To the Freakin’ Moon!

Innovation is the Watchword in EV Technology

WE are honored to have been invited to contribute to this issue of EV Builder’s Guide, “The Last Word” segment. The focus of this section is to take a look at the state of the industry, and provide an (albeit subjective) take on where we are headed.

Since 2019, Rob and I dreamed of a day when we would see a magazine on newsstands nationwide dedicated to showcasing the amazing work EV builders are doing around the world. I don’t think either of us thought that magazine would hit the stands by 2022, let alone be put together by a major name in automotive publishing that has authored so many of our other favorite magazines like Street Trucks, C10 Builder’s Guide, F-100 Builder’s Guide, and more. Yet here we are, being invited to contribute as authors to “The Last Word” in the first issue of EV Builder’s Guide in 2024. So if you asked us where we are headed as an industry, Rob would probably tell you, “to the freakin’ moon.”

Now, we don’t actually think EVs are going to take us to the moon (although if you look at the company SpinLaunch you might change your mind…). But we do think that this space is growing immensely fast, new tech is coming out every month, and the automotive market is once again rife with innovation. And after digging into some of the key features in this issue, that is the one word that continues to come to mind, “innovation.” Rob and I both talk quite a bit about how the automotive industry has spent over 100 years innovating on the gaspowered engine. While EVs have been around for just as long, they have not been in garages and on the streets nearly as much as their ICE counterparts. As EV technology has become more readily available, we now have a massive opportunity to find new ways to innovate like we never have before. Whether that is with silicone carbide inverter technology, solid state batteries, or whatever new EV-technology buzzword is going sprout up in the next three months… EV technology will bring immense opportunity to the automotive market, especially around innovation.

In the span of just six issues we have seen dozens of new technologies arrive in the EV Buyer’s Guide and witnessed everything from 1930s Ford Model As to ’88 Ferrari Testarossas get electrified. Being the first issue back on the stands since the SEMA Show in 2023, I can’t help but reflect on how many times builders came into our booth and said, “I’m just tired of doing LS swaps.” This is a sentiment we hear all the time, builders and consumers alike are craving innovation.

If you want to drive something that nobody else has, you’re probably looking to electrify. Or, if you want to drive the newest and fastest tech on the streets, you’re also probably looking to electrify. But heck, if you are reading this book, you are probably already looking to electrify, so cheers to your innovative journey. As our friends over at Flash Drive Motors say, “Remember to keep your crimp hand strong,” cuz there is always #onemorewire.