AT Lovecraft Biofuels, the Silver Lake auto shop that San Francisco native Brian Friedman opened smack in the middle of hipster heaven, old junkers are transformed into classic luxury cars for the new millennium. Freshly painted chocolate brown with Lovecraft's Valentine heart logo, the 7-month-old shop at Sunset Boulevard and Sanborn Avenue specializes in converting cars, especially diesel-powered Mercedes built from 1975 to 1989, to run on 100% vegetable oil. It's usually a $700, four-hour conversion.
With such a romantic name, it's easy to think that Lovecraft is some sanctuary for tree-hugging vegans, an association Friedman, a lanky 40-year-old, dislikes because, as he put it, "they're already won over." He named the business for the science-fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft and aims to spread his message to all types. "I don't want to come off as an 'environmentalist.' That turns a lot of people off," he said. "If I can get truckers to burn thousands of gallons of vegetable oil, that's better than having hippies loving me."
Indeed, Lovecraft's location is in keeping with the alternative fuel movement's increasingly cutting-edge appeal. The Silver Lake shop has helped bring the vegetable oil gospel to the kind of L.A. trendsetters who may make veggie cars the new organic food or the latest style of yoga -- that is, the newest old idea to head toward the mainstream.
Many who appreciate his kind of high-concept recycling often stroll past Lovecraft with $700 baby buggies, well-worn Birkenstocks or a treat from the nearby organic gelato shop. Adjacent to Sunset Junction and within shouting distance of Jiffy Lube and a new Kor Group upscale condo development, the corner is the perfect intersection of save-the-planet idealism and style-savvy car culture.
Friedman, who has driven his own vegetable-oil-fueled Mercedes for four years, has sold a car to singer Mandy Moore, had Diane Keaton in for a test drive and been asked to consider appearing in a TV series. On July 6, the City of Los Angeles issued Lovecraft a certificate of appreciation for its efforts "to move Los Angeles forward."
Setting an example
Riding in Amy Morrison's 1981 Mercedes that runs on pure vegetable oil is sort of like hearing your first iPod or perhaps feeling what it was like to be at Kitty Hawk to witness the birth of modern aviation. It's still just a car, a well-traveled old car, in fact, but the intangible cool factor is that vegetables, not dinosaurs, melted to fuel the diesel engine. A few weeks ago, Morrison bought the 1981 Mercedes wagon with the third row of seats for $7,500 to accommodate growing carpool duties. Like many old diesels, it putters more than it zooms, but the exhaust smells like tempura is shooting out of the tailpipe.
Morrison, a concert promoter who majored in environmental conservation, sees her car as a way to set an example for her young son. "I want to show that you can individually make a difference."
Though the Environmental Protection Agency hasn't certified any vehicle to run on pure vegetable oil, biofuel enthusiasts are hoping to make a point, even if they have to break the law: The technology exists to run cars on a clean, affordable fuel -- one that can help American agriculture too.
Friedman's pure vegetable oil fuel system seems to avoid some of the problems posed by the only legal alternative fuel, biodiesel, which is plant oil processed to remove the sticky glycerin. Biodiesel, which is often sold as a blend with up to 95% petroleum diesel, is hard to find and costs as much or more than diesel, but it can be legally pumped into existing diesel engines without any modifications. Friedman's converted cars, however, will run on any combination of pure or filtered waste vegetable oil, diesel or biodiesel.
As he and his mechanics are quick to remind you, Rudolf Diesel demonstrated at the 1900 Paris World's Fair that his namesake compression ignition engine could run wholly on peanut oil.
Making the change
More than a century later, Friedman is making a name for himself with the simple technology that uses a renewable resource to run a car. He and a small crew can be found in the cramped quarters at all hours, installing his series of pumps, heaters and oversized filters. Unlike many other systems, Friedman's requires only one tank, no diesel fuel for starting and no driver-operated switches to control the flow of vegetable oil. His cars operate almost exactly like any other diesel engine, minus the sooty exhaust or petroleum. He also has devised a fuel funnel that screws into the gas tank -- a cut-off Gatorade bottle.
It's also not lost on fans that biofuel can be a budget path to low-impact luxury. Rya Kleinpeter bought her first converted Mercedes more than a year ago and came back for a second after the first was crashed. Recycling, both the car and the fuel, appealed to Kleinpeter, an artist and behavioral therapist, who can more easily afford a 20-year-old car than a new hybrid.
