goes inside and keeps them 217 00:11:25,348 --> 00:11:28,369 you know, the paint is a different type of paint than you would see in any other 218 00:11:28,369 --> 00:11:29,029 application. 219 00:11:29,029 --> 00:11:32,531 And they want their sales reps to be able to talk about the EV and how it works. 220 00:11:32,531 --> 00:11:33,672 And so they send them to us. 221 00:11:33,672 --> 00:11:38,454 And so it's really surprising how many different types of businesses our training 222 00:11:38,454 --> 00:11:39,694 can support. 223 00:11:39,995 --> 00:11:44,857 But it's really, yeah, the fundamentals of EV is a fun way for people to learn out 224 00:11:44,857 --> 00:11:47,558 there in the shop, looking at conversions, looking at the training benches and 225 00:11:47,558 --> 00:11:48,679 getting their hands on the equipment. 226 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:50,839 So it makes a really fun learning experience. 227 00:11:52,099 --> 00:11:55,440 For sure, and I think my recommendation even to the team was like, I would almost 228 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:59,082 pay the money again, just to like have the two days of where you're wiring up the 229 00:11:59,082 --> 00:12:04,265 system and doing kind of these, just the hands-on parts of it, because it's so much 230 00:12:04,265 --> 00:12:10,108 nicer and easier to make those mistakes on your demo and kind of the educational 231 00:12:10,568 --> 00:12:13,690 stuff you have there versus actually trying to wire this stuff through and do 232 00:12:13,690 --> 00:12:14,910 it in car. 233 00:12:15,315 --> 00:12:19,097 Um, but yeah, I think it's such a great program that you guys are doing and it's 234 00:12:19,097 --> 00:12:23,761 not the only program out there, but I think by far, at least in North America, 235 00:12:23,761 --> 00:12:28,644 for sure, um, since a little bit wild west, as far as the regulations as to what 236 00:12:28,644 --> 00:12:30,366 qualifies to be an EV tech. 237 00:12:30,366 --> 00:12:35,009 And I know you guys are doing actually a lot to kind of help build those rules and 238 00:12:35,009 --> 00:12:35,870 put those in place. 239 00:12:35,870 --> 00:12:40,813 Um, but I think it's great to see that you guys are kind of having not just the 240 00:12:40,813 --> 00:12:42,734 educational component, but also. 241 00:12:43,339 --> 00:12:48,040 You can get everything from a used Tesla drive unit to a brand new kit. 242 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:51,821 And it really does give you a really full spectrum of how much you're trying to do, 243 00:12:51,821 --> 00:12:56,142 maybe a build on a budget to do some kind of the higher end builds as well. 244 00:12:56,142 --> 00:13:00,783 But, um, I guess that reminds me, I'd be curious to just kind of learn a bit more 245 00:13:00,783 --> 00:13:05,785 about, um, well, okay, before we get too much of this, cause I think I can narrow 246 00:13:05,785 --> 00:13:08,886 down this whole day, let's, let's go back to this Ford, the Ford electric. 247 00:13:08,886 --> 00:13:11,339 I have a couple of questions about that, but what, 248 00:13:11,339 --> 00:13:12,059 for sure. 249 00:13:12,059 --> 00:13:13,120 But did you choose that? 250 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:15,181 Cause back then you said it was 2014. 251 00:13:16,203 --> 00:13:19,767 It would have been, it would have been like that, the Nissan Leaf, and then 252 00:13:19,767 --> 00:13:23,812 obviously like maybe a Model S or something or a Tesla Roadster, but there's 253 00:13:23,812 --> 00:13:26,275 a pretty big price delta to go up to that. 254 00:13:26,275 --> 00:13:30,038 But yeah, can you share what, um, how you landed on that? 255 00:13:30,380 --> 00:13:31,180 Yeah, for sure. 256 00:13:31,180 --> 00:13:36,363 Well, so I bought it in, it was either late 2015 or early 2016. 257 00:13:36,443 --> 00:13:38,244 So it was a used model. 258 00:13:38,364 --> 00:13:44,908 And I think at the time I was looking at the Nissan Leaf, there was the, the BMW 259 00:13:44,908 --> 00:13:48,930 that's electric that I think had also just come out, but it was quite a bit more 260 00:13:48,930 --> 00:13:49,950 expensive. 261 00:13:49,950 --> 00:13:52,071 And then yeah, Tesla Model S. 262 00:13:53,472 --> 00:13:56,214 And that was, that was really it. 263 00:13:56,214 --> 00:13:59,315 And so for me, actually what started 264 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:03,821 my whole journey down the path of electrification is I was, I was interested 265 00:14:03,821 --> 00:14:09,344 in it for the environmental aspect, but really it was, I could use the carpool 266 00:14:09,344 --> 00:14:10,684 lane in the state of Arizona. 267 00:14:10,684 --> 00:14:13,645 And I was like, I don't care what I have to do to be able to charge. 268 00:14:13,645 --> 00:14:15,246 I'll figure this out if I can use a carpool lane. 269 00:14:15,246 --> 00:14:19,348 Cause I was commuting like an hour and 15 minutes to work and probably 30 minutes of 270 00:14:19,348 --> 00:14:20,308 that was in traffic. 271 00:14:20,308 --> 00:14:23,749 It could have been like a 45 minute commute if I could use the carpool lane. 272 00:14:23,910 --> 00:14:27,171 And so I just started looking and I was like, how can I figure this out and what's 273 00:14:27,171 --> 00:14:28,291 the cheapest car? 274 00:14:28,816 --> 00:14:35,520 driving a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta 1.8T, which was super fun to drive, but it was a 275 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:37,862 cheap car, right, in 2015. 276 00:14:37,862 --> 00:14:40,364 I think I spent like $4,000 on that car. 277 00:14:40,504 --> 00:14:42,485 And so I was like, I didn't have a bunch of money. 278 00:14:42,485 --> 00:14:45,408 I was a teacher just starting out of college. 279 00:14:45,408 --> 00:14:47,169 And so I needed something that was inexpensive. 280 00:14:47,169 --> 00:14:49,431 So I wasn't gonna do the BMW or the Tesla. 281 00:14:49,431 --> 00:14:52,553 And so I was between the Nissan and the Ford Focus. 282 00:14:52,553 --> 00:14:56,448 And they had pretty similar range, but I liked how the Focus looked way better. 283 00:14:56,448 --> 00:14:58,528 I was like, I don't really want to drive a Nissan light. 284 00:14:58,528 --> 00:15:00,689 It just wasn't doing it for me without luck. 285 00:15:00,689 --> 00:15:03,470 And the Ford Focus looks just like the gas Ford Focus. 286 00:15:03,470 --> 00:15:07,192 You can't even tell the difference except for the blue cloud plate. 287 00:15:07,192 --> 00:15:09,373 And then there's no exhaust. 288 00:15:09,373 --> 00:15:12,014 So that was really the only way that you could tell the difference. 289 00:15:12,014 --> 00:15:13,114 But I just liked the look. 290 00:15:13,114 --> 00:15:15,515 And I thought at the time, 72 mile range would do it. 291 00:15:15,515 --> 00:15:17,696 It was like a 40 mile commute to work. 292 00:15:17,696 --> 00:15:18,957 So I was like, okay, I'll get to work. 293 00:15:18,957 --> 00:15:22,038 I'll charge a little bit and then I'll drive home. 294 00:15:23,279 --> 00:15:25,400 And there was no EV charger. 295 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:29,523 in my work so I brought the little wall outlet, like the 110, and I'd plug it in 296 00:15:29,523 --> 00:15:34,528 to like a lamp post outside my work and then I'd charge it and I'd get like eight 297 00:15:34,528 --> 00:15:37,351 miles on the day and that was it. 298 00:15:37,351 --> 00:15:39,733 But it worked, it got me home. 299 00:15:39,733 --> 00:15:42,531 I just barely had enough to recharge overnight where I had a level two. 300 00:15:42,531 --> 00:15:44,303 to go both ways. 301 00:15:44,303 --> 00:15:45,065 Gotcha. 302 00:15:45,568 --> 00:15:47,108 Yeah, just barely though. 303 00:15:47,108 --> 00:15:49,389 I mean, I had to plug in at work. 304 00:15:49,389 --> 00:15:53,710 Although here's another really funny follow up to that story. 305 00:15:54,950 --> 00:15:58,771 After about six months of ownership, the high voltage battery went out. 306 00:15:59,452 --> 00:16:02,032 And I was like, oh my gosh, this is not good. 307 00:16:02,393 --> 00:16:07,214 And so I took it to the Ford dealer and they told me it was gonna cost $36,000 to 308 00:16:07,214 --> 00:16:08,994 replace the battery. 309 00:16:09,075 --> 00:16:10,855 I paid $8,000 for the car. 310 00:16:10,855 --> 00:16:12,035 Maybe even, it was like, 311 00:16:12,035 --> 00:16:13,441 did it cost to actually buy it? 312 00:16:13,441 --> 00:16:14,242 Yeah. 313 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,080 Yeah, I think I paid under $8,000. 314 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:19,661 I think it was like $7,500 or something like that. 315 00:16:19,661 --> 00:16:22,022 It was pretty inexpensive. 316 00:16:22,022 --> 00:16:26,783 And especially at the time, it had 16,000 miles on it and it was a 2014. 317 00:16:26,783 --> 00:16:30,084 I was like, this is the newest car I've ever driven and a backup camera. 318 00:16:30,104 --> 00:16:31,644 I was like, this is great. 319 00:16:31,644 --> 00:16:33,345 I'll do this all day. 320 00:16:33,345 --> 00:16:37,006 But the battery went out and I was like, that's way more than what I paid for the 321 00:16:37,006 --> 00:16:37,566 car. 322 00:16:37,566 --> 00:16:38,626 Like, how am I gonna do this? 323 00:16:38,626 --> 00:16:42,087 Turns out it was under warranty, eight year, 100,000 mile warranty. 324 00:16:42,087 --> 00:16:44,352 So Ford footed the bill. 325 00:16:44,352 --> 00:16:47,213 And so they didn't have any more 2014 packs. 326 00:16:47,213 --> 00:16:49,874 They put a 2017 pack in the car. 327 00:16:49,874 --> 00:16:52,635 And so I got 140 mile range. 328 00:16:52,635 --> 00:16:56,556 So I got like the new vehicles, yeah, the new vehicle range. 329 00:16:56,556 --> 00:17:00,878 And so then when I went to sell that car, I sold it for like $12,000, which was more 330 00:17:00,878 --> 00:17:01,958 than I paid. 331 00:17:01,959 --> 00:17:04,080 And I saved the money on gas every month driving it. 332 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:07,661 So I was like, EVs are the future, this is the way to go. 333 00:17:07,781 --> 00:17:10,022 I just made so much money out of this car, it's amazing. 334 00:17:10,522 --> 00:17:12,003 No, that's not everybody's experience. 335 00:17:12,003 --> 00:17:14,077 I think that was pretty unique, but I was pretty stoked. 336 00:17:14,077 --> 00:17:17,923 legacy EV and teaching, now you're doing car flipping is kind of what the takeaway 337 00:17:17,923 --> 00:17:19,826 from that experience was. 338 00:17:19,826 --> 00:17:20,526 Yeah. 339 00:17:20,561 --> 00:17:21,924 Yep, absolutely. 340 00:17:23,371 --> 00:17:23,951 No, that's all. 341 00:17:23,951 --> 00:17:29,377 I'm kind of curious when you took it in, what did the dealership say? 342 00:17:29,377 --> 00:17:33,040 Do you remember as far as like they didn't want to touch it or they had really no 343 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:36,163 idea what to do with the battery replacement and that experience? 344 00:17:36,163 --> 00:17:38,705 I mean, I can imagine that nowadays. 345 00:17:38,726 --> 00:17:42,750 I was talking to someone who had an issue with a Ford Mach-E recently and then kind 346 00:17:42,750 --> 00:17:44,951 of the high voltage problem we're seeing a year ago. 347 00:17:45,072 --> 00:17:47,534 I can't even imagine why that would have been in 2016. 