**The Challenges and Benefits of Electric Vehicles**

As I embarked on my 6-hour drive from coast to coast with my Tesla, I couldn't help but think about the infrastructure that supports electric vehicles. While Elon Musk's vision of making electric cars accessible to everyone is a great business opportunity, it's clear that we're not yet there. The lack of charging stations and their inoperability made for a frustrating journey, with me having to visit multiple stations before finding one that worked.

This experience highlights the need for Tesla's infrastructure to be developed and implemented efficiently. With over 40% of Americans owning a car, it's staggering that we still have to rely on private companies or public charging stations that may not always be available. The fact that I had to spend an extra four hours of my drive waiting for a working charger is unacceptable. It's a testament to the importance of creating a comprehensive network of charging stations that can accommodate all types of vehicles, including those from other manufacturers.

**Tesla's Vision and its Benefits**

Despite the challenges, Tesla's vision of making electric cars accessible to everyone is a game-changer. When Elon Musk visited my garage in 2007 with his prototype car, I was skeptical but impressed by his enthusiasm and commitment to creating a more sustainable future. The Roadster, as it came to be known, was fast and efficient, and Musk's promise of free charging was a tantalizing prospect.

Fast-forward to today, and Tesla has made significant strides in developing its infrastructure. With over 2,000 Supercharger stations across North America, the company is well on its way to creating a comprehensive network that can support long-distance driving. The benefits of this infrastructure extend beyond Tesla owners; it also provides an opportunity for other manufacturers to enter the electric vehicle market.

**The Environmental and Social Benefits**

One of the most significant advantages of electric vehicles is their environmental impact. Combustion cars are notorious polluters, releasing greenhouse gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere. In contrast, electric cars produce zero tailpipe emissions, making them a more sustainable option for drivers who care about the environment.

Moreover, electric vehicles have other benefits that extend beyond the environment. They're quieter, smoother, and require less maintenance than their gas-guzzling counterparts. Additionally, many electric cars come with advanced technology features, such as regenerative braking and advanced infotainment systems, which enhance the driving experience.

**The Nitty-Gritty of Electric Vehicle Ownership**

While Tesla's electric vehicles are undoubtedly impressive, they're not without their quirks. My car's touchscreen, for example, can be a bit finicky at times, and the seats could use some additional cushioning. However, these minor complaints aside, I've found that driving an electric vehicle is a relatively smooth experience.

One of the most significant advantages of electric vehicles is their drivetrain. The motor is incredibly smooth and responsive, making it feel like you're driving a gas car with exceptional performance. While other manufacturers may not have achieved this level of refinement, Tesla's commitment to innovation has paid off.

**The Future of Electric Vehicles**

As we look to the future, it's clear that electric vehicles will continue to play an increasingly important role in our transportation landscape. With advancements in technology and decreasing costs, more drivers are considering switching to electric cars. While there are still challenges to overcome, such as infrastructure development and range anxiety, the benefits of electric vehicles make them an attractive option for those who care about the environment.

The fact that I was able to enjoy a scenic drive along the coast with minimal distractions is a testament to Tesla's commitment to creating a seamless driving experience. While my car may have had some minor issues, it performed admirably, and I was grateful for the opportunity to experience electric vehicle ownership firsthand. As we move forward into an increasingly sustainable future, one thing is certain: electric vehicles will play a significant role in shaping our transportation landscape.

**A Personal Perspective**

As someone who's been following Tesla's progress for years, I have to say that it's been fascinating to watch the company grow and evolve. When Elon Musk first visited my garage with his prototype car, I was skeptical but impressed by his vision and enthusiasm. The fact that he's willing to invest in infrastructure development and make electric cars accessible to everyone is a testament to his commitment to creating a more sustainable future.

While I've had some minor issues with my Tesla, including a scratched windshield and a finicky touchscreen, I've found that the car has been remarkably reliable. With over 40 minutes of driving left on my tank, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. It's clear that Tesla has done its homework and is committed to creating an exceptional driving experience.

As for the windshield itself, it may be a bit small, but the view from up there is breathtaking. With the sun shining brightly overhead, I felt like I was on top of the world. The fact that I can drive 40 minutes up into the mountains without having to worry about getting lost or stranded is a testament to Tesla's commitment to safety and reliability.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, my experience with Tesla's electric vehicle has been a mixed bag, but overall, it's been an incredibly positive one. While there are still challenges to overcome, including infrastructure development and range anxiety, the benefits of electric vehicles make them an attractive option for those who care about the environment.

