Can A Hard-Core Muscle Car Enthusiast Find Love In An EV?

Photo credits: Rick Ehrenberg

Story by Cliff Gromer

Former Writer, Editor and Photographer for numerous Magazines including Popular Mechanics, Mopar Action, Muscle Cars and many more

Some kids are born with the proverbial silver spoon. Rick

Ehrenberg was born with a torque wrench.

As such, he had an inbuilt quest to know what made things tick, and how to make them

tick better. When it came to automobiles, he didn’t care much for

styling. It was the engineering that appealed to him. That led

him to be a devotee of Chrysler’s Mopar lineup due to his

analysis of their superior engineering as compared to GM and

Ford.

Performance, of course, was his primary goal, but

performance with reliability. No point in packing in a zillion

horsepower if you’re gonna blow up the whole kitty.

Early on, he signed on the dotted line for a 1969 Plymouth

Valiant. It was a used telephone company foreman’s 2-door

stripper. Rick swapped in a larger V8 engine and ran it in a

variety of competition events—drag racing, rallies, autocross,

you name it. From 1992 until 2001, Rick entered his Valiant in

the One-Lap of America. If you’re not familiar with this event,

it’s a rally where you drive around the country, Every day you

stop and compete at two or three different tracks or events for

points.

The One-Lap has different classes. The Valiant ran in Vintage

American up against classic Camaros among others. The top of the

heap is the Unlimited Class where it really gets crazy. Here you

find factory-sponsored Mercedes, Lamborghinis, tuner Corvettes,

high dollar exotics all ready to stomp all over Rick’s pedestrian

Valiant. The plucky Plymouth now boasting 500+ horsepower not

only dusted off ZR-1 Corvettes, 427 Cobras but all the exotics to

finish an astonishing second overall. People couldn’t believe

it—a car with old-school leaf spring rear suspension, rear drum

brakes out-running machines sporting the latest high-tech

hardware. Someone at the event called the Valiant “The Green

Brick,” and the name stuck.

Rick became the tech/engineering editor for the premier Mopar

magazine, Mopar Action. He created a series of ground-breaking

how-to tech articles to boost the performance, safety and

reliability of Mopars that were accessible to the skill level and

budget of the typical Mopar Action reader.

So what was this hard-core ICE enthusiast’s take on EVs?

"When EV cars came out, the first vehicle ever that I paid

attention to, that had a partial EV powertrain, was the Toyota

Prius,” says Rick, “and the original ones were pretty piggy. But

then I started reading some engineering magazines about Tesla's

engineering, and I was just blown away.”

About four or five years ago, Rick’s son, Marc, let Rick drive

his 95,000-mile dual-motor Model 3 Tesla.

“And I’m like, holy cow, does this thing have like torque and power and response and

no noise,” exclaims Rick.

It gets better. Some 6 months ago, Marc

gifted his old man a new Model 3 Performance (we should all have

sons like that).

“The second night I had it, I took it to a dragstrip up near Albany, New York. I knew it was going to be quick, but I had no idea how quick and how easy it was going to

be to drive on the strip,” reflects Rick. “It went 10.9 seconds

at 125 MPH in the quarter mile. A couple of weeks later, I took it

to a different dragstrip in Great Meadows, New Jersey, and it

again went 10.9 at 125. MPH. And being a cheap Model 3, it

doesn't have launch control, drag mode, none of that. You just

mash the Go pedal and it doesn’t even chirp the tires, it just…

goes! It’s unbelievable!”

We guess if Rick was born today, he wouldn’t come out with a

torque wrench, it would be more like a voltmeter.

About Us

Charged UP! is one of the most widely read publications in the EV charging space. Our approach is to take topics that are of interest to everyone and mention companies that provide best in class approaches. To discuss including your products or services, contact us at info@chargeduppro.com

At Charged Up!, we are committed to keeping businesses and individuals informed about the evolving EV landscape. For more updates and insights, subscribe to our newsletter at chargeduppro.com/subscribe.