NPR: Thirty years before the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt, Mike Brown was creating all-electric cars out of conventional gas-fueled ones. Electro Automotive, which he founded in 1979, sells electric-car conversion kits and hosts how-to workshops. Because the range of electric cars remains modest, Brown focuses on cars for the short-commute marketâmdash;what he calls “grocery-getters,” which can hold four adults and a load of groceries. Although the emerging electric-car market may negatively affect his business, Brown is optimistic that it could instead help it by increasing awareness.