As we move forward into an increasingly sustainable future, one thing is certain: electric vehicles will play a significant role in shaping our transportation landscape. With Tesla's commitment to innovation and its dedication to creating a seamless driving experience, I have no doubt that the company will continue to lead the charge.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enbut the one thing that did get excellent is your throttle response you know it's not like a gas car where you're pulling a throttle opens and closed you know a lot of homemade electric you touch them and you Leap Forward and and then you're you're hooky jerky you know I mean this really is linear the lighter I touch it the lighter I go as opposed to touching it lightly and boom and then if to move you know so they did a real good job on that that's a lot of work welcome to the episode of Jay's garage the car we're featuring today well I'm going to let you maybe guess what it is take a look now these headlights look like a Mini Cooper I don't really know what this logo means it looks like some sort of hot air balloon going over a volcano I don't know what that means the tail lights I know the tail lights are from a Miata it's got oh is this the oh no it's got a charging port so it's electric H well it's a pretty car it's interesting got a British emblem here I don't recognize the wheels I think they might be bespoke to the car well let's bring the man in respons with it if you watch the property brothers on HGTV uh they are hugely popular you know they they do these beautiful Renovations for homes in fact I was on a show with somebody from our staff so that was a lot of fun but this was his design he thought of how he wanted it done and he sent it off to the people to get it done his name is Drew Scott drew come on in my friend good to see you good to see you see it's a benefit of having long arms because I can come all oh that's right that's right yeah see well I remember you told me you were going to do this and uh you know it turned out quite nice isn't it a cute a cute car is that how you want to describe a car cute I think it's I don't know if guys want a cute car that's totes adorbs this car it's really totes adorbs yeah it's kind of like hey cute top oh you think so it was actually Linda's dress and I wear it as a shirt really oh nice okay no all right so I know you like British sports cars yeah I mean European in general this is a tribute to my dad who's from Scotland and so for me I just wanted you know him and I we would be in Scotland and we would he would kind of like just stop me in the street and we would admire when we see some beautiful old uh sports car Roll by and for me it was just trying to create something that's a tribute to my dad that has some of the beauty of those old cars he used to talk about and used to show me well I know you're a master builder and you do amazing Renovations I didn't know you built cars as well well this's the thing I've designed so many houses over the years and I mean we've done everything from new development to renovation rehabs and also taking old you know historic homes and trying to revitalize while keeping the original charm well you did that for us with David our producer this director hey David yeah there we go uh but it's the thing for me is when I first got into this you know a friend of mine Aunt aned helped with this project because he's the Master Mechanic he knows cars inside and out well he's quite famous yeah he is and and he just this is his game whereas homes are my game and so I said how hard can designing a car be because we wanted something totally new I'm like I do houses that are a lot bigger and have a lot more rooms it's just a car how hard could it be how hard and then I got into it and I realized it was hard so you're kind of in over your head is that what you think I got in a little over my head but I mean and you're tall so it'll be over your head that's a lot yeah that's a lot a lot so I uh I I think at the end of the day when I start to realize it's like what 10,000 components all coming together and even though a house has a lot of different spaces you can independently work on the design there whereas here it's all sort of one big shot and but it was fun and we got it done in the end right so I I know you're an environmental guy yeah and so you wanted to build something that was sort of uh self- sustaining whatever what's the term yeah well I mean for me Renewables is a is a great thing and just trying to work off of electricity instead of fossil fuels and again I love all these old cars right it's just I wanted to have something that was electric and I've driven electric for years and so everything about this car sort of speaks to me or my family in some way like even where your hand is right now all that fabric for the chairs and the mid console that's my Scott Tartan so that's our Scottish Tartan from the clan Scott well my mother's from Scotland mure so right we we have a Tartan as well be related we we could be we we I could be the third brother I mean I want to see that show okay so you started with Tesla Motor yeah the fra it's a tube frame built especially yeah it's a tube frame uh I mean it's again I'm not as technical I can try and sound like I am but this this is a two tube frame uh something about a Miata you know okay so you got a lot of Miata pieces in yeah okay now the actually body the body itself did you and Aunt Design This yourself yeah this the everything above the test Tesla base is all well I thought you did a good job it's quite attract it's hard to make to draw a car and make it attractive something's always out of whack but it's actually quite Pleasant looking it's nice it's not intimidating but it looks aggressive we got these Cobra Cobra likee haunches back here that kind of give it a sense of muscle it probably weighs a third of what an actual Tesla weigh so this is 2200 lb so I think really 2200 well a Tesla is 5,000 lb yeah so it's just under half and I think that that's one of the reasons it's you know we were originally when I first got to test drive it once it was together actually we're just over here we're just on the off the the tarmac at the airport here and we had planes that were taking off next to us and Landing next to us and it seemed like when we we wanted a beautiful shot as I was driving this with the planes in behind but I kept having to slow down because I was looking way faster than the plane so I feel if I had wings on this it would have taken off well you must look like a circus bear driving this thing I mean that's the the fun probably up here I I am tall so that was one of the trickiest parts you know we have where the batteries sit it the battery we have up in the middle as well um where the mid console is we had to make room for my legs because a lot of the cars that we were modeling off of if you look at anything from those old the porsch or Jaguars or ason Martin whatever it might be I look big in it and so we were trying to find a way that we could design it so I could fit nicely in there seat a little sit a little bit lower within the custom with the custom seats um and we did it I mean I'm still tall I have a giant torso but I feel comfortable in the vehicle okay all right and I'm still Blown Away by the magic of the windshield because it feels