Portland's Green Drop auto shop offers a bike loaner while a car gets repaired

A  routine oil change turned into an unexpectedly nice afternoon for Danny Quach.

Green Drop Garage in Southeast Portland didn't loan him a car while it serviced his Toyota, but instead offered him a bike. Quach pedaled to the park, read a book and took a nap. When Green Drop called to say his car was ready, Quach pedaled back.

"It was the most pleasant oil change I've ever had," he says.

An auto-repair shop that loans bicycles?

"We're all stuck in these sterile, air-conditioned, rage-inducing boxes," says Green Drop's owner Farhad Ghafarzade of cars. "When you're biking you can smell the flowers. You become more connected."

Obviously, Ghafarzade makes his living on sterile, air-conditioned, rage-inducing boxes. People need them, he says. But he would also like to see drivers expand their transportation repertoire , walking more, taking the bus more, biking.

Ghafarzade's shop opened last September and he didn't have the money for a loaner car had he wanted one. But what Ghafarzade, 27, lacks in money he more than makes up for with initiative.

He first made a name for himself in Portland converting diesel cars to run on vegetable oil shortly after graduating in 2005 with a degree in molecular biology from the University of California - Santa Cruz. He had perfected the skill in college, converting an old $400 Mercedes to run on the vegetable oil collected from behind the dining halls because he couldn't afford gas.

Then, he still planned on being a dentist, a safe and sensible path. He was five months into studying for his dental exams when a cousin, a doctor in San Francisco, asked if he really want to be a dentist. "I said, 'No, I don't.' She said, 'Then don't.' It was the first time logic didn't prevail."

After moving back home to Beaverton, Ghafarzade figured he would travel and then go to graduate school. But he started converting diesel cars to run on vegetable oil out of his parents' garage. Eventually he moved to a small shop in North Portland but also worked full-time at Hopworks Urban Brewery to pay the bills.

He converted Hopworks owner Christian Ettinger's car to run on vegetable oil in 2008. When the quonset hut on Southeast 9th Avenue became available last fall, Ghafarzade pounced. The rent was much higher than they expected and he and master mechanic, Dan Ellzey decided they would have to expand beyond conversions and service all cars. Green Drop uses only rerefined oil (recycled motor oil) unless a customer specifies otherwise. Ghafarzade is into sustainability but he makes it clear that quality service comes first.

Green Drop is a shabby, grungy, dynamic space. Ghafarzade offers Car Care 101 classes and a Women's Only Basic Car Care class for $20. He sees his shop as something of a community center intent on demystifying cars. It's also a fun space. Earlier this year the garage held a Keep Portland Beered fundraiser for 350.org and another for the Portlandproject, Skiing Cascadia, whose members skiied the 40 highest Cascade volcanoes to raise awareness about global warming and the diminishing snowpack. He also hosted something called "Boogie Night." This is, after all, a former UC Santa Cruz banana slug mascot who was interviewed in Playboy and appeared on The Best Damn Sports Show Period.

Kevin Chudy, owner of bikenhike , partnered with Ghafarzade on his bike loan program, with two sleek black bikes, a u-lock, helmet and light system for a good price as well as free repair.

"He has to think his way into the market," Chudy says, adding that the bike loan was a great idea. Ghafarzade carved out a piece of the market in a highly competitive area of auto shops. "It's brilliant." Green Drop will also bike to where customers are, drive their cars to the shop, fix them and pedal back to green drop. Also, the garage uses a bike trailer to pick up automotive supplies.

Becky Moore had meant to put her bike in the back of her Subaru so she could pedal to Powell's during her oil change. She was surprised when Green Drop offered to loan her a bicycle.

"I just love that they do that," she said. "Not to mention they were so friendly and nice."

Ghafarzade isn't certified yet with the Eco-logical Business Program, the nation's first green certification program for auto shops, which started here in Portland. He points to a small rainbow sheen of oil on his driveway and promises a better containment system when he gets more money.

The building, he says, is far from energy efficient and lets all the hot air escape on cold days. But he's pushing forward, trying to embrace new technology. He's traveling to San Francisco soon to learn how to add an electric battery to a hybrid so that it can run the first 100 miles on electricity before the engine kicks in. The change would give people the benefits of an electric car but eliminate the current downside of a relatively limited radius -- people could take the cars on longer trips without having to worry about finding a charging station.

Ghafarazade isn't sure where he'll take Green Drop. But he likens growing his business to raising a child.

"Being grown up isn't fun," he said. "Growing up is the fun part."

-- Carrie Sturrock

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