WE❤MO
The Sharing Economy Goes Analog in Meiners Oaks
WE❤MO WITH AARON ZWEIG (IN THE BED); NICHOLAS WEISSMAN IN PASSENGER SEAT
The tailgate reads “WE❤MO,” a loving nod to Meiners Oaks and a wink to Silicon Valley’s Waymo self-driving fleet. But this 1984 Isuzu Pup, hand-painted in bright green with yellow accents, does require a driver — one who’s familiar with a clutch.
It’s Sunday morning, and Nick Weissman of Vacationland Studio is setting up his camera rig. Eric Hodge of Hodge Podge Mobile Garage checks under the hood. The shoot? The official WE❤MO instruction video — a parody of an airline safety demonstration. The “flight attendants,” Hodge and Aaron Zweig, rehearse their lines while the camera rolls. WE❤MO is their project. The Pup was once owned by Hodge, then passed to Taylor Connell, and finally to Zweig.
AARON ZWEIG, IN ERIC’S EXTRA WORK SHIRT
“I always wanted to share a truck with a neighborhood,” says Zweig.
It used to run on biodiesel, and the bed was coated in sludge. Hodge and Zweig worked “for months” along with a group of folks from the Meiners Oaks community to clean and fix it up. “It really stank,” Zweig laughs.
WE❤MO runs on a simple idea: a free (there’s a donation envelope in the truck to cover insurance and upkeep) communal pickup, available for short hauls around the Valley. The guidelines are straightforward. Stay within the Lower Valley (avoid steep grades). Put in a few gallons of diesel or leave some money in the envelope (because upkeep on this truck is a community endeavor). Plug it back in at the end of your ride.
“It’s not getting used enough yet,” explains Hodge, “so the battery dies.”
Still, the possibilities are endless: a quick run to Ojai Valley Lumber for fence posts, a stop for mulch at Ojai Organics, or schlepping home that weird thing you found at a HELP of Ojai Saturday Sale.
When the video goes live, it will serve as a how-to guide: how to pump the gas pedal just right to get the engine to turn over, and how to open the doors once inside (you’ll need to roll down the windows and reach your arm out).
If Waymo represents the future, WE❤MO is the past we maybe shouldn’t leave behind: a truck that requires human touch, a little patience, and the generosity of sharing what you’ve got.
AARON ZWEIG, LEFT AND ERIC HODGE, RIGHT
The truck lives at the home of Jody Lewis, the community activist behind the Crop Swap table on El Roblar and host of the Meiners Oaks’ monthly potlucks and film screenings (243 West El Roblar Drive). To borrow it, sign the clipboard on the South Padre Juan fence. If the truck’s free, take it. The keys are in a lockbox attached to the driver’s side mirror, with a QR code for the combo.
If the truck doesn’t start, that’s part of the charm — but there’s a hotline of sorts: drivers can call Hodge Podge Mobile Garage, where Eric or his daughter, Autumn, will help as best they can.
The video, narrated by Jessica Pregnolato, will appear on YouTube and on VORTEX, where drivers can also fill out an interest form to learn how to operate a manual transmission. According to the script, lessons start at $300 per hour, though during the shoot, the two “flight attendants” begin haggling: “I’ll do it for $275,” says Zweig. “$265,” counters Hodge.
Asked why he’s helping film the project, Weissman shrugs. “Because I might need a truck someday.”
