Our Origin Story
Earthling Automotive was built by a group of people who saw the potential of electric vehicles. Since 2007, our technicians have followed best practices based on proven, real-world repairs that last. From caring for private hybrid and electric vehicles to maintaining large commercial fleets and everything in between, our services are tethered by no earthly expectations.
Back to the Future
Our founder, Carolyn Coquillette, didn’t have much of a background in auto repair before starting her business. She just wanted to fix her own car. After beginning night classes for auto repair, she realized the job was much more sophisticated than she had first realized.
Back then, the way we related to cars was fundamentally changing. It struck her that the check engine alert signified that we were, for the first time, truly at the whim of our computers. It was then that Earthling Automotive was conceived.
After some time in the shop, she realized people needed a shop that could cover the entire hybrid and electric vehicle auto repair process in San Francisco and focused on extending the life of these vehicles. She decided to open her repair shop, which was smart and sustainable and focused on providing the service care that customers really need.
Spreading the Love
Now, in a world teeming with hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles, there is a severe shortage of specialized auto repair shops that know what they’re doing. The EV boom is coming, and the simple truth is we’re not ready for it. Earthling Automotive hopes to change that.
Our goal is not only to be the smartest EV and hybrid technicians around but to share our knowledge with mechanics looking to change with the times. We offer training programs and other educational events to hopefully make EV and hybrid repair less complicated and more accessible.
Learn more about the training programs at Earthling Automotive.
Why Earthling?
Co-Founder and CEO shares how and why Luscious Garage became Earthling Automotive (Full blog here)
While my understanding of the automotive industry and my identity within the industry expanded over the years, the customer culture of Luscious Garage also shifted. Hybrids went mainstream; green-themed brands became passé; disruption moved on. Even the stuff our brand did well no longer served our purpose. Inspired by the dramatic advancement of vehicle onboard technology, electrification as well as driver assist and the pursuit of self-driving, I was compelled to rethink and improve, those traits being the true core of our value proposition.
The name Earthling Automotive originated after eight months of exploration and deliberation. (For the record: a survey for new names began with a circle of friends in July, 2021; Lifted Logic ultimately spawned the brainchild, presenting Earthling as a keyword on February 16th, 2022; URLs were purchased later that month; the trademark filed the following April.)
The word Earthling captures the human nature of our business, taking care of customers and employees, as well as service professionals at large: the knowledge work that is fixing today’s cars. It connotes the progress of the human race, technology and pursuit of a better future, counterbalanced by our fragility, individual dignity, and the preciousness of our home planet.
These themes I expect to last for the next 15+ years.
Our Mission
Earthling Automotive’s mission is to lead the Aftermarket’s service delivery into the future of automotive transportation. We accomplish this by demonstrating the viability of EV service, modeling the greatest technical and operational expertise, and offering our knowledge to all service professionals.
Earthling Automotive is proudly co-founded by myself, Laerte Zatta, Jack Rosebro, and Karry Walker. I am grateful to share the founding journey this time around and for the opportunity to lead this exceptional team, each with unique skills and background. We share the excitement as well as the fear, plunging into the void, with much work to be done and uncertainty ahead. The comfort is knowing how far we’ve come and the hard knocks that got us here, cherishing human collaboration and doing something meaningful.
My deepest thanks to all the supporters of Luscious Garage over the last (nearly) 16 years, and all the kind words at the news of our next phase. I look forward to supporting you, your automotive transportation, and our mutual goals to coexist with nature and with each other.
The dire urgency of figuring that out, our timing now, the launch of Earthling Automotive alongside ChatGPT and the pursuit of vehicle autonomy, is aptly captured by a recent article in The New York Times Magazine, “It’s as if every gleaming and Promethean promise of machines able to perform tasks at speeds and with skills of which we can only dream carries with it a countervailing nightmare of human displacement and obsolescence.” We feel this tension in the rapid changes around us, even speaking simply of driving and fixing our cars.
At our launch, we are optimists: about the human capacity to be curious, learn, solve ever complex problems, and help fellow Earthlings appreciate the countless ways we are precious.