348 00:17:47,656 --> 00:17:51,559 Yeah, it was definitely even more the Wild West back then than it is today. 349 00:17:51,559 --> 00:17:55,102 I showed up and they were like, we've never seen one of these, so we don't know 350 00:17:55,102 --> 00:17:55,562 what to do. 351 00:17:55,562 --> 00:17:56,623 It's gonna take a while. 352 00:17:56,623 --> 00:17:59,405 I think it took them like three weeks just to get me the quote on what it was gonna 353 00:17:59,405 --> 00:18:01,147 cost to repair it. 354 00:18:01,147 --> 00:18:05,911 And then I think it was with them for three months, replacing the high voltage 355 00:18:05,911 --> 00:18:07,011 battery pack. 356 00:18:08,593 --> 00:18:11,815 So yeah, it was pretty wild. 357 00:18:11,815 --> 00:18:13,657 And the bill, I wish I still had the bill. 358 00:18:13,657 --> 00:18:15,803 I should see if I can find it, but yeah. 359 00:18:15,803 --> 00:18:19,884 everything that went into fixing that car's battery, it was more expensive than 360 00:18:19,884 --> 00:18:22,004 buying a new 2017. 361 00:18:22,265 --> 00:18:27,706 Like the car was like technically totaled if it wasn't under warranty, which is just 362 00:18:27,706 --> 00:18:28,566 wild. 363 00:18:29,367 --> 00:18:32,948 So yeah, I think for me that was a really eye-opening experience that like there, 364 00:18:32,948 --> 00:18:36,829 this is cool that I'm like being taken care of and I get a new battery pack and 365 00:18:36,829 --> 00:18:37,509 this is all great. 366 00:18:37,509 --> 00:18:41,130 But like what's going to happen once these things are out of warranty? 367 00:18:41,175 --> 00:18:43,495 how are technicians gonna know how to replace it? 368 00:18:43,495 --> 00:18:45,256 Cause I only had the Ford dealer. 369 00:18:45,256 --> 00:18:46,456 That was the only place I could go. 370 00:18:46,456 --> 00:18:48,817 That was the only place that sold the battery pack. 371 00:18:48,817 --> 00:18:52,017 So like even the local mechanic that I was used to going to, he was like, don't bring 372 00:18:52,017 --> 00:18:52,538 it here. 373 00:18:52,538 --> 00:18:54,178 I can't do anything for you. 374 00:18:54,258 --> 00:18:57,379 And so it just started to like get the wheels spinning on. 375 00:18:57,379 --> 00:18:59,299 What is this gonna look like in 20 years? 376 00:18:59,299 --> 00:19:03,981 Like when these, a ton of these vehicles are out of warranty and still technically 377 00:19:04,161 --> 00:19:07,362 like they're on the road, they're getting bought in the used vehicle market, you 378 00:19:07,362 --> 00:19:08,002 know? 379 00:19:09,082 --> 00:19:10,702 And so I like to think that that's 380 00:19:10,991 --> 00:19:14,792 a large part of what we're addressing today is we're helping shops get access to 381 00:19:14,792 --> 00:19:17,473 trainings so they can figure out what it looks like to do work in this space. 382 00:19:17,473 --> 00:19:22,214 And we're supporting shops that are replacing Nissan Leaf battery packs. 383 00:19:22,754 --> 00:19:26,435 So we have a partner that we work with where we source the Nissan Leaf components 384 00:19:26,435 --> 00:19:29,276 to sell them into the aftermarket where people can also come to us and buy those 385 00:19:29,276 --> 00:19:33,477 packs and then install them on Leafs that have serious battery degradation. 386 00:19:33,477 --> 00:19:35,098 You can get new batteries and replace those. 387 00:19:35,098 --> 00:19:37,760 So it just starts to open up the world. 388 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:39,812 possibilities for what you can do in this space. 389 00:19:39,812 --> 00:19:41,982 I think there's a kind of opportunity here for sure. 390 00:19:43,326 --> 00:19:43,926 Yeah, that's great. 391 00:19:43,926 --> 00:19:48,087 And I think you're totally right that there's such a large opportunity, whether 392 00:19:48,087 --> 00:19:53,749 it be from people doing the classic car kind of resto mod, EV conversion to just 393 00:19:53,889 --> 00:19:57,910 existing electric vehicle maintenance, which is only going to grow with more and 394 00:19:57,910 --> 00:19:59,410 more of these on the roads. 395 00:19:59,951 --> 00:20:03,052 I guess the only other question I had is that that's wild that you essentially 396 00:20:03,052 --> 00:20:05,272 didn't have a car for four months. 397 00:20:05,272 --> 00:20:09,213 Did they give you a loaner or what, what exactly, how did that work out? 398 00:20:09,587 --> 00:20:10,307 Yeah, they did. 399 00:20:10,307 --> 00:20:14,311 I had a Ford, oh, what did I have? 400 00:20:14,311 --> 00:20:16,252 Yeah, I got a loaner, a gas powered car. 401 00:20:16,252 --> 00:20:17,914 And so it was a bummer. 402 00:20:17,914 --> 00:20:20,376 I was like, Oh man, I have to pay for gas now, which I didn't. 403 00:20:20,376 --> 00:20:23,859 I had free charging at the apartment that I was living at while I was a teacher. 404 00:20:23,859 --> 00:20:25,340 And then I got to charge for free at work. 405 00:20:25,340 --> 00:20:30,425 So I was saving all that money on gas for a long commute, you know, but then for 406 00:20:30,425 --> 00:20:33,207 that brief period of time, I had to pay for gas, which was a bummer and can use 407 00:20:33,207 --> 00:20:34,088 the carpool lane. 408 00:20:34,088 --> 00:20:37,070 So life was rough for a couple of months. 409 00:20:37,090 --> 00:20:37,770 Yeah. 410 00:20:37,963 --> 00:20:44,191 But I was thankful that it was under warranty and yeah, it was very, very 411 00:20:44,191 --> 00:20:47,574 helpful that the batteries do come with such, such long warranties. 412 00:20:48,350 --> 00:20:49,110 And it's interesting. 413 00:20:49,110 --> 00:20:50,131 I mean, I love the Phoenix area. 414 00:20:50,131 --> 00:20:51,652 I've got family down there. 415 00:20:51,652 --> 00:20:57,397 And I think especially with those early EVs, I know the leaf had the issue with it 416 00:20:57,397 --> 00:21:00,140 being, uh, I believe just air-cooled and not liquid cooled. 417 00:21:00,140 --> 00:21:06,385 I'm not sure about the Ford going from the 70 mile range to the 140 mile range. 418 00:21:06,385 --> 00:21:11,029 When you turned on the AC, was there still a pretty noticeable difference in range? 419 00:21:11,029 --> 00:21:15,092 Or had there been kind of changes to kind of the thermal management at all with that 420 00:21:15,092 --> 00:21:16,713 change, the new battery. 421 00:21:17,139 --> 00:21:18,479 You know, that's a good question. 422 00:21:18,479 --> 00:21:23,703 I haven't even looked up the specs of that car since I have become more knowledgeable 423 00:21:23,703 --> 00:21:25,484 around EV technology. 424 00:21:25,905 --> 00:21:30,407 I believe it was just an air-cooled pack. 425 00:21:30,528 --> 00:21:35,711 Yeah, I don't even think they were really doing liquid cooling at the time, but 426 00:21:35,711 --> 00:21:38,193 definitely saw range decrease. 427 00:21:38,193 --> 00:21:42,436 I think instead of 142, it was like 117 or something like that. 428 00:21:43,437 --> 00:21:45,018 So still a big dip. 429 00:21:45,018 --> 00:21:46,315 And heat was the other. 430 00:21:46,315 --> 00:21:49,616 thing that really killed it, but that's also when I learned like, oh, this car has 431 00:21:50,077 --> 00:21:50,697 seat heat. 432 00:21:50,697 --> 00:21:54,539 And that's like a huge reason why is because cabin heat takes way more energy 433 00:21:54,539 --> 00:21:55,640 than seat heat. 434 00:21:55,640 --> 00:22:00,202 And so yeah, on you don't get very many cold winter mornings in Arizona, but 435 00:22:00,202 --> 00:22:02,303 occasionally it's down in like the thirties or forties. 436 00:22:02,303 --> 00:22:04,885 And so you're right. 437 00:22:04,885 --> 00:22:05,365 Yeah. 438 00:22:05,365 --> 00:22:09,648 So I'd get out there and I turn on the seat heat and I let it warm up or the car. 439 00:22:09,648 --> 00:22:12,869 Also, you could program it to have a schedule. 440 00:22:12,869 --> 00:22:14,550 So I like had my commute scheduled. 441 00:22:14,550 --> 00:22:15,019 So 442 00:22:15,019 --> 00:22:18,542 while it was plugged in, it would turn on cabin heat and get the car up to 443 00:22:18,542 --> 00:22:22,166 temperature while it was plugged in so it wouldn't take battery life, which was 444 00:22:22,166 --> 00:22:26,230 super cool to be able to have those features and mess with a lot of that, 445 00:22:26,230 --> 00:22:27,331 which helped with range. 446 00:22:27,331 --> 00:22:29,213 And so I just started to learn the tips. 447 00:22:29,213 --> 00:22:34,538 I learned how to drive it better and all those things back in 2015, 2016. 448 00:22:35,950 --> 00:22:39,191 I think that's so funny because that's such a common experience where it's like, 449 00:22:39,191 --> 00:22:42,573 they're very clear reason for, I mean, I think obviously a lot of people have 450 00:22:42,573 --> 00:22:47,235 bought EVs for environmental reasons, but I think so, or if they do, it's almost 451 00:22:47,235 --> 00:22:48,215 secondary. 452 00:22:48,215 --> 00:22:51,237 Where there is a lot of it, it's just kind of curiosity. 453 00:22:51,237 --> 00:22:57,340 Uh, there's obviously the HOV, the, uh, savings other, I think actually kind of 454 00:22:57,340 --> 00:22:58,940 reasons that people will buy it. 455 00:22:58,940 --> 00:23:01,501 And then there's kind of the secondary benefits of it. 456 00:23:01,846 --> 00:23:05,188 And to see your kind of your experience of like kind of going in without really 457 00:23:05,188 --> 00:23:08,971 knowing, and especially back then, there just wasn't a whole lot of knowledge about 458 00:23:08,971 --> 00:23:09,992 these different systems. 459 00:23:09,992 --> 00:23:13,674 And I think it's really cool to see some of this in the training I did where, I 460 00:23:13,674 --> 00:23:17,137 mean, obviously I think everyone thinks about the battery and the motor, but the 461 00:23:17,137 --> 00:23:20,739 biggest thing for sure is really the thermals to maintain the vehicle over 462 00:23:20,739 --> 00:23:21,060 time. 463 00:23:21,060 --> 00:23:26,924 And trying to minimize those big deltas you can see in energy usage or even 464 00:23:26,924 --> 00:23:28,945 degradation, but okay. 465 00:23:28,945 --> 00:23:29,246 You. 466 00:23:29,246 --> 00:23:32,108 You sell the electric, you make a profit with that. 467 00:23:32,348 --> 00:23:36,732 And from there, is that kind of around the time you were pretty much leaning into 468 00:23:36,732 --> 00:23:42,577 legacy EV and was it at that time really the focus on education and then kind of 469 00:23:42,577 --> 00:23:47,741 became selling parts as well, or was it kind of a both at the same time? 470 00:23:48,795 --> 00:23:53,477 Yeah, so I think, you know, when Rob approached me with the idea, the 471 00:23:53,477 --> 00:23:57,698 authorized installer network was always a part of what the business would look like. 472 00:23:57,698 --> 00:24:02,040 We knew that, you know, we wanted to be able to create a trusted network of 473 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,161 technicians who could build these cars for people. 474 00:24:05,161 --> 00:24:09,263 And really, that helps also establish trust with the manufacturers that like, 475 00:24:09,263 --> 00:24:12,004 they trust us to distribute their parts and get them in the hands of knowledgeable 476 00:24:12,004 --> 00:24:12,725 technicians. 477 00:24:12,725 --> 00:24:16,606 And so in order to do that, there needed to be some aspect of training. 