For years, Rob Howard restored old cars. In his youth, he worked on a 1971 Plymouth Duster with his dad, and as an adult, he restored 1960s Mustangs and modernized a 1957 Chevy station wagon so he could drive it safely with his kids. But the cars weren’t dependable, and it was especially difficult to tune antiquated fuel systems. “No matter what, it always smelled like gasoline,” he says.
With a background in tech and engineering, Howard sought improved outcomes. His key determination: Banish petroleum. “When you think about restoring your car, electrification is so obvious,” he says. “It performs better, it’s lower maintenance, and it’s actually a roughly equivalent cost.” In 2019, two years after he’d sold his software company to Target and worked on the executive team there, he decided to apply his skills in software, supply chain management, and retail to a new business of old-car electrification, founding Kindred Motorworks in San Rafael, California. Today, his 40-person team has multiyear contracts with electric vehicle battery, motor, and parts suppliers, allowing them to rehab vintage Ford Broncos, Volkswagen buses, and Chevy trucks and convert them to EVs that cost anywhere from $149,000 to $199,000.
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