by Dennis Dalman
At first glance, most people do a double-take when they first see an electric-powered Opus No. 3 car. They smile and even giggle because it resembles a cute little car that rolled out of a kiddie cartoon.
But their bemusement quickly morphs into curiosity. That happened recently when about two dozen high-school students from the Twin Cities area visited St. Joseph and test-drove the vehicles, which are sometimes dubbed “street-ready golf carts.”
The students are members of the TriDistrict Center for Advanced Professional Studies. It is a collaborative, profession-based learning program supported by the school districts of Inver Grove Heights, South St. Paul/West St. Paul, Mendota Heights and Eagan.
The students who visited St. Joseph are members of the TriDistrict CAPS’ Transportation and Skilled Trades course, which involves hands-on learning experiences – thus, their trip to St. Joseph. Ken Kusch, the TriDistrict CAPS director, accompanied the students on their field trip.
In St. Joseph, they all gathered at the Lake Wobegon Trailhead shelter building where they learned the background of the electric-vehicle company. Leading the discussion were the Opus Motorcar Co.’s founder and chief executive officer Tom Skahen and its marketing officer Ronn Paulson.
Skahen shared with the students his background and how Opus came to be.
The visiting students also toured Sunset Manufacturing, the building that also houses the Opus Motorcar Co. Sunset, located just north of the Holiday station in St. Joseph, was founded in the 1970s by the late Tom Skahen (Tom Skahen’s grandfather). The company makes a vast array of metal parts and products, such as farm supplies like bulk milk tanks. Tom’s father, Sean Skahen, is the president of Sunset.
The students learned that Opus began almost on a hunch and a fluke. Tom Skahen has a background in the field of micromobility – scooters, hoverboards, bicycles and more. He was for a time the lead mechanical engineer for Wayzata Rover Robotics. Last year, Skahen became totally intrigued by electric-powered vehicles and their potential. He shared his enthusiasm with his father, who soon became intrigued as well, becoming a partner in the endeavor to create electric Opus No. 3 vehicles.
Skahen described the Opus to the students. Each one can go up to a speed of 30-35 mph. They can be plugged into an at-home electric supply via a standard socket. The cars have power windows, radio, Bluetooth, remote lock-and-unlock and faux leather seats. There is room for three occupants – driver in front, two passengers in back. An Opus No. 3 costs $7,500.
Street-ready golf carts, like Opus No. 3, are currently legal to drive in certain areas of St. Joseph, Sartell and St. Paul, Skahen noted. The vehicles are convenient to use within neighborhoods – for instance, trips to the local grocery store, to parks, to visit friends or just to take a quiet, relaxing drive on quiet neighborhood streets.
So far, the cars are part of a test fleet and most are assembled overseas, although in time Skahen plans to so much more – if not all – of the assembly work and finishing touches right here in St. Joseph.
Skahen also announced to the students a brand-new product unveiled recently by the Opus Motorcar Co. – an “EWagen Conversion Kit” that can turn gas-powered classic cars, like Volkswagen “bugs,” into electric vehicles. Batteries are placed into the cars after removing the gas engines and transmission. That conversion can make the cars impressively lighter in weight, some as light as only 700 pounds, compared to thousands of pounds for conventional cars.
After the learning experience and the building tour, the students finally had a chance to do what they were just itching to do – test drive the Opus No. 3.
There were grins all around as groups of three students eagerly awaited their turns, piling into each car and taking off for a ride in the parking lot by the Wobegon trailhead building.
They had a blast
“Electric cars can be really powerful and their energy transfers are really efficient,” said Joe Sanchez, one of the students. “It’s also cool that it charges itself when it drives.”
“I learned more about electric cars and how they are made,” said student Alejandro Zapata. “I was surprised how many less parts are needed than regular cars.”
“I learned that trying to start a business is super hard,” said Adam Suchy. “I also learned that electric cars can be powerful.”
The students seemed to be convinced they had seen the future of transportation – a future shaped and determined largely by one power: electricity.
Students from the Twin Cities metro area listen as Tom Skahen shares background about his Opus Car Company in St. Joseph. Skahen is founder and chief executive officer of the company, which sells electric mini-cars and more recently conversion kits to turn classic gas-powered cars into electric ones.
Students from the Twin Cities area eagerly wait to test-drive an Opus No. 3 electric car in St. Joseph. Note the other car in the background.