478 00:24:17,907 --> 00:24:21,989 And then I think where I brought some like vision into the picture was just around 479 00:24:21,989 --> 00:24:24,571 the robustness of that training and what it needed to look like. 480 00:24:24,571 --> 00:24:28,093 And then the opportunity to also work with schools to build out talent pipelines, to 481 00:24:28,093 --> 00:24:33,396 help build out a network of technicians starting out of their education journey 482 00:24:33,396 --> 00:24:37,578 through their Botech school or, or CTE program, whatever it is. 483 00:24:37,799 --> 00:24:42,242 And so training has always been a part of the vision of legacy from the beginning. 484 00:24:42,242 --> 00:24:44,142 But as we've. 485 00:24:44,703 --> 00:24:47,484 like moved more and more into supporting more shops. 486 00:24:47,484 --> 00:24:51,987 We realized how important it is in the journey of like, pretty much everybody 487 00:24:51,987 --> 00:24:57,771 needs some level of training to be able to access the opportunity that 488 00:24:58,091 --> 00:25:00,433 electrification is gonna provide in the automotive market. 489 00:25:00,433 --> 00:25:03,614 And so that's really where the journey starts for a lot of people for sure. 490 00:25:05,034 --> 00:25:08,795 Well, and I think you're, uh, you're totally right that you just, there's, 491 00:25:08,795 --> 00:25:11,555 there's a part where you also just have to get your hands dirty and learn this. 492 00:25:11,555 --> 00:25:14,936 And I think that's what makes your program so good as it has that element with the 493 00:25:14,936 --> 00:25:16,516 training benches too. 494 00:25:16,577 --> 00:25:23,098 But, um, we actually had Chris Felton or Chris Hazel on the CEO of Felton, uh, back 495 00:25:23,098 --> 00:25:28,780 in December and one I'm obviously, uh, I have a 1987 Land Rover Defender 90 that 496 00:25:28,780 --> 00:25:30,720 I'm looking to convert to electric. 497 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:34,141 So most of that episode was me just drooling over what their new kid is. 498 00:25:34,141 --> 00:25:34,634 And I've. 499 00:25:34,634 --> 00:25:37,215 heard you guys are going to be the ones importing it. 500 00:25:37,215 --> 00:25:38,315 So very excited for that. 501 00:25:38,315 --> 00:25:44,418 But it was really interesting talking to him about how in the EU and the UK, the 502 00:25:44,418 --> 00:25:50,560 definition for when EV tech has to do or what even a converted EV has to meet is 503 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:53,221 actually pretty well fleshed out at this point. 504 00:25:53,401 --> 00:25:58,083 And I know your team was kind of pushing for some of that here domestically and 505 00:25:58,083 --> 00:26:02,585 also kind of having some of those discussions at the most recent SEMA event 506 00:26:02,585 --> 00:26:03,325 in Las Vegas. 507 00:26:03,325 --> 00:26:04,062 Is there 508 00:26:04,062 --> 00:26:09,105 Any kind of updates or anything you can also share about what you're trying to 509 00:26:09,105 --> 00:26:14,248 accomplish and what you're trying to find to be like those ideal recommendations for 510 00:26:14,248 --> 00:26:16,549 what a qualified EV tech would be. 511 00:26:17,139 --> 00:26:18,359 Yeah, absolutely. 512 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:21,501 And as you were asking that, it also sparked a thought that I had earlier that 513 00:26:21,501 --> 00:26:24,042 I wanted to share when we were talking about the online program versus the 514 00:26:24,042 --> 00:26:24,962 in-person too. 515 00:26:24,962 --> 00:26:30,905 And a big strategy behind the reason the online programs built the way that it is, 516 00:26:30,905 --> 00:26:34,847 is so that we can cover the base level, like the fundamentals of what people need 517 00:26:34,847 --> 00:26:38,308 to know before they come in person and start getting to tinker in a hands-on 518 00:26:38,308 --> 00:26:39,149 environment. 519 00:26:39,149 --> 00:26:43,303 We don't want to preload too much of like what people need to know. 520 00:26:43,303 --> 00:26:46,465 if we can accomplish it through the hands-on learning experiences when they 521 00:26:46,465 --> 00:26:46,805 come in. 522 00:26:46,805 --> 00:26:50,888 But we also want to make sure everybody starts at the same level playing field 523 00:26:50,888 --> 00:26:52,149 when they come in for the hands-on. 524 00:26:52,149 --> 00:26:54,550 That way we can be as efficient as possible with everybody's time. 525 00:26:54,550 --> 00:26:59,154 So online you get to learn about Ohm's Law and Watt's Law and efficiency of EVs and 526 00:26:59,154 --> 00:27:03,016 even how the type of tire you use affects range and what that looks like and how you 527 00:27:03,016 --> 00:27:03,677 estimate it. 528 00:27:03,677 --> 00:27:08,560 And so we go over a lot of that stuff in the online course and it's pretty 529 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:10,442 fundamental, pretty basic. 530 00:27:10,442 --> 00:27:11,142 But... 531 00:27:11,871 --> 00:27:15,533 It's important to have that covered before people come in. 532 00:27:15,533 --> 00:27:19,855 Uh, and then yeah, on standards, we're, we're definitely heavily involved in 533 00:27:19,915 --> 00:27:25,218 standards, a big reason that we started out in standards was because we're, we're 534 00:27:25,218 --> 00:27:25,918 building training. 535 00:27:25,918 --> 00:27:30,581 We need to have a benchmark or a watermark for what it means to be a knowledgeable 536 00:27:30,581 --> 00:27:34,823 technician and all my time in education, it's, it's built around building training 537 00:27:34,823 --> 00:27:36,184 programs that meet standards. 538 00:27:36,184 --> 00:27:39,626 And so how do you build, uh, training programs if you don't have outcomes and if 539 00:27:39,626 --> 00:27:40,706 you don't have standards to find. 540 00:27:40,706 --> 00:27:41,227 And so. 541 00:27:41,227 --> 00:27:44,329 Before we even started developing our programs, we defined the outcomes. 542 00:27:44,329 --> 00:27:47,311 These are the standards that we want technicians who go through our course to 543 00:27:47,311 --> 00:27:48,411 be able to hit. 544 00:27:48,452 --> 00:27:51,013 And we spent a long time developing those standards. 545 00:27:51,013 --> 00:27:55,997 We came up with like 148 and we realized, wow, there's a ton of value in these 546 00:27:55,997 --> 00:28:00,200 standards and this really needs to be communicated openly to the rest of the 547 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:00,540 world. 548 00:28:00,540 --> 00:28:03,402 So everybody else can say, yeah, these standards are good. 549 00:28:03,402 --> 00:28:07,325 Let's take these and let's say that that's what it means to be a knowledgeable 550 00:28:07,325 --> 00:28:10,335 technician and let's provide support for that endorsement. 551 00:28:10,335 --> 00:28:14,517 That also means that other companies can go build programs to those same standards. 552 00:28:14,517 --> 00:28:15,257 And we welcome that. 553 00:28:15,257 --> 00:28:19,840 We want the best programs available for all technicians, but really what it does 554 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:23,281 for the tech is it provides an opportunity to get like manufacturer endorsement and 555 00:28:23,281 --> 00:28:24,882 employer endorsement on the standards. 556 00:28:24,882 --> 00:28:29,265 So we've got more than two dozen industry stakeholders endorsing those standards now 557 00:28:29,265 --> 00:28:31,946 that we developed for what it means to be a knowledgeable technician. 558 00:28:31,946 --> 00:28:36,188 We took them out of legacy EV and we put them in a nonprofit called the Electric 559 00:28:36,188 --> 00:28:38,230 Vehicle Technician Education Council. 560 00:28:38,230 --> 00:28:40,223 We're actually gonna be switching names here. 561 00:28:40,223 --> 00:28:44,886 shortly likely to the electric vehicle standards council because that council has 562 00:28:44,886 --> 00:28:50,591 a 12 member board and that board oversees all the standards that we amend and 563 00:28:50,591 --> 00:28:51,652 ratify. 564 00:28:52,173 --> 00:28:57,477 And that board has an interest in also setting standards for aftermarket battery 565 00:28:57,477 --> 00:29:00,259 technology for repowers. 566 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:08,346 And the goal with this organization is not to create some like big government agency 567 00:29:08,346 --> 00:29:08,855 that 568 00:29:08,855 --> 00:29:11,915 tells people what they should and shouldn't do with their EVs. 569 00:29:11,915 --> 00:29:15,977 It's more to provide a guiding light for self-regulation of, okay, we want to make 570 00:29:15,977 --> 00:29:18,957 sure that we're all doing this the best and safest way possible. 571 00:29:18,957 --> 00:29:20,718 And as a shop owner, like that's what I would want. 572 00:29:20,718 --> 00:29:24,019 I would want to know what is the standard, what's the right way to do it. 573 00:29:24,019 --> 00:29:25,879 And so we want to give that roadmap to people. 574 00:29:25,879 --> 00:29:26,840 We're not enforcing it. 575 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:31,021 We're not like putting teeth in it and saying, yeah, to get XYZ, you have to meet 576 00:29:31,021 --> 00:29:31,581 these standards. 577 00:29:31,581 --> 00:29:35,802 It's just, here's the standards of what the best minds in the industry think we 578 00:29:35,802 --> 00:29:36,875 should all be doing. 579 00:29:36,875 --> 00:29:39,797 and let's provide this info out there for self-regulation purposes. 580 00:29:39,797 --> 00:29:43,020 And that's where we're at today with it. 581 00:29:43,020 --> 00:29:46,062 It's been a really fun group to be a part of. 582 00:29:46,062 --> 00:29:51,988 We've got everybody from Chris Hazel from Felton to Kirk Miller from Hypercraft, to 583 00:29:51,988 --> 00:29:57,432 APPEV, to AmpereV, to Revolt, to Torque Trends, you name it, Kindred Motorworks. 584 00:29:57,512 --> 00:30:01,516 We've got a really wide and broad group that represents a lot of different 585 00:30:01,516 --> 00:30:01,996 stakeholders. 586 00:30:01,996 --> 00:30:03,898 Insurance industry is on it. 587 00:30:03,898 --> 00:30:04,538 So... 588 00:30:05,095 --> 00:30:08,919 Yeah, it's cool to be able to have everybody come together and have this mind 589 00:30:08,919 --> 00:30:11,301 melt where we can come up with these standards and make sure that we're trying 590 00:30:11,301 --> 00:30:15,606 to guide the industry in the right direction from like a cohesive and unified 591 00:30:15,606 --> 00:30:16,286 front. 592 00:30:17,514 --> 00:30:18,074 Which is great. 593 00:30:18,074 --> 00:30:22,036 And I think something I need, uh, something the industry for sure needs just 594 00:30:22,036 --> 00:30:27,279 between so many people learning all of these new things and how many variables 595 00:30:27,279 --> 00:30:29,320 there are when doing a conversion. 596 00:30:29,421 --> 00:30:33,523 And for those listening, I swear I'm not, uh, sponsored by legacy V, at least not 597 00:30:33,523 --> 00:30:34,124 yet. 598 00:30:34,124 --> 00:30:38,967 Uh, but, um, it's, it's funny you mentioned kind of one of the things that 599 00:30:38,967 --> 00:30:43,809 really surprised me that I found really interesting was, uh, your team had a 600 00:30:44,650 --> 00:30:45,590 Uh, it's, it's really cool. 601 00:30:45,590 --> 00:30:46,951 It was an orange Chevy pickup. 602 00:30:46,951 --> 00:30:49,952 I think that was done by TFL as a conversion. 