MINDDRIVE electric car to be auctioned off

Amid all the bidding and frenzied activity inside the Kansas City Convention Center today for the Mecum Auctions, 10 to 15 teenagers from MINDDRIVE could possibly raise the excitement to a higher level.

A year ago, MINDDRIVE, a standalone non-profit organization that works with at-risk teenagers in the Kansas City urban core, spent $4,000 on a Karmann Ghia.

It was in pretty decent shape and didn’t have rust, said Steve Rees, CEO of MINDDRIVE.

The students took it completely apart and replaced everything, including the brakes, the steering, and the suspension and made it brand new. The biggest change was turning the Karmann Ghia into an electric car.

“The body is completely redone,” Rees said. “Even though it was in good shape, we went through the body. This particular car, students at Manual (Career Technical Center) did body prep on it. We work in association with them. It was painted by a professional.”

The finished product is a tan, all-electric Karmann Ghia that the students are now eagerly awaiting to see what somebody will pay for it at the Mecum Auctions. MINDDRIVE has sold three other Karmann Ghias, but this is the first time it has taken one to the auction.

“When they go to the Mecum Auctions and they see the car roll up and it is just as pretty as any car there, they are going to feel really good about what they have done,” Rees said.

“What that does is give them the confidence to do more and better things in their life, and that is the name of the game.”

As thrilled as Rees and Linda Buchner, president of MINDDRIVE, are for the students to be part of the Mecum Auctions experience, the story of the students’ growth as individuals and as a group is more inspiring for Kansas City.

Rees pointed to a picture that was taken a few days ago when he was giving a speech to the students. The photo shows the students listening and in a line, leaning on each other with an elbow on the shoulder of the next closest student.

“This picture,” Rees said, “will tell you a lot and it is not scripted. There are girls, boys, African-Americans, Hispanics, Caucasians. They are from different high schools, but there are no boundaries whatsoever. There is not even a thought of cliques. It becomes a family. They stick up for each other. They help each other.”

It is the MINDDRIVE story.

“One of our kids told us, which really spoke loudly about what we (MINDDRIVE staff) get out of it because it is a huge commitment by the kids,” Buchner said. “She said, ‘A lot of my friends aren’t dedicated to anything. I feel like I am dedicated to MINDDRIVE, to my teammates, to my projects.’

“They get to see on a bigger stage people recognizing that dedication. For me, Mecum to say, ‘Yes, we want the MINDDRIVE car there,’ meant a lot.”

In 2007, Rees sold his architecture business. The seeds of MINDDRIVE started in 2008 when Rees started working with students at DeLaSalle Education Center.

In 2010, MINDDRIVE became a non-profit entity. His process involved teaching students models for creative solutions while involving mentors from the professional world to participate.

On Wednesdays and Thursdays, students come in after school and take classes at MINDDRIVE, 2615 Holmes Road, Kansas City.

“Saturday, 9 to 1, is our core, automotive and communications,” Rees said. “We have two groups. We feed them breakfast and lunch.”

Rees spends his time teaching students about automobiles and designing green-friendly cars. Buchner teaches communication classes where the students write, do photography, video, editing, social media and blogging. Saturday’s program lasts 32 weeks.

“The thing that we try to do is get the kids to do something they never thought they could do,” Rees said. “They drove an electric car all the way across America. No one has ever done that. Here is a bunch of kids from urban core Kansas City, and they are the first people to do that. They are like rock stars.”

Rees is referring to the 2012 project when 18 students teamed up and took an electric Lotus from San Diego to Jacksonville, Fla., in 12 days.

The road trip started with nine students driving from San Diego to San Antonio. The other nine students took over in San Antonio and drove to Jacksonville. During the 12-day trip, the students made 40 presentations, which was how many charging stops were required for the Lotus. The students met with other high school students, colleges, environmental groups and car enthusiasts.

“At the end of each year, we try to do something special with the students,” Rees said. “Last year drove down the coast of California. We went to Twitter, Google and Stanford.”

Rees and Buchner have many success stories that show the change an at-risk student can make when given proper guidance and direction.

“These kids have a huge amount of grit,” Rees said. “The grit was there because they had such difficult circumstances in their life.”

Two of the students from MINDDRIVE are now at Missouri University of Science and Technology, formerly known as Missouri-Rolla, one of the top engineering universities in the country.

“We have a girl who was not engaged in school, involved in illegal activities and she is now finishing her first year at Missouri-Rolla,” Rees said. “It is a huge deal. She has a four-year scholarship. She is doing great.”

This story was originally published April 24, 2015 at 7:00 PM with the headline "MINDDRIVE electric car to be auctioned off."