Filed under: Green
Bricklin shooting for the Automotive X-Prize: Will it have gull-wings?
Click to enlarge the 1/4 scale model of the EXV-LS
Depending on whether you bought a Subaru or a Yugo, Malcolm Bricklin is either the phoenix who keeps rising from the ashes or the roach you just can't seem to stamp out. Either way, he's back and this time his Visionary Vehicles has shifted from an abortive attempt to import Chery cars from China to a developer of high mileage series hybrids. Bricklin plans to have a full line of 100+ mpg vehicles with an initial on-sale date in 2010.
To get things kicked off, the first model will be entered in the Automotive X-Prize competition. For those who haven't been paying attention, the Auto X-Prize will offer a multi-million dollar purse to a team that can build a production viable and affordable car that seats at least four and can exceed 100 mpg (gasoline equivalent). The key there is viability and affordability. No single seater science projects here. Competitors have to demonstrate a business plan in addition to an actual working car. Bricklin plans to start off with an S-Class sized luxury sedan propelled by a series hybrid drivetrain including a lithium battery. Electric range is targeted at 40-50 miles and price at $35,000. Good luck.
[Source: AutoblogGreen]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
tikirob 6:31PM (9/06/2007)
This would be a better match to have a successful vehicle than trying to import sub standard cars. I think Chery was futile but this is worthy of effort.
Rob
http://www.movie-cat.com
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skywalker2 6:47PM (9/06/2007)
NITERIDER 1945!!
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Jim 6:49PM (9/06/2007)
"Bicklin plans to have a full line of 100+ mpg vehicles with an initial on-sale date in 2010."
HAHAHA! Never gonna do it. Not him, not by then, no way. Although wouldn't it be sweet if someone did, sooner rather than later?
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Tsunami Racer 7:10PM (9/06/2007)
oi vey. this EXVLS thing looks like one of those GM show car based Silvester Stallone Demolition Man future police cars mated to a Ferrari 400i.....
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http:www.theobjectreport.com 7:47PM (9/06/2007)
Hmm. Im not sure how I feel about that EXV LS, at first glance, I shuddered. BUT,,,the more I look at it maybe its retro cool?? I'm torn. I think it may be a whisp too long. If it were a bit shorter, Id dig it. RIGHT?
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KJG 8:11PM (9/06/2007)
It really doesn't matter what it looks like, or is claimed to do. If this car materializes in any form, and by some miracle, actually reaches some form of production, it will doubtless be trash and the company will go belly-up, but not before Bricklin bails out and leaves his investors holding the bag. This has been the guy's ongoing and now infamous track record. He has not steered one single automotive venture through to long-term success, period. The wonder to me is that anyone would invest anything more than lunch money with the guy.
The crux of the matter is that every time he has actually made a deal with a carmaker to import a car (Subaru 360, Yugo), it has been trash. On the other hand, the one time he created his own production entity (Bricklin SV-1 being the product), the car was overreaching, talk-a-big-game, made from a combination of humdrum components and unproven plastics, and just plain poorly engineered. In a word, trash (albeit decent-looking trash). And to top it off, his business plan was so poor that the selling price had to skyrocket to cover costs, and predictably the company went bankrupt.
Why should we expect anything different this time? Sounds like a rehash of the SV-1 to me.
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J.Crew 9:02PM (9/06/2007)
This guy needs to go away, sit somewhere, and really give his head a shake. Why does he open his mouth? Seriously. Stretch goals or BHAGs are good for a company, but they generally have to be kind of realistic...
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Ian Bruce 9:22PM (9/06/2007)
The lines in this vehicle aren't so much "resolved", as they are victims and plaintiffs in a particularly nasty class-action suit. The fenders remind me of Bender's were-car metamorphosis in "The Honking" -- or maybe in this case, "The Pontoons of Doom".
I will admit that two enormous condiment shelves in front of the headlights are an innovative and classy touch in an 'S-Class sized luxury sedan'.
Did someone say "chunky mustard"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOJjNiI3Ab0
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jkhsns 10:32PM (9/06/2007)
Front end is reminiscent of a dung beetle. Very appropriate. Bricklin is only interested in seeing his name published.
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gerard Vandenberg 11:41PM (9/06/2007)
NO MAN, use your BRAINS!!
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Kim K 6:49AM (9/07/2007)
Sad thing is, after we watched a movie his son made about him, Malcom came up and talked about this car and the young, gullible, people around us were in awe. They actually believed that his failures were brought on by other people! And when this car fails they will undoubtedly blame it on the car manufacturers or the oil companies. Like, hey, I am GM and I could make billions developing a 100 mpg car (which is so easy to do that a single entrepreneur can do it), but I am not going to do it because I want to see everyone use up all the oil in the world. Give me a break.
I am glad that KJG mentioned that his importing the Subaru was a failure, although he claims it as a success. From what I remember, Subaru was so embarrassed they pulled the car out of the States and waited two years before coming back in on their own!
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John P. 8:45AM (9/07/2007)
This is a joke right? the car in the pic isn't anything someone would build in the 21st century. It can't be, it just can't.
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Harold Kerrick 8:48AM (9/07/2007)
Will it also incorporate gullwing doors, like Bricklins first "sporty" cars? Or will it be built in a country known 'round the world for building THE ultimate driving machines....Poland?
Bricklin...the punchline to any bad car-related joke.
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wiggyx 9:12AM (9/07/2007)
Holy crap is that thing ugly. Looks like some GM plug-in electric concept from 1985.
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