With all this talk of climate change and the legalization of cannabis, the environment has become a hot topic on the entrepreneurial landscape. Companies around the world are committing themselves to being a little more green and cannabis startups are more investment heavy than a Pokémon Go accelerator. But what if you somehow combined the two? That’s what one entrepreneur has done by creating the world’s greenest automobile, a car made of hemp. And of course, Jay Leno already has one.
The cars in question, dubbed Renew Sports Cars or, more colloquially, Cannabis Cars, was made by Bruce Dietzen in his garage last year. As a retired Dell computer salesman, Dietzen wanted to do more with this entrepreneurial spirit than just sell computers. And clearly, his drive has paid off in spades.
“I’m not going to go out there and get a bunch of people for financing who want to make quarterly numbers, because that’s a good way to sink a company. I’m doing it out of my belief in what needs to be done,” said Bruce Dietzen, president of Renew Sports Cars. “I didn’t want to look at the end of my career and say, wow, I sold a bunch of computers.”
If you want one of these hemp cars, you’ll have to get in line. Dietzen told the Miami Herald that he would be taking custom orders for as low as $40,000 to as high as $197,000, depending on the requested horse power. As for those having flashbacks to that one scene in Cheech & Chong Up In Smoke, let us assure you: smoking the car is not really an option.
“Theoretically, you can smoke anything you want to, but it would not be a good idea,” said Dietzen.
Photo: CNBC
To further cement Dietzen’s incredible idea, former late night host and current car buff Jay Leno loves it. On an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, Dietzen made an appearance and showcased his most green prized possessions to the famed former late night host. And while this lofty idea is something you might hear of in a Dude, Where’s My Car? sequel, Leno made sure we know that Dietzen doesn’t dip into his own stash.
“Believe it or not,” said Leno, “Bruce was not high when he invested $200,000 to build this prototype.”
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Update: this article has been updated for clarification: Jay Leno has not purchased this car. He only drives one.
H/T CNBC