The Surging American Auto Industry

The American auto industry is growing rapidly, adding dozens of new models and hundreds of jobs.  Does that sound strange?  It does whether all you listen to is the national news and the discussion of what’s going on at the “Big 3.”  There all you get is stories of billions of dollars and tens of thousands jobs being lost.  that is an industry that has been slow to change, and quick to return to what’s worked in the past, no matter how much warning they have of impending change.

But there is another American auto industry, one that’s full of innovation, rapid evolution, big risks, and possibly bigger gains.  Like the alternative music industry, these guys have neither the press or the dollars of the big boys, but whether you think it’s all a bunch of basement tinkerers and backyard dreamers, you need to take another look.  Within the next five years, you may well find yourself buying an American car, from a company that’s headquartered a expanded way from Detroit.

Project Better Place At first glance, that may seem a strange company with which to start showing the viability of the alternative automotive industry.  PBP is only a few weeks old.  They haven’t shown a car — they haven’t even shown the  design for a car.  They have shown a scheme for changing out batteries on the road, and for putting recharging ports into millions of public places, which is a daunting bit of infrastructure.  What gives Project Better Place top spot on the list of up-and-comers?  Money.  Under the leadership of a former executive for the near-ubiquitous trade software company, SAP, Project Better Place has become a favorite for venture capitalists.  They’ve put $200 million in the pot and are doing as much as anyone to manufacture the case for the electric car not only from an environmental point of view, but as good trade.

Zap! If Project Better Place is the guys with all the money, but not much experience, Zap! is their polar opposite.  These guys have been in the alternative vehicle game for a decade, but have always been scraping for cash.  Zap! took a big smack a few years ago, when they tried to import the Smart car from Europe.  At the instance, Daimler-Chrysler had indicated no interest in bringing that vehicle the the US.  Zap! spent better than $20 million on crash-testing the Smart, and modifying it’s bumpers and emissions to meet US standards.  They had already taken several thousand orders for the modified vehicles, when at the final minute, they learned that DC had decided to rethink bringing Smart to America, the that the orders Zap! had made would not be filled.  The results of that tangle with the Big 3 are still in court, but in the meanwhile Zap! has started delivery of the Chinese-made Xebra, and announced that they expect to start production of the high-end Lotus-designed crossover Zap-X(.pdf) next year.  Some analysts have come to the conclusion that Zap! is better at announcing products that delivering them, but they’ve recently sold a number of vehicles to UPS as delivery vehicles, and whether there is any electric car company that deserves the term “scrappy survivor,” it’s Zap!

Aptera I’ve made little effort to disguise my fondness for Aptera.  The fact that I’ve enlarged had mine reserved (#120 is mine!) is something of a clue.  Aptera set out to design a vehicle that was as light and slippery as it could be, and still haul humans down the highway safely.  Their three-wheeled designed ended up looking very much like an airplane without wings (hence Aptera).  The retro-future design may not manufacture the Aptera a mass market success, but there have been plenty of folks willing to sign up for a vehicle that can get 300 mpg in daily use.  Their funding is good, interpretation of the first vehicles is on track for a 2008 delivery, and their website has been redesigned so that you don’t have to take the 60s friendly head trip unless you really want to.

Venture Vehicles If for any reason my Aptera doesn’t seem on schedule — or even whether it does — I may end up with a VentureOne in my driveway.  Like Aptera, Venture has opted for a three wheel design, but in that case there’s additionally a nifty hydraulic system that lets the whole body of the vehicle tilt like a motorcycle while the wheels remain flat on the ground.  considering the vehicle is based around one already manufactured in Europe by Carver, it may seem that Venture doesn’t have that much to do.  But they’ve promised to deliver a vehicle that’s sleeker, with a 100mpg hybrid potential system, at about half the price of the European Carver.  Everyone who has driven the Carver has raved about the experience.  whether Venture can deliver a vehicle that looks anything like the prototype designs, and match the projected performance and price, that could be the vehicle for anyone who wants to put some fun in their daily drive.

Tesla Motors Tesla is the glamor child of the alternate energy industry.  Rather than trying to move straight absent into a low cost humans mover, they’re first developing a super-slick $100K sports car.  The concept is that a high priced sports car can better absorb R&D costs and be profitable at low volumes.     It looks like they may be right, as they’ve already sold out their entire production for 2008 and are taking reservations for 2009.  Recent delays (problems with the transmission, not the batteries as some press articles reported) kept Tesla from assembly their projected delivery that fall, but whether your budget permits, and you got your $50,000 reservation in early, a roadster should only be a few weeks absent.

Phoenix Motorcars While Tesla aims at Ferrari, Phoenix has taken a very different tack.  Trucks.  They’re making electric trucks.  The market overlap amoung truck buyers and electric car enthusiasts may seem small, but that type of vehicle has actually been popular in some European cities where zero-emission vehicles function with more freedom than smog-making counterparts.  Unlike many electric delivery vehicles, Phoenix intends their trucks to have high capable speed and range, but whether you’re anxious to replace your H2, you’ll have to wait a bit.  The entire 2008 production is already slated for corporate fleets.

That’s just scratching the surface.  There are more than two dozen start up companies that have shown prototypes for upcoming vehicles.  Odds are that more than half of them won’t deliver car one — I know I’m not laying a lot of money on the low cost inflatable electric car.  But more of them are popping up every day, and as Project Better Place demonstrates, there’s a starvation among venture capitalists for companies that seem to have a fair commerce plan.  

When my aging Protege finally goes to the great beyond-my-ability-to-repair, I’m going to buy American.  

Original post by Devilstower