603 00:30:50,293 --> 00:30:53,555 And obviously they can, I did like a, I think they did like in 48 hours. 604 00:30:53,555 --> 00:30:56,476 It was like the down and dirty, like quick conversion. 605 00:30:56,476 --> 00:31:00,139 Uh, and so it's, it's a good kind of like test meal to show like what this could 606 00:31:00,139 --> 00:31:00,899 look like, what you can do. 607 00:31:00,899 --> 00:31:05,021 But what I found the most fascinating about it is when we go around, it's like, 608 00:31:05,021 --> 00:31:07,843 now, if you were to do this, what would you not do? 609 00:31:07,963 --> 00:31:11,145 And you can kind of find some of these like, well, I probably wouldn't have put 610 00:31:11,145 --> 00:31:12,485 some of the, uh, 611 00:31:13,330 --> 00:31:16,432 the disconnects and other stuff behind the battery because if you get an accident, 612 00:31:16,432 --> 00:31:18,754 it's just going to go right through then destroy all that and then it might catch 613 00:31:18,754 --> 00:31:19,535 on fire. 614 00:31:19,535 --> 00:31:24,919 And so there's also just like this whole other level of planning and kind of 615 00:31:24,919 --> 00:31:29,963 thinking through design that it like immediately makes sense. 616 00:31:29,963 --> 00:31:33,526 But once again, it helps that you have that right there to see. 617 00:31:33,606 --> 00:31:38,530 And it just shows that there's other there with just about anything there's right 618 00:31:38,530 --> 00:31:39,251 ways and wrong ways. 619 00:31:39,251 --> 00:31:42,773 And I think that program does a really good job of showing 620 00:31:42,954 --> 00:31:46,397 Uh, how some people have done in ways to just like, when you're doing your own 621 00:31:46,397 --> 00:31:51,081 build, how to proactively like, try to think of these things in advance to really 622 00:31:51,081 --> 00:31:55,645 avoid these, uh, sorts of mistakes or potential, um, not, not that that, like 623 00:31:55,645 --> 00:31:59,128 some of the stuff they did was wrong, but once again, just kind of thinking if 624 00:31:59,128 --> 00:32:02,972 you're doing your building more than 48 hours, how to kind of build it in a safer 625 00:32:02,972 --> 00:32:05,594 way, which I thought was really cool and really fascinating. 626 00:32:05,951 --> 00:32:06,851 Yeah, absolutely. 627 00:32:06,851 --> 00:32:10,952 And just so we don't get eaten alive by the gear heads out there, it was an F 100. 628 00:32:10,953 --> 00:32:13,994 It was a, I think it was a 66 F 100, Ford F 100. 629 00:32:13,994 --> 00:32:14,854 Yeah. 630 00:32:14,854 --> 00:32:16,335 But no, you're right. 631 00:32:16,335 --> 00:32:18,596 And that's something we talk about a lot. 632 00:32:18,596 --> 00:32:22,618 And we, you know, even as, as a teacher, but back in the day, I'd have multiple 633 00:32:22,618 --> 00:32:26,819 projects that like, if I'm trying to show students, you know, grading on a rubric is 634 00:32:26,819 --> 00:32:28,460 much different than grading on a test. 635 00:32:28,460 --> 00:32:31,841 And so like, let's look at these three projects and just tell me like, what do 636 00:32:31,841 --> 00:32:34,122 you think this would score? 637 00:32:34,142 --> 00:32:34,827 And 638 00:32:34,827 --> 00:32:38,849 having them think about it and look at non-examples and examples and things that 639 00:32:38,849 --> 00:32:42,512 fall in the middle is a really important process of synthesizing the learning and 640 00:32:42,512 --> 00:32:46,115 seeing, okay, yeah, I wouldn't do XYZ, but I would do this. 641 00:32:46,115 --> 00:32:51,438 And it's, you know, even the standards around what is safe and what is not around 642 00:32:51,438 --> 00:32:55,702 the electric vehicle conversion industry has shifted a lot in the last 20 years. 643 00:32:55,702 --> 00:33:01,826 I mean, we went from lead sleds to lithium ion batteries over the last decade and a 644 00:33:01,826 --> 00:33:02,787 half and like. 645 00:33:02,787 --> 00:33:04,647 it just looks way, way different. 646 00:33:04,647 --> 00:33:09,168 And so, yeah, it's like at the time it was that vehicle that has high voltage battery 647 00:33:09,168 --> 00:33:09,648 disconnects. 648 00:33:09,648 --> 00:33:12,189 I think that was one of the first builds I saw with a high voltage battery 649 00:33:12,189 --> 00:33:13,950 disconnect, which is wild. 650 00:33:13,950 --> 00:33:16,870 And then all of a sudden it's like, okay, well, it's actually not in a great spot. 651 00:33:16,870 --> 00:33:20,751 Because yeah, if you get a rear impact, then it's not in the safest place. 652 00:33:20,751 --> 00:33:26,333 And yeah, it's good to be able to look at those examples and have learnings and 653 00:33:26,333 --> 00:33:26,953 takeaways. 654 00:33:26,953 --> 00:33:32,567 And even like MSD switches were nearly impossible to source. 655 00:33:32,567 --> 00:33:34,107 four years ago when we started Legacy. 656 00:33:34,107 --> 00:33:37,068 It was like really difficult to find, where can you get these from? 657 00:33:37,068 --> 00:33:39,369 And now it's like, okay, we've got a good supplier. 658 00:33:39,810 --> 00:33:45,252 We make this a requirement on all our kit bombs and it's included, but like that 659 00:33:45,252 --> 00:33:48,173 wasn't available when we started. 660 00:33:48,173 --> 00:33:51,615 And so, yeah, it's a constant progression. 661 00:33:51,615 --> 00:33:57,397 And I think we're at a really good spot with safety standards now as the industry 662 00:33:57,397 --> 00:34:01,078 goes, but it's gonna continue to evolve as well. 663 00:34:02,166 --> 00:34:02,506 For sure. 664 00:34:02,506 --> 00:34:06,228 And it's funny how you just said over the past 20 years, how EV conversions have 665 00:34:06,228 --> 00:34:07,228 changed. 666 00:34:07,429 --> 00:34:10,651 And I don't even think for most people, EVs were in the back of their minds for 667 00:34:10,651 --> 00:34:13,292 new cars for like the last five years, but you're totally right. 668 00:34:13,292 --> 00:34:16,614 Like you can go onto YouTube, you can see all these videos and there, there have 669 00:34:16,614 --> 00:34:20,157 been a lot of groups that have been doing this for a couple of decades, but it's so 670 00:34:20,157 --> 00:34:25,460 funny how it was so much of a home brew experiment kind of like, it was up there 671 00:34:25,460 --> 00:34:28,501 with like, Oh yeah, I've got an old Mercedes that runs biodiesel or I'm 672 00:34:29,186 --> 00:34:31,288 brewing a small batch of beer in my garage. 673 00:34:31,288 --> 00:34:35,572 Like it's a very, it was a very experimental kind of just like a small 674 00:34:35,572 --> 00:34:40,577 group of people kind of tinkering with this to now a much more advanced, much 675 00:34:40,577 --> 00:34:45,362 more thought out kind of way of doing these builds and even not even doing the 676 00:34:45,362 --> 00:34:47,864 builds, but doing the builds as kits. 677 00:34:47,965 --> 00:34:51,008 Whereas before it was kind of like, I might have to kind of figure this out, 678 00:34:51,008 --> 00:34:52,950 drill that hole and figure it out. 679 00:34:52,950 --> 00:34:56,953 Whereas now you can actually buy kits for these conversions that go right onto like 680 00:34:56,953 --> 00:35:01,217 the old engine mounts, making the conversions so much simpler and honestly 681 00:35:01,217 --> 00:35:02,017 safer. 682 00:35:02,419 --> 00:35:03,539 Yeah, totally. 683 00:35:03,539 --> 00:35:09,564 I think even when, when we started legacy, we kind of were at this like inflection 684 00:35:09,564 --> 00:35:14,007 point of like, if you're doing conversions now, you're definitely still like 685 00:35:14,007 --> 00:35:19,331 pioneering here, you could make the first electric vehicle that's been in that make 686 00:35:19,331 --> 00:35:20,952 and model that's, that's ever existed. 687 00:35:20,952 --> 00:35:23,434 We still have customers that are like, that's never been electrified before. 688 00:35:23,434 --> 00:35:24,155 That's super cool. 689 00:35:24,155 --> 00:35:25,495 It's going to be awesome. 690 00:35:25,636 --> 00:35:28,598 Um, but the industry is growing so fast that it's like. 691 00:35:29,291 --> 00:35:33,093 becoming less and less about pioneering and more and more about using products 692 00:35:33,093 --> 00:35:35,394 with established reputation. 693 00:35:36,556 --> 00:35:39,778 It's really interesting to see that shift go from like, we're supporting 694 00:35:39,778 --> 00:35:41,959 manufacturers that were making things in their garage. 695 00:35:41,959 --> 00:35:46,302 Now it's like they have manufacturing plants and they have distribution through 696 00:35:46,302 --> 00:35:46,783 us. 697 00:35:46,783 --> 00:35:51,106 The industry is really, really taking off. 698 00:35:51,106 --> 00:35:55,169 It's been really cool to be able to see that from the moment we entered to where 699 00:35:55,169 --> 00:35:56,029 we're at today. 700 00:35:56,029 --> 00:35:58,079 It's only been four years. 701 00:35:58,079 --> 00:36:00,821 but it's like so much has happened in that four years. 702 00:36:00,821 --> 00:36:01,541 It's wild. 703 00:36:01,541 --> 00:36:05,664 So I hope that someday somebody like makes a documentary about the EV conversion 704 00:36:05,664 --> 00:36:09,567 industry and we can talk about these stories of the craziness of how it started 705 00:36:09,567 --> 00:36:10,568 and where we're at today. 706 00:36:10,568 --> 00:36:14,151 But yeah, it's definitely, things are getting a lot simpler. 707 00:36:14,151 --> 00:36:17,894 Plug and play kits, bolt on systems for specific vehicles. 708 00:36:17,894 --> 00:36:19,315 Felton does a great job of that. 709 00:36:19,315 --> 00:36:21,196 APP does a great job of that. 710 00:36:21,837 --> 00:36:24,438 It's really cool to see how this all comes together. 711 00:36:24,539 --> 00:36:24,719 Yeah. 712 00:36:24,719 --> 00:36:28,502 And I actually, uh, I am kind of curious to learn more about maybe some of the 713 00:36:28,502 --> 00:36:33,385 requirements you have for finding vendors or like which are kind of some things that 714 00:36:33,385 --> 00:36:37,328 maybe you don't go with, but, uh, real, real quickly, can I think tag a lot of 715 00:36:37,328 --> 00:36:42,152 these themes together was I know legacy V had a large presence at SEMA this past 716 00:36:42,152 --> 00:36:45,674 year and I'm not, were you at SEMA as well or 717 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:46,581 I was. 718 00:36:46,581 --> 00:36:51,898 I had to fly out for a day because I had a meeting back in Phoenix that I had to be 719 00:36:51,898 --> 00:36:52,099 at. 720 00:36:52,099 --> 00:36:53,863 But other than that, I was there. 721 00:36:54,967 --> 00:36:55,947 Yeah, gotcha. 722 00:36:56,327 --> 00:36:58,968 And admittedly, I really wanted to be there, but it's coincidentally the weekend 723 00:36:58,968 --> 00:36:59,728 I was getting married. 724 00:36:59,728 --> 00:37:02,189 So that didn't work out this year. 725 00:37:02,409 --> 00:37:02,869 Oh, thank you. 726 00:37:02,869 --> 00:37:03,249 Thank you. 727 00:37:03,249 --> 00:37:06,710 But it's funny as it is, my wife even says like, well, we can go to Vegas next year 728 00:37:06,710 --> 00:37:09,311 for our anniversary or something. 729 00:37:09,311 --> 00:37:11,171 And I used to go to Vegas all the time for work. 730 00:37:11,171 --> 00:37:13,152 So that to me is like kind of disappointing. 731 00:37:13,152 --> 00:37:14,812 But I do actually want to go to SEMA. 732 00:37:14,812 --> 00:37:16,993 So that was kind of the part I was excited about. 