so low profile yet when I'm driving it it go over the wind comes up and over still yeah yeah no it's great and again even again the wi you know if it was an inch higher it would look really awkward so I know I think proportionally you have a good sense of proportion it's a good look car you know it really it looks like a a cobra from this this point back especially with these the haunches and all that you know the only thing that was more originally from me inspired by uh American car instead of the European cars were the side vents that's more like a Corvette back here oh yeah the scallops here yeah yeah but everything else um you know it's that just that whole mix I know what I like the look of but you're right when when I was designing this and working with ant every time we were going in a certain direction one end of the vehicle looked weird or originally the windshield was an inch and a half taller and it looked funny it looked like a clown car right and So eventually coming back to where we are at one point the hood looked way too long but I liked how rounded it was um it was too boxy at one point I literally got in here when we got the the frame for what we thought it was going to be I came in with the saw and started cutting up the fiberglass just to like add a few bit more details for what I liked expanding the lights you know originally it wasn't the mini size it was a different size we also had you know the lighting on the front we didn't have that originally and I just loved that when you look at some of the old cars so no it actually looks like a production Auto AAL but it is a true oneoff it's a one of a kind one of I actually named it after my dad's hometown Scotland lanarch lch and my uh yeah lanarch who can do a better right Al I'll talk like this this car is so unique it's actually a tribute to my dad and my wife made the logo which is not it's not what do you call it it was a hot air a hot air balloon with a volcano yeah hot is that a no no so the thistle is the Flower of Scotland the thistle yeah and then the mountains that's the Cascade Mountains underneath where my my parents they lived in the Rocky Mountains most of their life so it was sort of bringing his two aspects of his life together where he lived can you say Mery nobody said say murder like to Scotch murder murder it's Med it's a lot of spitting as well not a med it's it's cool you know the funny thing is my dad has not had we built this and I still have not been able to give him the final drive in this as a tribute to him like as well like he he's seen it oh okay but he did at the time we were still working on it he didn't get to drive so I'm excited after today taking it home he's going to get a little drive and you're going to auction it off for charity is that what you're going to do with it you know we were talking about it because it's amazing this whole experience was amazing to have something this that is that sort of family tribute it means a lot to me but what also means a lot is giving back um and I think if we found yeah a way to raise money for charity and to be able to have somebody else who's a huge car lover to have something custom like this while still raising money for charity that would be amazing well let's show them what they' be getting here can we open this up open up now this is the h under here do we have the electric motor under here yeah going to push there you okay can you okay EV well sure I know EV West they did some work on it as well the motor in the back the batteries are here under here and this is like some sort of inverter or something is it yeah and so the batteries it's actually we have one battery like this and then two stack like this and the one reason we had to get that shape was also to make sure we had enough room for tall bodies like me to be able to squeeze in beside but it it ended up working out perfectly with where the the mid uh console would have been and you have fewer batteries than it being a big fulls siiz Tesla sedan right or is it the no it's the same it's the same so that we could do 300 miles on this at full charge it's um I drive a Model S uh as well I mean I have uh for years before before this in the rivan to me that was one of the things if I want to have this I have a car that looks beautiful like those old cars but I don't want it to be something that you know I can run 100 miles and that's it I want it to be able to survive cool cool all right hey let's put that back on sure this looks a little little tricky let's make sure got to get the front should we slide it in there you guys got a little spear through up a little bit it's lucky we don't have to check the oil this it take all day did we get your side I think we're got to go your way touch yeah there you go we in and I think got wedding night you know allang did we make it I think I got to go your way a little bit I can't see are we in there hang on if you lift it a little bit lift it up and then yep who needs a hinge okay there we go go there we are and then we're going to drop it in okay and then pop her down and Lock and Load okay that's quite simple there we go one thing that uh I don't know if we we talked about yet the the flag on the side right the British so many people have looked at that and and said different things because it's a tribute to my dad who's Scottish right however in the car world I was told if you put a Scottish flag on here everybody's going to be like why have a Scottish flag on a car that doesn't makes sense and it's inspired by European Vehicles so why don't you have something else on there right but I figured British is sort of like a nice midpoint and this was before brexit that I put this on there so right right and and and plus Scottish people get mad when they see the British thing on this that they do so I kind of haven't mentioned that part to my dad yet so he'll probably be like get that off of there and put the line rampant and the trunk is just a trunk nothing special there how does that how does that open the trunk yeah uh actually they did an adjustment here hold on a second here oh that's weird there to be up front oh there you go yeah we had originally um we didn't have the pull up front we just added it so in behind there is the motor in action and if I have my miniature set of golf clubs that can fit them in here yeah if you're playing miniature golf it'd be good to me there were a couple little things we changed originally we had a a wire across here you can still see actually down there updated the the software a little bit added a new screen I wanted to have it's the same when you have a a vintage home like if you have a historic home and you want to keep the original elements but today there are certain modern functionalities that you want to have so we obviously try to keep everything looking beautiful and original except for the computer we're adding a bit of technology and these are molded into the body yeah so these are it's a separate unit but it is uh bolted in okay but uh these seats you know they took a form of my butto right and then they perfectly I didn't want to think about that but yeah if you actually if you feel the seat and you feel here it's very you know I'm okay I'm okay okay let's uh take it for a spin not every day I get chauffered by Jay lenam no it's funny cuz you obviously have a power steering