Whether you’re driving the stylish Moke to trailheads, date night or just around your neighborhood, enjoying its smooth, silent ride in the open air, the Moke looks like a good time cruising down the street and just as fun while it’s parked out front.
Originally designed for the British military as a lightweight utility vehicle, the Moke was marketed to the public starting in the 1960s and became popular in the following decades after icons like Brigitte Bardot and James Bond in Live and Let Die adopted the airy cruisers.
Fast forward to 2017, when CEO of Moke America Todd Rome brought the vehicles from across the pond and made them all electric, street legal and manufactured in the United States. They come in 12 colors, plus camo, and are fully customizable with tailored body, bumper, grill, rollbar, rim, steering wheel and seat options.
Though Mokes are often associated with celebrity culture (the Kardashians just bought several for Christmas) and American warm-weather beach towns, marinas and golf courses, Colorado boasts over 300 days of sunshine per year and is a perfect match for the fashionable electric car.
In 2020, John Duke and Mary Ladd acquired the rights to launch Colorado Moke dealerships and opened their first in Boulder the following year. Now they are selling Mokes in Front Range communities like Boulder, Berthoud and Denver, as well as in charming ski and resort towns like Aspen, Vail and Telluride.
“Colorado has a great climate with lots of sunshine,” Mary says, “and Mokes can really take advantage of that across all the seasons here.”
Mary first came across the Moke brand in Saint-Tropez, France. Years later in 2017, while on holiday in Newport Beach, California, she saw the street-legal electric Moke that had recently made its debut in the States. Immediately, Mary got on the phone to purchase a Moke for her Boulder home.
Mary took her entrepreneurial background and joined forces with John, who previously worked in investment banking and with startups, and they started marketing Mokes to Coloradoans.
As Colorado residents look forward to warm spring and summer weather, the Boulder Moke dealership is getting more calls from locals wanting to order the cool-looking, eco-friendly car to elevate the sense of open-air leisure so familiar to the Front Range and the rest of the state.
While expanding in the consumer market, John and Mary also want to sell into hotels and other enterprise businesses that need local transportation solutions or rent Mokes out for weddings and promotional events.
“Whatever Coloradans do on the weekend is the Moke,” Mary says. “It offers such a unique way to enjoy your community.”
Instagram @MokeAmericaBoulder