733 00:37:16,993 --> 00:37:22,314 And everyone I talked to, it really sounded like this past year was the year 734 00:37:22,314 --> 00:37:23,015 that 735 00:37:23,855 --> 00:37:27,158 Instead of like electric vehicle and kind of rest of mods being in the back, it 736 00:37:27,158 --> 00:37:31,682 really was a pretty big portion of it and pretty front and center. 737 00:37:31,902 --> 00:37:33,624 Were there any things that really stood out to you? 738 00:37:33,624 --> 00:37:36,766 And is that pretty accurate of what your experience was too? 739 00:37:37,304 --> 00:37:38,604 Yeah, absolutely. 740 00:37:38,604 --> 00:37:41,125 I mean, the industry's come a long, long way. 741 00:37:41,425 --> 00:37:48,988 You know, when we first displayed at SEMA in 2021, Mitchell from Torque Trends was 742 00:37:48,988 --> 00:37:49,509 there. 743 00:37:49,509 --> 00:37:54,811 And I remember that year, the Monday, like opening ceremony, they had their like 744 00:37:54,811 --> 00:37:56,632 feature vehicles drive over this stage. 745 00:37:56,632 --> 00:38:02,434 It's just for industry and exhibitors and of the seven that drove over this, this 746 00:38:02,594 --> 00:38:05,815 stage to display and talk about the hype of the show. 747 00:38:06,212 --> 00:38:09,694 Four of them were EV and it was like, whoa, this is crazy. 748 00:38:09,694 --> 00:38:12,877 Like we're showing up on the scene in perfect timing. 749 00:38:12,877 --> 00:38:17,520 And then you walk into the show and Mitch from Torchlands will tell you like, I was 750 00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:21,023 here 10 years ago and this is the only EV company. 751 00:38:21,023 --> 00:38:21,903 Like there's nobody here. 752 00:38:21,903 --> 00:38:25,106 There's maybe one or two other EV things, you know, nothing. 753 00:38:25,106 --> 00:38:26,627 Nothing like what there is today. 754 00:38:26,627 --> 00:38:32,851 And that year, I think there were seven EV companies at SEMA, maybe five, but still 755 00:38:32,851 --> 00:38:33,731 it was like. 756 00:38:33,788 --> 00:38:35,349 That's dramatic growth, right? 757 00:38:35,349 --> 00:38:36,369 That's big. 758 00:38:37,131 --> 00:38:39,112 And so felt like, okay, yeah, this is the time. 759 00:38:39,112 --> 00:38:40,334 But all of us were spread out. 760 00:38:40,334 --> 00:38:41,475 None of us were next to each other. 761 00:38:41,475 --> 00:38:43,356 We were just all over the show floor. 762 00:38:43,376 --> 00:38:45,579 And then the next year, a few more EV companies. 763 00:38:45,579 --> 00:38:49,662 And then this year, they brought all of us together in the electrified zone or the 764 00:38:49,662 --> 00:38:51,804 future tech, propulsion tech zone. 765 00:38:51,944 --> 00:38:53,086 And it was massive. 766 00:38:53,086 --> 00:38:57,169 It was really cool to see all the technology, all the cars. 767 00:38:57,169 --> 00:38:59,772 It was definitely something that like... 768 00:38:59,772 --> 00:39:02,153 people were coming from all corners of the expo. 769 00:39:02,153 --> 00:39:05,315 You'd get people coming from Apex, which is way down the strip at Venetian. 770 00:39:05,315 --> 00:39:08,136 Be like, I had to see what was going on. 771 00:39:08,136 --> 00:39:09,757 I heard you guys are converting a vehicle live. 772 00:39:09,757 --> 00:39:10,798 I just needed to see it. 773 00:39:10,798 --> 00:39:15,560 And so we would have like literally people standing outside our booth. 774 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:20,263 We had big TV screens up, like facing down so people could see the action. 775 00:39:20,263 --> 00:39:24,065 And then we had four alumni from our program working together to convert the 776 00:39:24,065 --> 00:39:27,087 Model A Project E from gas to electric and drove in gas. 777 00:39:27,087 --> 00:39:28,367 And it left electric. 778 00:39:28,516 --> 00:39:31,297 four days later, which was super cool. 779 00:39:31,297 --> 00:39:33,578 Something that's never been done before at SEMA. 780 00:39:33,578 --> 00:39:37,840 And so it was really fun to be able to show that to people and then show the 781 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:41,242 quality of our training for techs who had not met each other coming together and 782 00:39:41,242 --> 00:39:44,503 working to convert a vehicle from gas to electric was pretty awesome. 783 00:39:45,787 --> 00:39:47,968 Yeah, that was, uh, I forgot about that. 784 00:39:47,968 --> 00:39:49,290 That's a great, I'm glad you brought that up. 785 00:39:49,290 --> 00:39:53,073 That was such a cool thing that your team did there where you actually had a ice, 786 00:39:53,073 --> 00:39:58,718 uh, model a drive in and then, and from what I had heard, it was even like you had 787 00:39:58,718 --> 00:40:04,123 to even stretch out like the fourth day it had converted so quickly to electric that 788 00:40:04,123 --> 00:40:05,985 you're like, Oh, okay, let's kind of slow these things down. 789 00:40:05,985 --> 00:40:09,207 So we make it by that fourth day, but that, that just kind of shows how 790 00:40:09,207 --> 00:40:13,010 impressive and how much that like I'm talking about with the kit. 791 00:40:13,083 --> 00:40:16,144 Kind of the product tie, a productization of this, instead of it being a one-off 792 00:40:16,144 --> 00:40:20,766 kind of like homebrew build, having these just interchangeable and easy off the 793 00:40:20,766 --> 00:40:24,988 shelf parts really makes this much more feasible for a lot of people. 794 00:40:24,988 --> 00:40:29,530 Uh, and I think a lot more approachable for traditional mechanics as well. 795 00:40:29,808 --> 00:40:30,488 Yeah, totally. 796 00:40:30,488 --> 00:40:34,990 And I'll give you the inside scoop here on, I guess, maybe like how that's 797 00:40:34,990 --> 00:40:36,251 possible to even get done. 798 00:40:36,251 --> 00:40:39,573 And the first piece is a huge shout out to Felton there. 799 00:40:39,573 --> 00:40:43,815 Universal Pack is a huge piece of what is going to allow conversions to be done way 800 00:40:43,815 --> 00:40:44,635 quicker. 801 00:40:44,916 --> 00:40:48,157 And so you talked about this a little bit earlier, but I'll also note that Legacy V 802 00:40:48,157 --> 00:40:50,279 is now the distributor for that product in North America. 803 00:40:50,279 --> 00:40:54,081 So you can come and get it from us and we can help support you with implementing 804 00:40:54,081 --> 00:40:58,043 that product into your project, which is going to cut build time down by a ton. 805 00:40:59,496 --> 00:41:02,178 the biggest time suck of an EV conversion. 806 00:41:02,178 --> 00:41:04,279 So having that done for you is huge. 807 00:41:04,339 --> 00:41:09,584 And then realistically, we built that car, and I wanna say about a month before we 808 00:41:09,584 --> 00:41:10,244 came to SEMA. 809 00:41:10,244 --> 00:41:14,648 So we had built it, we had then taken it apart and then put it back together to 810 00:41:14,648 --> 00:41:18,691 test, to prove that we can do this, we can get it done in four days. 811 00:41:18,691 --> 00:41:22,454 So the motor mounts, the brackets for the battery box that are gonna fix it to the 812 00:41:22,454 --> 00:41:24,476 chassis, all that stuff was done. 813 00:41:24,476 --> 00:41:28,059 So it's not like we were fabricating and welding there at the show, we had all that 814 00:41:28,059 --> 00:41:29,292 stuff pre-done. 815 00:41:29,292 --> 00:41:33,254 But I mean, we did it in, I want to say like six and a half hours or something 816 00:41:33,254 --> 00:41:35,296 like that, because we had to give people longer lunch breaks. 817 00:41:35,296 --> 00:41:36,337 We had to spread it out. 818 00:41:36,337 --> 00:41:41,720 And so it just shows the opportunity for these kits that are make model specific, 819 00:41:41,720 --> 00:41:43,041 how fast you can get it done. 820 00:41:43,041 --> 00:41:46,944 And then even then the amount of work that went into it before the show was, was not 821 00:41:46,944 --> 00:41:48,766 some, you know, outrageous lift. 822 00:41:48,766 --> 00:41:53,269 It was a much simpler version of what, what is normally done when you have that 823 00:41:53,269 --> 00:41:54,269 pack ready to go. 824 00:41:54,269 --> 00:41:57,511 So that was very cool to be able to use that and show it at SENA. 825 00:41:59,715 --> 00:42:04,119 Yeah, no, I think that was just a really one great press for you guys, but to just 826 00:42:04,119 --> 00:42:08,343 a really cool way to show that this has gone to a point now and how quickly you 827 00:42:08,343 --> 00:42:08,903 can do it. 828 00:42:08,903 --> 00:42:14,148 And once again, once you kind of hone in on certain types, certain models and 829 00:42:14,148 --> 00:42:17,992 specific builds, I mean, like Fellten's doing, they've got a Mini Cooper, they've 830 00:42:17,992 --> 00:42:23,717 got a Porsche and obviously the Defender kids that really dials in what you need to 831 00:42:23,717 --> 00:42:25,638 do and makes it so much easier. 832 00:42:25,703 --> 00:42:27,646 Which I guess does make me wonder. 833 00:42:27,646 --> 00:42:32,715 I'd heard that the defender build was coming sometime in Q2 of this year through 834 00:42:32,715 --> 00:42:33,796 you guys. 835 00:42:33,796 --> 00:42:37,742 Is that still or is that something you can share any more details on? 836 00:42:38,704 --> 00:42:44,505 I can't share any more details on it right now, but that is correct. 837 00:42:44,505 --> 00:42:50,447 That is the plan for that kit and there is a ton of interest in it, so I'll just 838 00:42:50,447 --> 00:42:53,568 throw this out there that if people are interested, reach out. 839 00:42:53,568 --> 00:42:57,290 We've got a queue of people that are lining up to be able to get their hands on 840 00:42:57,290 --> 00:43:02,411 that product and we're really excited to be able to launch it and it's going to be 841 00:43:02,411 --> 00:43:03,751 big for sure. 842 00:43:04,815 --> 00:43:05,495 Yeah, I can't wait. 843 00:43:05,495 --> 00:43:09,078 I know I emailed Tim and so I've been in that queue myself for already a couple of 844 00:43:09,078 --> 00:43:13,262 months, but just everything I've seen even on Felton's website and talking to Chris, 845 00:43:13,262 --> 00:43:14,923 it looks like it's such an awesome product. 846 00:43:14,923 --> 00:43:16,484 So I'm excited to see it. 847 00:43:16,484 --> 00:43:21,248 Um, so, uh, kind of going about that, talking about Felton, talking about some 848 00:43:21,248 --> 00:43:25,732 of these other vendors, can you share some of the, um, and obviously I realized maybe 849 00:43:25,732 --> 00:43:32,558 you can't always say names, but can you share what legacy EV does to like kind of 850 00:43:32,558 --> 00:43:33,978 vet a vendor and 851 00:43:34,131 --> 00:43:36,172 how they choose which ones to work with. 852 00:43:36,292 --> 00:43:41,295 And if there are any entertaining stories of like, okay, we're not going with those 853 00:43:41,295 --> 00:43:41,575 guys. 854 00:43:41,575 --> 00:43:44,456 Obviously you don't have to say the company, but if you can share anything 855 00:43:44,456 --> 00:43:49,199 about that, like kind of happens, because I mean, in my own professional experience, 856 00:43:49,199 --> 00:43:55,963 I've had to sometimes test vendors and you can be quickly surprised by, even though 857 00:43:55,963 --> 00:44:00,345 you put out a really clear RFP of what you need, it hasn't made it past the first 10 858 00:44:00,345 --> 00:44:02,906 minutes of unboxing it even. 859 00:44:03,500 --> 00:44:10,525 Yeah, yeah, I don't know if I have any like negative stories that I can share or 860 00:44:10,525 --> 00:44:17,691 would share, but that's definitely the value we try and bring to the industry as 861 00:44:17,691 --> 00:44:18,292 a distributor. 