in the Tesla but not in this no yeah and when we were designing it I was actually asked if I want power steering and then I was sort of given when I was like yeah sure and then I was given the look like you're you're making this very unauthentic you want to be more authentic so I said no to power steering oh okay very smooth a lot of power yeah the uh the software as well I do like the way that I can adjust it because you know you're a probably a better driver than I am I don't need quite the the muscle quite the power that uh this car can can give me so I can just turn it down a not you can adjust it yeah brakes are okay I would probably have a booster on it if I because you need you need an awful lot of pressure to stop so with these brakes I can adjust the regenerative element so you think I should do something more than that I I like Max gen because it puts more in and second of all it saves your brake pads yeah but the one thing they did they did get excellent is your throttle response you know it's not like a gas car where you're pulling a throttle opens and closed you know a lot of homemade electric you touch them and you Leap Forward and and then you're you're hurky jerky you know I mean it's really is linear the lighter I touch it the lighter I go as opposed to touching it like boom and then it it moves you know so they did a real good job on that that's that's a lot of work yeah that was one of the original again I don't know cars the way that that you would and so I gave my feedback when we first drove it and that was one of my my uh notes is that it was very like explosive right um how do we lean into that and so I'm glad they that they got that right yeah with gas it's easy cuz you're mixing gasoline in air so okay whereas electricity it's like an onoff like a light switch you know yeah how's the wind in your face I'm fine yeah yeah I did picture my first romantic drive with the Wind of my hair in the car with Linda but you'll have to settle yeah well I can do it with Linda don't worry about okay yeah this is what I actually figured I'm going to take my dad up into the hills somewhere and that's the drive I'm going to give him because it'll remind him of being in the back country of Scotland where he's from this is the perfect California day for this car not too hot the sun is shining it's a cool Breeze you got the mountains out here everything about is perfect yeah it's also a car like this a convertible where I'm from in Canada 90% of the year you have rain right so this is the the climate you want to be in for this that's right you have no top of any kind no that was a decision we made because of my height it would have started to feel like a clown car if it was too high yeah you ever tried to sit in a 55 T bir you're like no you can't you can't do it you know my first fancy car car was a t- bird I had an 88 Turbo Coupe oh okay and I thought I was amazing because it had the turbo and so it was faster than name my friend's cars it also kind of looked a little bit like a ghost car so everybody on the road thought I could have been a cop yo yo is this the longest ride you ever taken in this is yeah I've only ever done little little uh runs close to the airport how does it feel to you I mean it's nice I think it'll be a different feeling when I'm behind the the driver right right but it's uh I drove it when it was originally originally done and then we had uh um the tweaks on so you're you actually get to drive it before I do with all the tweaks I mean it's a perfect car if you live in like a Beach Community you know you can zip around oh yeah I was just up in mono and there were a couple of cars like this that are just a you know no top you know they don't go above 30 they just Cruise along the water I love when uh you're driving along everybody knows you around here everywhere and everybody wants to talk to you while you're driving I know fny how many times have you driven like a car like this and all of a sudden you get a bug in the mouth or something not that often but once in a while cuz I ride motorcycles so used to it yeah but I do like the fact that if you're using solar panels it really is free fuel yeah I mean obviously you spend a fortune on solar panels and people don't like electric well takes more power to generate the Sol you know but it it is renewable and that's pretty cool well that's the thing is you know right now there isn't enough solar panels it manufactured to be able to offset the demand of right you know the country of the world but we're setting ourselves up with electric electrifying homes electrifying vehicles that we'll get there eventually and I've invested in a a geothermal company that can bring the cost of geothermal way down so if we do that between GE thermal and solar all of a sudden we have this cleaner energy right right for uh for and it's not even just for the planet it's also for the health of your home and for the health of of us yeah yeah no I I get no argument and the thing about how are you I'm so handsome hey there you go how are you you oh than I did notice that she said you were handsome and then I got the pity handsome after the oh the yes yeah that's yeah that's me I'm handsome yeah that's a mistake I never make in Show Business I that girl wouldn't sleep with me when I am 25 she's not going to sleep with me when I'm 65 okay it's just a rule you just you know so out of the uh electric cars that you have in your collection what what would be your favorite well that Tesla plaid is pretty amazing it's a fast accelerating vehicle there is with the exception of the remac which is 2.7 million which is also electric right so I said okay and whenever I have to go somewhere far because I I there's something about putting $100 in the gas tank in California every couple of days that just rankles me yeah just you know it's like really a $100 you know I had one of those uh one of the Dodge TRX the big truck with the Hemi engine in it yeah and on the window sticker it says 11 m per gallon and that that's the best you're going to get I mean that that you know makes it cry I mean I drove it like for the day then I F the tank was like $160 it's like yeah yeah know it's that's not fun and it is what it is and it's not like we can flip a switch and make everything electric tomorrow I mean we're getting there slowly and steadily and yeah mean all the cars that I've always loved you know up until creating this or you know I drive the new rivan um they've all been combustion and it's I love the the look of those old European sports cars how's rivan been for you nice it's been great I have no complaints the the software they've been making their updates and everything's coming along you know the only issue I do have right now which is rivan doesn't have the infrastructure that Tesla has for charging stations Tesla's opened up their charging stations however they're they're creating a component within the units that that it it converts the head for you instead of me being able to bring a head converter right for my other vehicles and so unfortunately I did a trip up the coast here a 6 4our Drive 5 Drive I ended up having to um go to several different charging stations and then they weren't working properly it was such a hassle it turned into a 10-hour Drive I know that's what happens yeah so as soon as Tesla's infrastructure is