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Gas prices hit the $4 mark for the first time a few years back. That’s also when Ken Watkins had an epiphany while languishing in traffic: Day after day, month after month, he sat behind the wheel stew-ing while his Corvette burned gallons of the precious stuff. Finally he reached his limit.
But since Ken is a mild-mannered guy, he didn’t make like the deranged TV anchor in the movie “Network” and hang out the window screaming, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take this anymore!”
Instead, he kept his mouth shut and built an electric vehicle.
First, he bought a theft-recovery Chevy S-10 and converted the little pickup to electric power. He enjoyed the project and learned a lot.
He drove the truck every day, relishing the attention it drew and pocketing the gas savings. Two years later, someone took a shine to the vehicle and made Ken an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Ken parted with the S-10 but was determined to build another EV, this one sportier and more fun to drive. Like a Corvette, maybe, only smaller and quieter.