862 00:44:18,292 --> 00:44:21,354 We want to vet products that we trust. 863 00:44:21,354 --> 00:44:25,037 And so I talked about this a little bit earlier, but we have parts distribution as 864 00:44:25,037 --> 00:44:27,800 kind of like one arm of the business and then education as the other arm. 865 00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:31,143 And the third arm that we don't talk about very often is research and development 866 00:44:31,143 --> 00:44:31,603 R&D. 867 00:44:31,603 --> 00:44:32,723 So we have a whole... 868 00:44:32,792 --> 00:44:37,713 R&D shop that is like the necessary third leg to the stool that makes it all stand 869 00:44:37,713 --> 00:44:41,454 up because we bring these products in from new vendors and we want to validate them 870 00:44:41,454 --> 00:44:42,514 and make sure that they work. 871 00:44:42,514 --> 00:44:46,315 So we have like two kind of different types of products that we offer when it 872 00:44:46,315 --> 00:44:47,676 comes to EV hardware on our site. 873 00:44:47,676 --> 00:44:49,396 There's kits and then there's parts. 874 00:44:49,396 --> 00:44:53,958 And so when a product comes to us as a kit, it gets validated and installed 875 00:44:53,958 --> 00:44:55,598 before it gets launched as a kit. 876 00:44:55,598 --> 00:44:58,279 So then it'll come with a wiring diagram. 877 00:44:58,279 --> 00:45:00,999 It's got a bill of material that's been spec'd out. 878 00:45:01,036 --> 00:45:04,937 and then it's got the clone file for the firmware that can get flashed onto that 879 00:45:04,937 --> 00:45:06,637 vehicle once it gets installed. 880 00:45:06,637 --> 00:45:10,098 These are universal kits, so they're not the same as what you'd get with a Felton 881 00:45:10,098 --> 00:45:12,239 Land Rover Defender kit. 882 00:45:12,239 --> 00:45:16,700 It's not this bolt-on wire harness is prefabbed. 883 00:45:16,700 --> 00:45:19,841 There's wiring that you're gonna do, you're gonna connect it all, but that 884 00:45:19,841 --> 00:45:23,082 means it's a little bit more malleable into the vehicle, so you can design it how 885 00:45:23,082 --> 00:45:23,582 you'd like. 886 00:45:23,582 --> 00:45:28,883 And so creates this universal platform that's then more applicable to a wider set 887 00:45:28,883 --> 00:45:29,943 of vehicles. 888 00:45:30,264 --> 00:45:34,026 And so whenever we, we launch a kit, we do some bedding with the manufacturer. 889 00:45:34,026 --> 00:45:37,207 We get their product, uh, in-house, we work with it. 890 00:45:37,207 --> 00:45:40,569 I mean, that's, that's what we did with the Felton pack before we launched it. 891 00:45:40,569 --> 00:45:45,112 We installed it in project D, we put it through the test spaces and, um, we're 892 00:45:45,112 --> 00:45:47,853 comfortable with that product before we launched it, because we also want to be 893 00:45:47,853 --> 00:45:52,095 able to support the manufacturer's product out there in the wild once we launch it. 894 00:45:52,095 --> 00:45:55,877 And so, um, it's just a part of, part of what we do with our R and D department 895 00:45:55,877 --> 00:46:00,240 before we launch a product, um, at least in the kit form, sometimes. 896 00:46:00,240 --> 00:46:06,504 You know, if we can see substantial application, verification from a 897 00:46:06,504 --> 00:46:10,327 manufacturer on like a motor, then we might offer it if we know that it's a 898 00:46:10,327 --> 00:46:13,769 motor that has a reputation that we can get behind in support without doing the 899 00:46:13,769 --> 00:46:14,429 R&D. 900 00:46:14,830 --> 00:46:17,891 But when it comes to kits, that's stuff that we've worked with. 901 00:46:17,992 --> 00:46:19,013 Yeah, I'm kind of curious. 902 00:46:19,013 --> 00:46:23,937 I know it does seem like you guys are going much more towards the kits and a 903 00:46:23,937 --> 00:46:25,698 fully new systems. 904 00:46:25,699 --> 00:46:30,142 But I know you've also sold like, uh, and I mean, this was a pretty common thing is 905 00:46:30,263 --> 00:46:33,386 used, uh, Tesla power trains, used batteries from other cars. 906 00:46:33,386 --> 00:46:36,609 Is that something you're still kind of continuing to do, or do you kind of see 907 00:46:36,609 --> 00:46:39,711 the future probably moving maybe more away from them? 908 00:46:40,369 --> 00:46:42,190 You know, it's interesting. 909 00:46:42,190 --> 00:46:47,474 Um, since the beginning, um, you know, one thing that Rob has said is like, this 910 00:46:47,474 --> 00:46:51,696 industry is going to be way bigger than how many Teslas can, can get totaled. 911 00:46:51,817 --> 00:46:55,919 Um, we need access to more parts than just refurbished Tesla equipment. 912 00:46:56,240 --> 00:46:59,502 Um, and so that's been a huge part of it. 913 00:46:59,502 --> 00:47:03,165 Wanting to create all new products for these kits that are like brand new off the 914 00:47:03,165 --> 00:47:05,606 shelf, out of the box. 915 00:47:05,806 --> 00:47:08,348 That that's what we want the customer experience to be. 916 00:47:08,348 --> 00:47:09,028 But. 917 00:47:09,365 --> 00:47:11,907 The Tesla name carries a lot of weight, right? 918 00:47:11,907 --> 00:47:16,751 And so people are really excited to be able to use a Tesla swap and, uh, as their 919 00:47:16,751 --> 00:47:18,572 description and Tesla swap product. 920 00:47:18,572 --> 00:47:21,735 So we, we still sell a lot of Tesla equipment. 921 00:47:21,735 --> 00:47:25,198 And I think for us, we're, our goal is to serve the industry and what the industry 922 00:47:25,198 --> 00:47:25,838 wants to see. 923 00:47:25,838 --> 00:47:29,481 And so we just have our finger on the pulse to see, okay, Tesla stuff's moving. 924 00:47:29,481 --> 00:47:34,025 Let's make sure we, we keep it stocked in an inventory and we have documentation 925 00:47:34,025 --> 00:47:36,526 from the manufacturers that can support it. 926 00:47:36,587 --> 00:47:38,817 And then, you know, let's also make sure we have. 927 00:47:38,817 --> 00:47:40,997 the best new product offerings that are coming out. 928 00:47:40,997 --> 00:47:44,839 And that's something that's evolving really quickly as well. 929 00:47:45,799 --> 00:47:49,401 If you're at SEMA, I know you weren't at SEMA, but for anybody listening that was 930 00:47:49,401 --> 00:47:54,723 like, there's so many new products at that show this year, it was wild. 931 00:47:54,723 --> 00:48:00,006 And so even the product offerings that we had this year at the show, double what we 932 00:48:00,006 --> 00:48:02,427 had the year before as a distributor, right? 933 00:48:02,427 --> 00:48:04,788 That's significant change in an industry. 934 00:48:04,788 --> 00:48:07,229 And so that's another value add that we. 935 00:48:07,229 --> 00:48:10,193 we bring to the customer, just paying attention to what is new in this space. 936 00:48:10,193 --> 00:48:13,818 What's the best products available on the market, whether it's controls or motor, 937 00:48:13,818 --> 00:48:15,700 hardware, battery, you name it. 938 00:48:15,801 --> 00:48:17,042 Yeah, no, I think that's great. 939 00:48:17,042 --> 00:48:22,168 I'm curious, are there any technology specifically that you've kind of seen the 940 00:48:22,168 --> 00:48:25,432 past year that you've like what you're talking about at SEMA that really kind of 941 00:48:25,432 --> 00:48:31,319 seems to be a kind of leap forward or kind of big step for making this a lot more, a 942 00:48:31,319 --> 00:48:33,280 lot easier and much more approachable. 943 00:48:34,306 --> 00:48:37,008 Um, I'm really excited about controller hardware in 2024. 944 00:48:38,089 --> 00:48:42,552 Um, I think that there's some new offerings coming to market that are going 945 00:48:42,552 --> 00:48:48,397 to change user interface and how the builder interacts with the components in a 946 00:48:48,397 --> 00:48:49,137 kit. 947 00:48:49,378 --> 00:48:51,660 Um, and I think that's going to be really cool to see. 948 00:48:51,660 --> 00:48:54,462 I can't talk too much about it now, but for people that are interested, like 949 00:48:54,462 --> 00:48:57,504 subscribe to our newsletter and you'll see as stuff comes out. 950 00:48:57,645 --> 00:48:59,626 Um, but I think that's a big one. 951 00:48:59,626 --> 00:49:03,649 And then, uh, yeah, battery technology is, I mean, 952 00:49:04,118 --> 00:49:07,980 It's shifting battery packs coming to market that just make things way easier to 953 00:49:07,980 --> 00:49:08,240 do. 954 00:49:08,240 --> 00:49:09,440 It's super cool. 955 00:49:10,001 --> 00:49:13,483 So I think packs and controllers are the two that I'm looking forward to. 956 00:49:13,483 --> 00:49:17,625 But then, I mean, there's a 800 volt Tremec motor that makes like a thousand 957 00:49:17,625 --> 00:49:18,746 horse that's also at SEMA. 958 00:49:18,746 --> 00:49:19,946 So excited to see that. 959 00:49:19,946 --> 00:49:21,427 It's hard to pick, I don't know. 960 00:49:21,427 --> 00:49:23,348 But controllers and batteries, I'll stick with that. 961 00:49:23,348 --> 00:49:25,489 That's my first and final answer. 962 00:49:25,949 --> 00:49:30,310 Well, and I think those are things that will impact everyone and make their lives 963 00:49:30,310 --> 00:49:31,390 a lot easier. 964 00:49:31,390 --> 00:49:34,491 The thousand horsepower motor will be definitely very cool, but probably much 965 00:49:34,491 --> 00:49:39,972 more limited use cases with, um, and I realized like within like the last couple 966 00:49:39,972 --> 00:49:42,893 of years, especially in the automotive space, so much of this has been supply 967 00:49:42,893 --> 00:49:43,213 chain. 968 00:49:43,213 --> 00:49:44,214 It's like one month. 969 00:49:44,214 --> 00:49:45,774 It's this is hard to get another month. 970 00:49:45,774 --> 00:49:46,774 This is hard to get. 971 00:49:46,774 --> 00:49:51,596 Um, has there been anything that you guys have kind of consistently seen or just has 972 00:49:51,596 --> 00:49:54,809 been a challenge, you know, for builders that, um, 973 00:49:54,809 --> 00:49:59,719 for certain parts to either get or certain parts that you guys do a really good job 974 00:49:59,719 --> 00:50:00,841 of making sure you have. 975 00:50:00,841 --> 00:50:05,411 So for a builder that's trying to find X, Y, C part, you are kind of the guys. 976 00:50:05,411 --> 00:50:06,592 I'll definitely have it. 977 00:50:07,138 --> 00:50:12,021 Yeah, well, yeah, there's a lot I could talk about in that question. 978 00:50:12,021 --> 00:50:13,722 There's, there's a lot to it. 979 00:50:13,722 --> 00:50:19,547 I think anybody who's done a conversion before sees a ton of value in what we 980 00:50:19,547 --> 00:50:25,391 bring because there's like 60 different components from multiple, like probably 981 00:50:25,391 --> 00:50:29,814 close to two dozen manufacturers that you got to source parts from to just get like 982 00:50:29,814 --> 00:50:31,195 a working kit. 983 00:50:31,195 --> 00:50:34,457 And then on top of that, now you've got supply chain delays and 984 00:50:35,134 --> 00:50:37,635 I mean, we've seen so many things impacting supply chain. 985 00:50:37,635 --> 00:50:42,477 I never thought I'd be subscribed to like a supply chain newsletter, but like I'm 986 00:50:42,477 --> 00:50:46,880 like watching ocean freight news and I'm like, oh my gosh, MERSC is like routing 987 00:50:46,880 --> 00:50:50,021 ships around the southern tip of Africa because there's pirates in the canal. 