ready for other vehicles that'll help solve a lot of it well that's where Elon was you know he came to my garage in 2007 with the Prototype electric car yeah like this little Roadster we drove it and it was fast he said you know I'm going to build charging station so and it'll be free charging and I'm going like yeah right yeah you but he was as he was building that prototype he was buying the land and building the TRU I mean yeah I mean thinking so far ahead having that available to everybody with all electrics it's it's a great business opportunity and it's obviously great for for us drivers it just annoys me how everything has become political yeah like if you like an electric car then you're also a vegan or whatever it might be and if you like gas cars well you love gun and Trump you know you can't have six and one half do no it's annoying I mean the thing is I think that I think there are a lot of people out there that you don't have to be extreme any way you know if you I can like not polluting like we all know that combustion cars pollute we all know that but it was a necessity because that was what we had to for for the civilization to move forward same with our homes heting our homes I think that we're moving in the right direction I think as a society we're we're more educated now and what we can do and again too it's we focus on family when renovating homes we focus on what's important for families a safe happy healthy home and an affordable home yeah and now all of these cleaner options are becoming more affordable so why wouldn't you to me it's like ancient Rome they had lead Forks lead knives I'm just going to use lead I'm happy with it all right and you see what happened they all went crazy and wacky and just because I can I still use lead forks from time to time yeah if I don't like my guest give them the lead uh flatware right it's funny well it's very smooth it's very tight with the exception of the seat which is a little uncomfortable which I think that can be fixed it's uh like I said this is literally the longest drive I've ever done in the car yeah and my butt's fallen asleep I so at least it's not the engine at least it's not the motor I need to work on you know the drivetrain is excellent that's 90% of the job or something like this and the rest it's just niggling things that just are annoying you know nities yeah yeah so how do you feel about the uh the windshield does this feel ridiculously small to you no not at all I love the view just coming across here and seeing the view over the Val nice I love the fact that it's 80° here and I drive 40 minutes up there and it's snow yeah I know we've never hit the Hills close by this this winter we might actually drive somewhere for a bit of snow you know it's only 4 40 minutes from my garage when you're up your neck in snow that's that's amazing it's amazing go up Angeles Crest you ever been on Angeles Crest you're like you're in Sicily you you can't see any of that La you're just constant Mountain well drew it turned out very nice I know he's got a few little things to fix But ultimately it's very dependable it's very linear it's very smooth a lot of electrics as we said just kind of leap when you touch I mean someone has done all the right amount of work to make this feel like a gasoline car in terms of touch the pedal slowly you go slowly you touch it hard you go hard so I I think the hard work is done got a few little scratches to put a fix on the front yeah but I think whoever gets this will be uh will be pretty lucky wait a minut did you scratch my car uh well no that was on there what I got here I've heard that story before yeah tell me about well thank you my friend appreciate it yeah great job hey I hope you enjoyed this uh little trick down electric Lane and we'll see you guys next week with with more gas cars I promise whoa whoa whoa I'm still herebut the one thing that did get excellent is your throttle response you know it's not like a gas car where you're pulling a throttle opens and closed you know a lot of homemade electric you touch them and you Leap Forward and and then you're you're hooky jerky you know I mean this really is linear the lighter I touch it the lighter I go as opposed to touching it lightly and boom and then if to move you know so they did a real good job on that that's a lot of work welcome to the episode of Jay's garage the car we're featuring today well I'm going to let you maybe guess what it is take a look now these headlights look like a Mini Cooper I don't really know what this logo means it looks like some sort of hot air balloon going over a volcano I don't know what that means the tail lights I know the tail lights are from a Miata it's got oh is this the oh no it's got a charging port so it's electric H well it's a pretty car it's interesting got a British emblem here I don't recognize the wheels I think they might be bespoke to the car well let's bring the man in respons with it if you watch the property brothers on HGTV uh they are hugely popular you know they they do these beautiful Renovations for homes in fact I was on a show with somebody from our staff so that was a lot of fun but this was his design he thought of how he wanted it done and he sent it off to the people to get it done his name is Drew Scott drew come on in my friend good to see you good to see you see it's a benefit of having long arms because I can come all oh that's right that's right yeah see well I remember you told me you were going to do this and uh you know it turned out quite nice isn't it a cute a cute car is that how you want to describe a car cute I think it's I don't know if guys want a cute car that's totes adorbs this car it's really totes adorbs yeah it's kind of like hey cute top oh you think so it was actually Linda's dress and I wear it as a shirt really oh nice okay no all right so I know you like British sports cars yeah I mean European in general this is a tribute to my dad who's from Scotland and so for me I just wanted you know him and I we would be in Scotland and we would he would kind of like just stop me in the street and we would admire when we see some beautiful old uh sports car Roll by and for me it was just trying to create something that's a tribute to my dad that has some of the beauty of those old cars he used to talk about and used to show me well I know you're a master builder and you do amazing Renovations I didn't know you built cars as well well this's the thing I've designed so many houses over the years and I mean we've done everything from new development to renovation rehabs and also taking old you know historic homes and trying to revitalize while keeping the original charm well you did that for us with David our producer this director hey David yeah there we go uh but it's the thing for me is when I first got into this you know a friend of mine Aunt aned helped with this project because he's the Master Mechanic he knows cars inside and out well he's quite famous yeah he is and and he just this is his game whereas homes are my game and so I said how hard can designing a car be because we wanted something totally new I'm like I do houses that are a lot bigger and have a lot more rooms it's just a car how hard could it be how hard and then I got into it and I realized it was hard so you're kind of in over your head is that what you think I got