A Reed College graduate discussed how he made his electric Porsche on Thursday in Graf Hall as a part of the PLACE Talk series.

Joe Lebow presented for 45 minutes to to a group of students and faculty beginning by talking about who he is and offered a piece of advice.

“Keep exploring new things, keep learning,” Lebow said.

Lebow works at FEI Company, a company that specializes in innovative microscopes and has many Linfield alumni employees.

He then began explaining his inspiration for building the car, which he did in his spare time as a hobby.

Lebow said that his inspiration came from a quote by Ferdinand Porsche, “I couldn’t find the sports car of my dreams, so I built it myself.”

He changed the quote slightly saying, “I couldn’t afford the sports car of my dreams, so I built it myself.”

After saving money, Lebow bought the 1983 Porsche 911 off Craigslist and got to work.

He then explained that he had to drop the old engine out of the car in order to put the electric engine in.

There were several things he had to consider such as cost and which battery to use. He spent $15,000 on the batteries for the car.

He said that he is often asked if he is actually saving any money with his electric car. He said that his electric bill has only gone up about $20 versus the $80 to $100 he used to spend on gas each month.

He then addressed the future of electric cars, saying that in order for them to be more commercially available the batteries they have need to be able to charge quicker than they currently do.

Lebow now takes his electric Porsche to car shows to promote this more environmentally friendly way of transportation.