988 00:50:50,021 --> 00:50:51,462 Like they're doing things that are different. 989 00:50:51,462 --> 00:50:53,323 I'm like, why am I, why is this my life? 990 00:50:53,323 --> 00:50:55,004 Why am I paying attention to this now? 991 00:50:55,004 --> 00:50:57,525 But it's just the reality of where we're at as an industry. 992 00:50:57,525 --> 00:50:59,005 The supply chain is 993 00:50:59,030 --> 00:51:00,691 still recovering post COVID. 994 00:51:00,691 --> 00:51:04,173 And so it's really hard to get components and equipment, especially internationally. 995 00:51:04,173 --> 00:51:10,538 And so it's definitely one of the biggest things that we spend time focusing on. 996 00:51:10,538 --> 00:51:12,939 I have weekly supply chain meetings with our supply chain team. 997 00:51:12,939 --> 00:51:15,261 Like, okay, what are we, what do we low stock on? 998 00:51:15,261 --> 00:51:16,122 What's the lead time? 999 00:51:16,122 --> 00:51:17,383 What do we need to do to get it here? 1000 00:51:17,383 --> 00:51:20,985 And so we have orders that are waiting on components that have been waiting on 1001 00:51:20,985 --> 00:51:24,368 components for a couple of weeks and or more in some cases. 1002 00:51:24,368 --> 00:51:26,549 And that's always hard to have a conversation with a customer where it's 1003 00:51:26,549 --> 00:51:27,434 like, yeah. 1004 00:51:27,434 --> 00:51:31,357 This DC to DC converter is out of stock and it's not going to be in stock for 1005 00:51:31,357 --> 00:51:32,137 another eight weeks. 1006 00:51:32,137 --> 00:51:32,658 I'm sorry. 1007 00:51:32,658 --> 00:51:33,619 Like we're going to work on it. 1008 00:51:33,619 --> 00:51:34,239 We'll get more. 1009 00:51:34,239 --> 00:51:36,240 We'll get it to see as fast as we can. 1010 00:51:37,322 --> 00:51:40,724 So anybody that's tried to navigate that on their own is like thankful that we're 1011 00:51:40,724 --> 00:51:41,725 navigating it for them. 1012 00:51:41,725 --> 00:51:44,387 But anybody that's new to it is like, doesn't understand there's like 60 1013 00:51:44,387 --> 00:51:47,330 components that we got at source from all over the world to make this thing work. 1014 00:51:47,330 --> 00:51:48,610 And it's complicated. 1015 00:51:49,872 --> 00:51:50,853 That's a big part of it. 1016 00:51:50,853 --> 00:51:57,237 And then yeah, diving into like what specifically is a bottleneck, I think 1017 00:51:57,950 --> 00:52:02,771 Transmission adapter plates is the one that comes to mind of like, there's not a 1018 00:52:02,771 --> 00:52:06,952 lot of manufacturers for transmission adapter plates and they're often made off 1019 00:52:06,952 --> 00:52:12,814 of molds and so you have to order them in larger batches to be able to get them at 1020 00:52:12,814 --> 00:52:13,454 low cost. 1021 00:52:13,454 --> 00:52:16,555 And so it just creates complications for the manufacturer because they're like, 1022 00:52:16,555 --> 00:52:21,816 okay, I have one for this obscure year vehicle that we have designed, but I need 1023 00:52:21,816 --> 00:52:25,517 eight more to be able to do a run that I can make these at an affordable price. 1024 00:52:25,517 --> 00:52:26,357 And so. 1025 00:52:26,934 --> 00:52:31,118 That's something that will change with volume as the industry gets bigger. 1026 00:52:31,319 --> 00:52:34,362 Um, but that's something that has been, I think, a big bottleneck for builders. 1027 00:52:34,362 --> 00:52:37,446 It's like, they're waiting for, for three months, sometimes for a transmission 1028 00:52:37,446 --> 00:52:40,189 adapter plate and it's like, everything's mounted and ready to go. 1029 00:52:40,189 --> 00:52:43,292 I just need to be able to mate the motor to the transmission. 1030 00:52:43,292 --> 00:52:44,554 Like how long will that take? 1031 00:52:44,554 --> 00:52:47,417 And that's always tough when somebody's ready to go and they have to wait for a 1032 00:52:47,417 --> 00:52:48,077 part. 1033 00:52:48,742 --> 00:52:49,783 yeah, that's super fascinating. 1034 00:52:49,783 --> 00:52:53,885 You actually say that I should talk with the offline, but there is a couple of guys 1035 00:52:53,885 --> 00:52:55,366 locally that have a CNC shop. 1036 00:52:55,366 --> 00:52:58,489 They're actually looking, they were asking me if there's a need for that. 1037 00:52:58,489 --> 00:53:03,873 I figured there was, um, their focus is really traditional four by fours, uh, old 1038 00:53:03,873 --> 00:53:05,654 G wagons and defenders. 1039 00:53:05,654 --> 00:53:10,197 Um, but yeah, I mean, that's, that's really interesting and that totally makes 1040 00:53:10,197 --> 00:53:14,220 sense, but I can definitely intro you to them if that fits with you guys. 1041 00:53:14,320 --> 00:53:15,480 But, um, 1042 00:53:16,301 --> 00:53:19,243 Have there ever been anything? 1043 00:53:19,243 --> 00:53:23,466 I mean, it sounds like the and it totally makes sense the way you guys are doing 1044 00:53:23,466 --> 00:53:23,686 stuff. 1045 00:53:23,686 --> 00:53:27,649 But it has your team ever looked at ever manufacturing certain things that 1046 00:53:27,649 --> 00:53:33,592 themselves or is that kind of still out of the realm of being practical for the team? 1047 00:53:34,392 --> 00:53:36,993 It's not that it's not practical for us. 1048 00:53:37,194 --> 00:53:41,696 The opportunity has arisen countless times for us, but we are laser focused as a 1049 00:53:41,696 --> 00:53:44,258 company on being a parts distributor. 1050 00:53:44,258 --> 00:53:49,741 And the importance of staying away from manufacturing as a parts distributor is we 1051 00:53:49,741 --> 00:53:53,143 don't want to manufacture a product that competes with our vendor partners. 1052 00:53:53,143 --> 00:53:58,126 We want to just support the products that manufacturers make the best that we can. 1053 00:53:58,126 --> 00:54:01,308 And that allows us to stay laser focused on how can we sell your product better? 1054 00:54:01,308 --> 00:54:02,629 How can we support it better? 1055 00:54:02,629 --> 00:54:06,051 And then how can we help find opportunities to create other products 1056 00:54:06,051 --> 00:54:07,292 that can support it better? 1057 00:54:07,292 --> 00:54:11,675 And so we have open dialogue with our manufacturing partners of like, we need 1058 00:54:11,675 --> 00:54:15,798 XYZ products to better support what you've designed out there in the wild. 1059 00:54:15,798 --> 00:54:18,780 And, um, that just helps us stay laser focused. 1060 00:54:18,780 --> 00:54:21,923 There's definitely an opportunity and we've definitely been like tempted by it 1061 00:54:21,923 --> 00:54:26,030 in the past, but have definitely like, definitely stayed focused on. 1062 00:54:26,030 --> 00:54:28,195 We're a parts distributor, we are not a manufacturer. 1063 00:54:28,195 --> 00:54:31,541 Let's let the manufacturers manufacture and we will support the product. 1064 00:54:32,561 --> 00:54:33,261 That makes sense. 1065 00:54:33,261 --> 00:54:36,722 And yeah, I was just curious, but totally understand that. 1066 00:54:37,222 --> 00:54:42,223 Um, given that we have been talking so much about EV conversions. 1067 00:54:42,223 --> 00:54:46,384 And when I was there, I can mention as you corrected me, the Ford F 100, that was 1068 00:54:46,384 --> 00:54:49,885 kind of a fun thing, but you guys also had that beautiful old Cadillac. 1069 00:54:50,405 --> 00:54:55,507 Um, and I I'm kind of curious what conversions you've been wanting to do. 1070 00:54:55,507 --> 00:54:59,508 If, or if there's any other kind of car that your team hasn't done yet, that you 1071 00:54:59,508 --> 00:55:01,948 really are kind of excited to do a conversion of. 1072 00:55:03,538 --> 00:55:05,199 Um, yeah, that's a good question. 1073 00:55:05,199 --> 00:55:10,462 I, so one series that I'm really excited for that we're hoping to launch this year, 1074 00:55:10,462 --> 00:55:12,223 which we haven't really talked about yet. 1075 00:55:12,223 --> 00:55:16,806 So I'll tell you here first, just kind of on the inside scoop is we plan to do. 1076 00:55:16,806 --> 00:55:17,406 Yeah. 1077 00:55:17,406 --> 00:55:24,430 Uh, a high low series where we convert like probably, uh, an older, pretty, 1078 00:55:24,430 --> 00:55:29,253 pretty nice C 10 and then convert, uh, like a little bit newer, but still, still 1079 00:55:29,253 --> 00:55:30,493 older S 10. 1080 00:55:31,194 --> 00:55:35,155 and do the C10 really high budget and do the S10 really low budget and then take 1081 00:55:35,155 --> 00:55:38,456 them to car shows and like compete against Each other about who can get like more 1082 00:55:38,456 --> 00:55:42,257 street cred for the budget that we've sent So it'll be like two hundred fifty 1083 00:55:42,257 --> 00:55:44,638 thousand dollar budget verse twenty five thousand dollar budget I don't know if 1084 00:55:44,638 --> 00:55:50,720 those are the numbers, but that's the plan And so if anybody knows Rob and I he's 1085 00:55:50,720 --> 00:55:55,561 obviously the high budget guy and I'm obviously the low budget guy I was trying 1086 00:55:55,561 --> 00:55:57,681 to finagle my way into the carpool lane 1087 00:55:58,058 --> 00:55:59,480 Yeah, almost 10 years ago now. 1088 00:55:59,480 --> 00:56:03,848 I mean, and he's, yeah, he likes nice cars and I like saving money. 1089 00:56:03,848 --> 00:56:09,357 So we'll see, we'll see who's can be who's in the competition, but that'll be fun. 1090 00:56:10,145 --> 00:56:12,307 So are you going to convert an old VW Jetta? 1091 00:56:12,307 --> 00:56:13,648 Is that what you're thinking? 1092 00:56:13,648 --> 00:56:20,414 Or is there any car in particular that stands out? 1093 00:56:20,414 --> 00:56:23,816 Or you've got something secret you want to wait till. 1094 00:56:25,058 --> 00:56:26,821 Well, my team will do the S10. 1095 00:56:26,821 --> 00:56:30,269 That'll be my car and Rob's will be the C10. 1096 00:56:30,269 --> 00:56:31,592 So that'll be the first one. 1097 00:56:31,592 --> 00:56:34,472 But I'd really like to do an old. 1098 00:56:34,472 --> 00:56:37,078 if those cards had been chosen yet for sure. 1099 00:56:37,078 --> 00:56:39,304 I gotcha gotcha. 1100 00:56:39,304 --> 00:56:39,839 Great. 1101 00:56:39,839 --> 00:56:45,623 a personal vehicle, we did an FJ80 and I love that car. 1102 00:56:45,623 --> 00:56:49,966 Like that, if I could just pick one to do, that would be the one that I do. 1103 00:56:49,966 --> 00:56:50,627 Just because it's fun. 1104 00:56:50,627 --> 00:56:54,410 I was able to do a lot of the test mileage on that car before it was shipped out to 1105 00:56:54,410 --> 00:56:55,310 the customer. 1106 00:56:55,310 --> 00:56:56,731 I just love driving it. 1107 00:56:57,252 --> 00:56:59,673 Another one that I'd love to do is a Fox Body Mustang. 1108 00:56:59,673 --> 00:57:05,477 It's a tribute to vanilla ice and the 5.0. 1109 00:57:07,181 --> 00:57:10,922 No, I think that'd be a great one too, just because you've seen so many and at 1110 00:57:10,922 --> 00:57:14,264 Dunwoody, they're great at the classic Mustangs, but to see the Fox spotter, I 1111 00:57:14,264 --> 00:57:17,806 feel like those have kind of had a bit of a resurgence, especially when you're 1112 00:57:17,806 --> 00:57:22,188 talking about street cred that right now seems to be one of the hot ones. 1113 00:57:22,568 --> 00:57:23,458 Um, and then. 1114 00:57:23,458 --> 00:57:27,961 They weren't very popular for a long time and they've come up a little bit in 1115 00:57:27,961 --> 00:57:31,864 popularity now, but they're still, they're not the coolest Mustang, that's for sure. 1116 00:57:31,864 --> 00:57:35,226 But I think it would be really fun, especially to try and do it on kind of 1117 00:57:35,226 --> 00:57:39,729 like a budget build and keep a manual transmission and do some burnouts. 