in a little over my head but I mean and you're tall so it'll be over your head that's a lot yeah that's a lot a lot so I uh I I think at the end of the day when I start to realize it's like what 10,000 components all coming together and even though a house has a lot of different spaces you can independently work on the design there whereas here it's all sort of one big shot and but it was fun and we got it done in the end right so I I know you're an environmental guy yeah and so you wanted to build something that was sort of uh self- sustaining whatever what's the term yeah well I mean for me Renewables is a is a great thing and just trying to work off of electricity instead of fossil fuels and again I love all these old cars right it's just I wanted to have something that was electric and I've driven electric for years and so everything about this car sort of speaks to me or my family in some way like even where your hand is right now all that fabric for the chairs and the mid console that's my Scott Tartan so that's our Scottish Tartan from the clan Scott well my mother's from Scotland mure so right we we have a Tartan as well be related we we could be we we I could be the third brother I mean I want to see that show okay so you started with Tesla Motor yeah the fra it's a tube frame built especially yeah it's a tube frame uh I mean it's again I'm not as technical I can try and sound like I am but this this is a two tube frame uh something about a Miata you know okay so you got a lot of Miata pieces in yeah okay now the actually body the body itself did you and Aunt Design This yourself yeah this the everything above the test Tesla base is all well I thought you did a good job it's quite attract it's hard to make to draw a car and make it attractive something's always out of whack but it's actually quite Pleasant looking it's nice it's not intimidating but it looks aggressive we got these Cobra Cobra likee haunches back here that kind of give it a sense of muscle it probably weighs a third of what an actual Tesla weigh so this is 2200 lb so I think really 2200 well a Tesla is 5,000 lb yeah so it's just under half and I think that that's one of the reasons it's you know we were originally when I first got to test drive it once it was together actually we're just over here we're just on the off the the tarmac at the airport here and we had planes that were taking off next to us and Landing next to us and it seemed like when we we wanted a beautiful shot as I was driving this with the planes in behind but I kept having to slow down because I was looking way faster than the plane so I feel if I had wings on this it would have taken off well you must look like a circus bear driving this thing I mean that's the the fun probably up here I I am tall so that was one of the trickiest parts you know we have where the batteries sit it the battery we have up in the middle as well um where the mid console is we had to make room for my legs because a lot of the cars that we were modeling off of if you look at anything from those old the porsch or Jaguars or ason Martin whatever it might be I look big in it and so we were trying to find a way that we could design it so I could fit nicely in there seat a little sit a little bit lower within the custom with the custom seats um and we did it I mean I'm still tall I have a giant torso but I feel comfortable in the vehicle okay all right and I'm still Blown Away by the magic of the windshield because it feels so low profile yet when I'm driving it it go over the wind comes up and over still yeah yeah no it's great and again even again the wi you know if it was an inch higher it would look really awkward so I know I think proportionally you have a good sense of proportion it's a good look car you know it really it looks like a a cobra from this this point back especially with these the haunches and all that you know the only thing that was more originally from me inspired by uh American car instead of the European cars were the side vents that's more like a Corvette back here oh yeah the scallops here yeah yeah but everything else um you know it's that just that whole mix I know what I like the look of but you're right when when I was designing this and working with ant every time we were going in a certain direction one end of the vehicle looked weird or originally the windshield was an inch and a half taller and it looked funny it looked like a clown car right and So eventually coming back to where we are at one point the hood looked way too long but I liked how rounded it was um it was too boxy at one point I literally got in here when we got the the frame for what we thought it was going to be I came in with the saw and started cutting up the fiberglass just to like add a few bit more details for what I liked expanding the lights you know originally it wasn't the mini size it was a different size we also had you know the lighting on the front we didn't have that originally and I just loved that when you look at some of the old cars so no it actually looks like a production Auto AAL but it is a true oneoff it's a one of a kind one of I actually named it after my dad's hometown Scotland lanarch lch and my uh yeah lanarch who can do a better right Al I'll talk like this this car is so unique it's actually a tribute to my dad and my wife made the logo which is not it's not what do you call it it was a hot air a hot air balloon with a volcano yeah hot is that a no no so the thistle is the Flower of Scotland the thistle yeah and then the mountains that's the Cascade Mountains underneath where my my parents they lived in the Rocky Mountains most of their life so it was sort of bringing his two aspects of his life together where he lived can you say Mery nobody said say murder like to Scotch murder murder it's Med it's a lot of spitting as well not a med it's it's cool you know the funny thing is my dad has not had we built this and I still have not been able to give him the final drive in this as a tribute to him like as well like he he's seen it oh okay but he did at the time we were still working on it he didn't get to drive so I'm excited after today taking it home he's going to get a little drive and you're going to auction it off for charity is that what you're going to do with it you know we were talking about it because it's amazing this whole experience was amazing to have something this that is that sort of family tribute it means a lot to me but what also means a lot is giving back um and I think if we found yeah a way to raise money for charity and to be able to have somebody else who's a huge car lover to have something custom like this while still raising money for charity that would be amazing well let's show them what they' be getting here can we open this up open up now this is the h under here do we have the electric motor under here yeah going to push there you okay can you okay EV well sure I know EV West they did some work on it as well the motor in the back the batteries are here under here and this is like some sort of inverter or something is it yeah and so the batteries it's actually we have one battery like this and then two stack like this and the one reason we had to get that shape was also to make sure we had enough room for tall bodies like me to be able to squeeze in beside but it it ended up working out