Hollywood Star Converts Priceless Classic Cars To Electric Power
American Motor Voice

On the night of May 30, a Larimer County deputy clocked a dark sedan doing 130 mph on northbound Interstate 25 near Carpenter Road — nearly double the posted limit (kdvr.com). When deputies caught up, they found the car loaded with law-enforcement countermeasures: radar detectors and jammers, a license-plate concealment device, and a passenger binocular system for spotting police. Amphetamines were also recovered from the vehicle (denverpost.com). Both the driver and passenger were arrested.

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office says the setup is a hallmark of illegal cannonball runs — underground coast-to-coast speed contests where participants try to cross the country in record time. Authorities pointed out that at 130 mph, a vehicle covers roughly the length of a football field before the driver can even begin to react to an obstacle (cbsnews.com).


Jason Momoa has teamed up with British EV specialist Electrogenic to convert two classic Land Rovers and three vintage Harley-Davidsons to electric or hybrid power, all documented in the second season of his HBO Max docuseries On the Roam (robbreport.com). The Land Rovers — a historic 1949 Series I 80-inch and an exceptionally rare 1961 Series IIA 109 Dormobile (one of roughly 150 ever made) — received full electric conversions with 48 kWh and 62 kWh battery packs respectively. The motorcycles took a different route: the 1924 and 1927 Harley-Davidson Model JDs became plug-in hybrids that keep their original 74-cubic-inch V-twin engines alongside an integrated electric drive, while a 1921 Model FD went fully electric after its original engine was deemed beyond repair (visordown.com).

Electrogenic stressed that every conversion is completely reversible — no cutting, drilling, or welding was performed on any of the original vehicles (autoevolution.com). The company is now offering the hybrid motorcycle system as a production conversion kit for other vintage Harley owners, which could broaden the appeal — or the controversy — well beyond Momoa's garage.


Rivian R1T owner Jake Burns spray-painted "DON'T BUY JUNK" and "RIVIAN IS JUNK" across his Quad Motor truck, parked it directly across from Rivian's Denver showroom, then launched a companion website at rivianisjunk.com documenting his full ownership experience (autos.yahoo.com). The final straw, Burns says, was a roughly $1,000 charge Rivian tried to impose for replacing the 12-volt battery after the vehicle sat unplugged for about 15 days — a battery he claims was only two years old and should have been covered under the company's three-year warranty (autoblog.com). His website also includes videos appearing to show steering wheel vibration, unusual drivetrain noises, and inconsistent driver-assistance behavior (autos.yahoo.com).

The protest quickly went viral on Reddit, and Burns claims Rivian subsequently contacted his attorney about a possible disparagement case (autoblog.com). Reactions in the thread were mixed — some owners defended the brand and reported trouble-free ownership, while others resonated with Burns's frustrations, raising broader questions about Rivian's service quality as it continues to scale.


Celebrity car collections are usually predictable — Lamborghinis, Ferraris, blacked-out SUVs — but the most compelling stories emerge when a famous person's vehicle choice reveals something unexpected. Ludacris, for instance, cherishes a 1993 Acura Legend with 255,000 miles despite his wealth from music and the Fast & Furious franchise, while Elvis Presley was known for spontaneously giving cars away to strangers while cruising Memphis late at night (slashgear.com). Jay-Z surprised many by gifting Beyoncé a 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II convertible for her 25th birthday — far more understated than their usual fleet (autocar.co.uk).

Then there are the truly eccentric picks. George Clooney made waves by daily-driving a Tango T600 — a tiny electric microcar that resembled a "golf cart on steroids" — well before EVs went mainstream, and Janis Joplin transformed her 1964 Porsche 356-C into rolling artwork by commissioning her roadie to paint "The History of the Universe" across its body (jalopnik.com). These stories are a reminder that the most interesting car choices go well beyond status symbols.


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