1118 00:57:39,729 --> 00:57:40,749 It'd be a good time. 1119 00:57:41,581 --> 00:57:43,261 Yeah, that'd be perfect for that. 1120 00:57:43,402 --> 00:57:48,205 And it's funny you say the FG 80 because that was, I was looking at either that or 1121 00:57:48,205 --> 00:57:50,606 an FG 60 before we got the defender. 1122 00:57:51,127 --> 00:57:57,411 Um, and have now gone down the probably less reliable, but more expensive. 1123 00:57:57,411 --> 00:57:59,873 And just, I'm so in love with defenders now. 1124 00:57:59,873 --> 00:58:03,796 I mean, I, I still love the, the Toyota's, uh, the land cruisers and all of that. 1125 00:58:03,796 --> 00:58:08,158 Just that whole generation from FG 40, 60 and 80 and beyond. 1126 00:58:08,159 --> 00:58:11,340 But I think really the 1680 are my personal favorites. 1127 00:58:11,449 --> 00:58:15,236 But yeah, I would love to see more of those conversions and see what people do, 1128 00:58:15,236 --> 00:58:20,186 especially more for like making a specifically off road build and kind of 1129 00:58:20,186 --> 00:58:22,008 doing some really cool stuff with them. 1130 00:58:22,535 --> 00:58:23,371 Totally. 1131 00:58:24,593 --> 00:58:28,795 Now with everything you guys are doing, like where do you see like the industry 1132 00:58:28,835 --> 00:58:32,258 kind of headed towards in like the next five years? 1133 00:58:32,258 --> 00:58:38,242 Do you see it just really fully taking off or do you see kind of certain trends or 1134 00:58:38,242 --> 00:58:41,824 any like kind of goals you guys have that you want to see kind of take off more over 1135 00:58:41,824 --> 00:58:43,024 the next five years? 1136 00:58:43,990 --> 00:58:47,331 Yeah, I mean, I think we're going to continue to see really rapid growth, 1137 00:58:47,331 --> 00:58:50,893 similar to what we have seen in the last four years, but I think just at a larger 1138 00:58:50,893 --> 00:58:51,814 scale. 1139 00:58:51,994 --> 00:58:56,096 I think the introduction of some of this technology for manufacturers that makes 1140 00:58:56,096 --> 00:58:59,218 the conversion a little bit simpler is going to be a big part of what helps 1141 00:58:59,218 --> 00:59:00,118 catalyze that growth. 1142 00:59:00,118 --> 00:59:04,481 And then I think education is the other big piece of it that helps people to adopt 1143 00:59:04,481 --> 00:59:05,541 the technology more. 1144 00:59:05,541 --> 00:59:09,643 And so I think just more of those things for sure out there. 1145 00:59:09,744 --> 00:59:12,285 I think we're going to also see... 1146 00:59:13,262 --> 00:59:17,185 an era of people doing stuff to their OEM EVs. 1147 00:59:17,185 --> 00:59:23,331 You have the one of the only Kia EV6s in your neighborhood, but you're like, I want 1148 00:59:23,331 --> 00:59:25,733 it to be different once the second one shows up. 1149 00:59:25,733 --> 00:59:27,935 You're like, oh, I want this to be cool and unique. 1150 00:59:27,935 --> 00:59:30,418 And so what can I do to customize this car? 1151 00:59:30,418 --> 00:59:32,339 And I think that'll be something we're seeing. 1152 00:59:32,339 --> 00:59:35,923 We're seeing it a lot in the Tesla Model 3 world right now. 1153 00:59:35,923 --> 00:59:39,085 I'm just like, what kind of body kits can you add? 1154 00:59:39,686 --> 00:59:42,447 air ride or different things, you know, and so I think that's going to happen a 1155 00:59:42,447 --> 00:59:47,430 lot in EV and Stay tuned for what our presence will look like in that space as 1156 00:59:47,430 --> 00:59:52,433 well We're supporting a couple projects around that and excited to support the 1157 00:59:52,433 --> 00:59:59,016 consumer and modifying their existing EVs Yeah, and then I think just the bigger 1158 00:59:59,016 --> 01:00:02,578 footprint with training I think college is adopting programs that focus around the EV 1159 01:00:02,578 --> 01:00:06,480 conversion is going to be a big part of it because we can leverage What their 1160 01:00:06,480 --> 01:00:09,058 programs currently teach around gas-powered technology? 1161 01:00:09,058 --> 01:00:12,709 and then enhance that through the gas to electric conversion. 1162 01:00:14,021 --> 01:00:14,961 Very cool. 1163 01:00:15,122 --> 01:00:15,942 And I'm kind of curious. 1164 01:00:15,942 --> 01:00:21,368 I know we talked with Chris also about this around fast charging as kind of being 1165 01:00:21,368 --> 01:00:24,071 a more common option, maybe in EVs. 1166 01:00:24,071 --> 01:00:28,375 I think it's a little more defined also in the European market for that. 1167 01:00:28,375 --> 01:00:31,338 But is that something you guys are also kind of paying attention to and kind of 1168 01:00:31,338 --> 01:00:32,519 seeing an interest in that? 1169 01:00:32,519 --> 01:00:37,684 Or is it mostly these are just kind of viewed as a second kind of cars for around 1170 01:00:37,684 --> 01:00:38,424 town. 1171 01:00:39,074 --> 01:00:41,955 Yeah, you know, it's interesting when we started it wasn't available. 1172 01:00:41,955 --> 01:00:43,216 People would ask, can we fast charge yet? 1173 01:00:43,216 --> 01:00:44,136 And we'd be like, not yet. 1174 01:00:44,136 --> 01:00:46,657 We know manufacturers are working on it, but it's not there yet. 1175 01:00:46,657 --> 01:00:47,918 And it's here now. 1176 01:00:47,918 --> 01:00:48,698 You can fast charge. 1177 01:00:48,698 --> 01:00:51,640 Amper EV has a system that you can fast charge. 1178 01:00:52,000 --> 01:00:54,001 The Felton pack is capable of fast charging. 1179 01:00:54,001 --> 01:00:55,602 Actually, we were just talking about it the other day. 1180 01:00:55,602 --> 01:00:58,463 We took it to a couple of different fast chargers to test how it did. 1181 01:00:58,463 --> 01:01:00,304 And it fast charged on multiple. 1182 01:01:00,664 --> 01:01:02,445 JJ was just telling me about that this morning. 1183 01:01:02,445 --> 01:01:03,265 And so. 1184 01:01:03,626 --> 01:01:04,047 It's here. 1185 01:01:04,047 --> 01:01:04,789 It's available. 1186 01:01:04,789 --> 01:01:07,294 Super cool that it's available in the aftermarket. 1187 01:01:07,294 --> 01:01:12,325 That's gonna make it much more accessible for people, too Yeah, we're excited about 1188 01:01:12,325 --> 01:01:12,865 it 1189 01:01:14,381 --> 01:01:16,881 Well, I, and I, I just want to say thank you so much for this matter. 1190 01:01:16,881 --> 01:01:19,842 Cause I realized we're kind of coming up on our time here and I could easily keep 1191 01:01:19,842 --> 01:01:22,863 asking you questions probably for another hour, if not two. 1192 01:01:22,863 --> 01:01:24,964 Um, but thank you so much. 1193 01:01:24,964 --> 01:01:28,685 And for sure, we'll probably have to have you on soon, especially once this defender 1194 01:01:28,685 --> 01:01:30,465 kit goes live because. 1195 01:01:30,665 --> 01:01:34,947 I can't, I, my, I know my wife is even tired of me talking about it. 1196 01:01:34,947 --> 01:01:39,088 Uh, since I can't even look at what it is beyond kind of the spec page that's 1197 01:01:39,088 --> 01:01:41,049 already up there, but, um. 1198 01:01:41,049 --> 01:01:42,253 Thank you so much. 1199 01:01:42,253 --> 01:01:42,835 This is great. 1200 01:01:42,835 --> 01:01:46,247 And I know our listeners have really enjoyed kind of learning more about this 1201 01:01:46,247 --> 01:01:48,172 space and having people like you on. 1202 01:01:48,850 --> 01:01:50,073 Of course, thank you for having me. 1203 01:01:50,073 --> 01:01:54,826 It was fun to get to chat and excited to see your Defender project take off and be 1204 01:01:54,826 --> 01:01:55,308 a part of that. 1205 01:01:55,308 --> 01:01:56,469 It's going to be awesome. 1206 01:01:57,089 --> 01:01:57,430 Thank you. 1207 01:01:57,430 --> 01:01:57,913 Same here. 1208 01:01:57,913 --> 01:01:58,916 My pleasure. 1209 01:01:58,999 --> 01:02:00,320 With that, we'll let you get going. 1210 01:02:03,829 --> 01:02:08,199 I hope you've enjoyed this deep dive with Mavrick, the co -founder of Legacy EV into 1211 01:02:08,199 --> 01:02:12,009 the realm of electric vehicles, electric conversions, and the vital importance of 1212 01:02:12,009 --> 01:02:14,929 education for shaping the future of the industry. 1213 01:02:15,149 --> 01:02:19,289 Legacy EV is not just an aftermarket automotive company, but a catalyst for 1214 01:02:19,289 --> 01:02:22,479 change in the electric vehicle space, providing parts distribution and 1215 01:02:22,479 --> 01:02:25,209 invaluable workforce development opportunities. 1216 01:02:25,329 --> 01:02:28,619 They're also providing hands -on learning experiences that are driving the force 1217 01:02:28,619 --> 01:02:31,125 behind mastering EV technology. 1218 01:02:31,125 --> 01:02:35,215 and helping push the industry to implement safe standards for EV technicians to 1219 01:02:35,215 --> 01:02:36,065 follow. 1220 01:02:36,085 --> 01:02:39,925 This is ensuring a bright and sustainable future for the EV industry, and I was 1221 01:02:39,925 --> 01:02:42,725 really honored to be able to share this with you today. 1222 01:02:42,725 --> 01:02:46,795 As we heard, despite supply chain challenges, Legacy EV remains committed to 1223 01:02:46,795 --> 01:02:50,625 overcoming obstacles and delivering top quality conversion solutions. 1224 01:02:50,685 --> 01:02:54,285 As we look ahead, the electric vehicle future is brighter than ever with exciting 1225 01:02:54,285 --> 01:02:58,547 projects on the horizon, industry growth, and really limitless 1226 01:02:58,547 --> 01:03:01,957 Customization possibilities for electric vehicle enthusiasts. 1227 01:03:01,957 --> 01:03:06,327 I know I am for one excited about what this kind of unlocks, especially for a lot 1228 01:03:06,327 --> 01:03:11,037 of traditional cars that probably didn't have the best power train, even when they 1229 01:03:11,037 --> 01:03:14,497 were combustion engine, but may have had a great exterior and interior. 1230 01:03:14,497 --> 01:03:18,917 And this really kind of is able to give these cars a second chance, along with 1231 01:03:18,917 --> 01:03:24,407 really making it much easier for people who may have a family car that they've 1232 01:03:24,407 --> 01:03:26,731 always had strong kind of like. 1233 01:03:27,373 --> 01:03:32,113 emotional connection to but now with this ability they can actually kind of not only 1234 01:03:32,113 --> 01:03:35,433 make electric but just also bring down the maintenance to make sure it stays in the 1235 01:03:35,433 --> 01:03:37,133 family for much longer. 1236 01:03:37,133 --> 01:03:40,983 So we really hope you're charged up about the future of electric vehicles as we are 1237 01:03:40,983 --> 01:03:45,023 after this convo with Mavrick and be sure to stay connected with us here at Grid 1238 01:03:45,023 --> 01:03:48,663 Connections for more episodes and insights into the world of 1239 01:03:48,943 --> 01:03:54,463 Until next week, remember, whether you're a seasoned electric vehicle enthusiast or 1240 01:03:54,463 --> 01:03:58,943 new to the world of electric mobility, the Grid Connections podcast is your go -to 1241 01:03:58,943 --> 01:04:04,433 source for all things EV and how they tie to our ever -changing electrical grid. 1242 01:04:04,433 --> 01:04:05,205 Thank you.