perfectly with where the the mid uh console would have been and you have fewer batteries than it being a big fulls siiz Tesla sedan right or is it the no it's the same it's the same so that we could do 300 miles on this at full charge it's um I drive a Model S uh as well I mean I have uh for years before before this in the rivan to me that was one of the things if I want to have this I have a car that looks beautiful like those old cars but I don't want it to be something that you know I can run 100 miles and that's it I want it to be able to survive cool cool all right hey let's put that back on sure this looks a little little tricky let's make sure got to get the front should we slide it in there you guys got a little spear through up a little bit it's lucky we don't have to check the oil this it take all day did we get your side I think we're got to go your way touch yeah there you go we in and I think got wedding night you know allang did we make it I think I got to go your way a little bit I can't see are we in there hang on if you lift it a little bit lift it up and then yep who needs a hinge okay there we go go there we are and then we're going to drop it in okay and then pop her down and Lock and Load okay that's quite simple there we go one thing that uh I don't know if we we talked about yet the the flag on the side right the British so many people have looked at that and and said different things because it's a tribute to my dad who's Scottish right however in the car world I was told if you put a Scottish flag on here everybody's going to be like why have a Scottish flag on a car that doesn't makes sense and it's inspired by European Vehicles so why don't you have something else on there right but I figured British is sort of like a nice midpoint and this was before brexit that I put this on there so right right and and and plus Scottish people get mad when they see the British thing on this that they do so I kind of haven't mentioned that part to my dad yet so he'll probably be like get that off of there and put the line rampant and the trunk is just a trunk nothing special there how does that how does that open the trunk yeah uh actually they did an adjustment here hold on a second here oh that's weird there to be up front oh there you go yeah we had originally um we didn't have the pull up front we just added it so in behind there is the motor in action and if I have my miniature set of golf clubs that can fit them in here yeah if you're playing miniature golf it'd be good to me there were a couple little things we changed originally we had a a wire across here you can still see actually down there updated the the software a little bit added a new screen I wanted to have it's the same when you have a a vintage home like if you have a historic home and you want to keep the original elements but today there are certain modern functionalities that you want to have so we obviously try to keep everything looking beautiful and original except for the computer we're adding a bit of technology and these are molded into the body yeah so these are it's a separate unit but it is uh bolted in okay but uh these seats you know they took a form of my butto right and then they perfectly I didn't want to think about that but yeah if you actually if you feel the seat and you feel here it's very you know I'm okay I'm okay okay let's uh take it for a spin not every day I get chauffered by Jay lenam no it's funny cuz you obviously have a power steering in the Tesla but not in this no yeah and when we were designing it I was actually asked if I want power steering and then I was sort of given when I was like yeah sure and then I was given the look like you're you're making this very unauthentic you want to be more authentic so I said no to power steering oh okay very smooth a lot of power yeah the uh the software as well I do like the way that I can adjust it because you know you're a probably a better driver than I am I don't need quite the the muscle quite the power that uh this car can can give me so I can just turn it down a not you can adjust it yeah brakes are okay I would probably have a booster on it if I because you need you need an awful lot of pressure to stop so with these brakes I can adjust the regenerative element so you think I should do something more than that I I like Max gen because it puts more in and second of all it saves your brake pads yeah but the one thing they did they did get excellent is your throttle response you know it's not like a gas car where you're pulling a throttle opens and closed you know a lot of homemade electric you touch them and you Leap Forward and and then you're you're hurky jerky you know I mean it's really is linear the lighter I touch it the lighter I go as opposed to touching it like boom and then it it moves you know so they did a real good job on that that's that's a lot of work yeah that was one of the original again I don't know cars the way that that you would and so I gave my feedback when we first drove it and that was one of my my uh notes is that it was very like explosive right um how do we lean into that and so I'm glad they that they got that right yeah with gas it's easy cuz you're mixing gasoline in air so okay whereas electricity it's like an onoff like a light switch you know yeah how's the wind in your face I'm fine yeah yeah I did picture my first romantic drive with the Wind of my hair in the car with Linda but you'll have to settle yeah well I can do it with Linda don't worry about okay yeah this is what I actually figured I'm going to take my dad up into the hills somewhere and that's the drive I'm going to give him because it'll remind him of being in the back country of Scotland where he's from this is the perfect California day for this car not too hot the sun is shining it's a cool Breeze you got the mountains out here everything about is perfect yeah it's also a car like this a convertible where I'm from in Canada 90% of the year you have rain right so this is the the climate you want to be in for this that's right you have no top of any kind no that was a decision we made because of my height it would have started to feel like a clown car if it was too high yeah you ever tried to sit in a 55 T bir you're like no you can't you can't do it you know my first fancy car car was a t- bird I had an 88 Turbo Coupe oh okay and I thought I was amazing because it had the turbo and so it was faster than name my friend's cars it also kind of looked a little bit like a ghost car so everybody on the road thought I could have been a cop yo yo is this the longest ride you ever taken in this is yeah I've only ever done little little uh runs close to the airport how does it feel to you I mean it's nice I think it'll be a different feeling when I'm behind the the driver right right but it's uh I drove it when it was originally originally done and then we had uh um the tweaks on so you're you actually get to drive it before I do with all the tweaks I mean it's a perfect car if you live in like a Beach Community you know you can zip around oh yeah I was just up in mono and there were a couple of cars like this that are just a you know no top you know they don't go above 30 they just Cruise along the water I love when uh you're driving along everybody knows you around here everywhere and everybody wants to talk to you