Who We Are
Our company that converts cars and trucks from internal combustion
engines to 100% electric vehicles.
Corporate Bio
Duke's Garage converts cars and trucks from internal combustion engines to 100%
electric vehicles. The company owners are Duke Altschuler and Melisse Perré. Duke
Altschuler, Managing Partner of CTAP LLC, a distributor of OCTG pipe, earned a degree
in engineering and an M.B.A before successfully building his own company over a
24 year period. After building a business and career based on oil, Duke decided
it was time to turn his attention towards “off-oil” development, where
he and his wife, Melisse Perré, founded a classic car restoration company, Eco Classic
Cars, LLC. Melisse spent 20 years working for a local builder: a pioneer in green
building and smart growth before joining the company. She finished her career with
as Director of Finance. All told, both have close to a half-century of diversified
experiences to benefit their growing company. Eco Classic Car’s vision is
for all garages to be “plug-in ready” for an electric vehicle –
preferably converted or purchased from our shop.
The expert staff at Duke's Garage is group of true car enthusiasts, consisting
of both employees who have made car restoration a life-long career, and those who
plan on it. Consequently the team shares a sense of quality, passion and purpose
when handling cars and is ready and anxious to embark in the EV world.
What We Have Done
The first car included in the Eco Classic line is a 1965 all electric Ford Mustang
Convertible. This car is powered by two super charged high-torque direct current
motors and the energy storage is a light-weight 144-volt lithium ion battery pack,
supplied by Boundless Corporation, a Boulder based company. The Mustang is fully
restored, a beautiful olive green color was chosen for the exterior and tan colored
earth-friendly hemp was chosen for the interior with recycled foam seats.
Through trial and error we have moved to lighter cars and trucks with AC motors
and lithium ion battery technology. We are excited about the progress we’ve made
towards affordable conversions while taking advantage of Colorado State tax credits
and other possible rebates. We feel optimistic about our ability to offer consumers
used all electric vehicles achieving a net purchase price of under $25,000. We are
currently converting five cars, owned by Duke’s Garage, parent company to Eco Classic
Cars. They include: Three VW Bugs, a 1975 VW Bus, and a 1969 Camaro. We also have
completed a 1995 GMC Sonoma Truck conversion using a direct current motor and lead
acid batteries
Where We Are Going
Duke's Garage continues development work on light trucks and foresees the possibility
of capturing fleet conversions for city and county municipalities. We will also
continue to expand our offerings of all electric classic cars.
We believe our service capabilities and work to date on used vehicles will lead
to a new electric car dealership. We are negotiating a way to tie our EV work with
local a net-zero home builders who want to package electric vehicle technology with
the sale of a renewable resource home. As infrastructure changes to accommodate
plug-ins, Eco Classics Cars would like to be involved with the early development
and possible deployment of recharging stations. In addition, we’re in the process
of developing an interactive website to draw more people to electric vehicles.
Our goal is to provide an EV for everyday commuting, aesthetically appealing and
economical to own and drive.
Melisse Perré, Co-Founder
Recent Milestones
City of Denver
We are proud to announce the completion of our project for the City of Denver. We
were able to convert a right hand drive four wheel drive Jeep Wrangler to all electric.
The system is based on a alternative current 50hp motor with regenerative braking
using Boundless BMS.
eSpeedster
We have also completed a joint agreement with Beck Motors to produce eSpeedsters. Beck motors has been manufacturing 1957 Speedster replicas since 1986. Duke’s Garage is taking our knowledge in electric vehicle conversions and assembling electric versions of the same vehicle. The vehicle, called the eSpeedster, is available for purchase this June 2010.