while you're driving I know fny how many times have you driven like a car like this and all of a sudden you get a bug in the mouth or something not that often but once in a while cuz I ride motorcycles so used to it yeah but I do like the fact that if you're using solar panels it really is free fuel yeah I mean obviously you spend a fortune on solar panels and people don't like electric well takes more power to generate the Sol you know but it it is renewable and that's pretty cool well that's the thing is you know right now there isn't enough solar panels it manufactured to be able to offset the demand of right you know the country of the world but we're setting ourselves up with electric electrifying homes electrifying vehicles that we'll get there eventually and I've invested in a a geothermal company that can bring the cost of geothermal way down so if we do that between GE thermal and solar all of a sudden we have this cleaner energy right right for uh for and it's not even just for the planet it's also for the health of your home and for the health of of us yeah yeah no I I get no argument and the thing about how are you I'm so handsome hey there you go how are you you oh than I did notice that she said you were handsome and then I got the pity handsome after the oh the yes yeah that's yeah that's me I'm handsome yeah that's a mistake I never make in Show Business I that girl wouldn't sleep with me when I am 25 she's not going to sleep with me when I'm 65 okay it's just a rule you just you know so out of the uh electric cars that you have in your collection what what would be your favorite well that Tesla plaid is pretty amazing it's a fast accelerating vehicle there is with the exception of the remac which is 2.7 million which is also electric right so I said okay and whenever I have to go somewhere far because I I there's something about putting $100 in the gas tank in California every couple of days that just rankles me yeah just you know it's like really a $100 you know I had one of those uh one of the Dodge TRX the big truck with the Hemi engine in it yeah and on the window sticker it says 11 m per gallon and that that's the best you're going to get I mean that that you know makes it cry I mean I drove it like for the day then I F the tank was like $160 it's like yeah yeah know it's that's not fun and it is what it is and it's not like we can flip a switch and make everything electric tomorrow I mean we're getting there slowly and steadily and yeah mean all the cars that I've always loved you know up until creating this or you know I drive the new rivan um they've all been combustion and it's I love the the look of those old European sports cars how's rivan been for you nice it's been great I have no complaints the the software they've been making their updates and everything's coming along you know the only issue I do have right now which is rivan doesn't have the infrastructure that Tesla has for charging stations Tesla's opened up their charging stations however they're they're creating a component within the units that that it it converts the head for you instead of me being able to bring a head converter right for my other vehicles and so unfortunately I did a trip up the coast here a 6 4our Drive 5 Drive I ended up having to um go to several different charging stations and then they weren't working properly it was such a hassle it turned into a 10-hour Drive I know that's what happens yeah so as soon as Tesla's infrastructure is ready for other vehicles that'll help solve a lot of it well that's where Elon was you know he came to my garage in 2007 with the Prototype electric car yeah like this little Roadster we drove it and it was fast he said you know I'm going to build charging station so and it'll be free charging and I'm going like yeah right yeah you but he was as he was building that prototype he was buying the land and building the TRU I mean yeah I mean thinking so far ahead having that available to everybody with all electrics it's it's a great business opportunity and it's obviously great for for us drivers it just annoys me how everything has become political yeah like if you like an electric car then you're also a vegan or whatever it might be and if you like gas cars well you love gun and Trump you know you can't have six and one half do no it's annoying I mean the thing is I think that I think there are a lot of people out there that you don't have to be extreme any way you know if you I can like not polluting like we all know that combustion cars pollute we all know that but it was a necessity because that was what we had to for for the civilization to move forward same with our homes heting our homes I think that we're moving in the right direction I think as a society we're we're more educated now and what we can do and again too it's we focus on family when renovating homes we focus on what's important for families a safe happy healthy home and an affordable home yeah and now all of these cleaner options are becoming more affordable so why wouldn't you to me it's like ancient Rome they had lead Forks lead knives I'm just going to use lead I'm happy with it all right and you see what happened they all went crazy and wacky and just because I can I still use lead forks from time to time yeah if I don't like my guest give them the lead uh flatware right it's funny well it's very smooth it's very tight with the exception of the seat which is a little uncomfortable which I think that can be fixed it's uh like I said this is literally the longest drive I've ever done in the car yeah and my butt's fallen asleep I so at least it's not the engine at least it's not the motor I need to work on you know the drivetrain is excellent that's 90% of the job or something like this and the rest it's just niggling things that just are annoying you know nities yeah yeah so how do you feel about the uh the windshield does this feel ridiculously small to you no not at all I love the view just coming across here and seeing the view over the Val nice I love the fact that it's 80° here and I drive 40 minutes up there and it's snow yeah I know we've never hit the Hills close by this this winter we might actually drive somewhere for a bit of snow you know it's only 4 40 minutes from my garage when you're up your neck in snow that's that's amazing it's amazing go up Angeles Crest you ever been on Angeles Crest you're like you're in Sicily you you can't see any of that La you're just constant Mountain well drew it turned out very nice I know he's got a few little things to fix But ultimately it's very dependable it's very linear it's very smooth a lot of electrics as we said just kind of leap when you touch I mean someone has done all the right amount of work to make this feel like a gasoline car in terms of touch the pedal slowly you go slowly you touch it hard you go hard so I I think the hard work is done got a few little scratches to put a fix on the front yeah but I think whoever gets this will be uh will be pretty lucky wait a minut did you scratch my car uh well no that was on there what I got here I've heard that story before yeah tell me about well thank you my friend appreciate it yeah great job hey I hope you enjoyed this uh little trick down electric Lane and we'll see you guys next week with with more gas cars I promise whoa whoa whoa I'm still here\n"