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20 Electric Dreams...
(«CALSTART», August 1993)
What happened when three men from the automotive, aerospace and semiconductor
industries decided to join efforts? They created Electric Vehicles Corporation,
a Van Nuys-based conversion company hoping eventually to convert 200,000
vehicles per year. Malcolm Bricklin, Malcolm Currie and Chaz Haba will do that
using a proprietary EV battery technology with controller and motor. Instead of
linking bulky lead-acid batteries in series, EVC will link thousands of small,
efficient lead-acids in both series and parallel configurations. That means
that if one battery or wire doesn't work, it won't shut down the whole pack.
EVC says the batteries remain in balance and don't drain as quickly or
unevenly.
EVC plans not just to convert gasoline-powered vehicles to electric, but to subsequently "remanufacture" them. This comprises repainting the car and changing the interior if needed, putting in new shocks, tires and brakes, and installing a new electronic dashboard that monitors kilowatts rather than a tank of gas.
With three EV manufacturers now in CALSTART's ranks, will the competition to capture California's conversion market be too stiff? "There's so much room in the market," said Malcolm Bricklin. "We all see each other as competition. There's 20 million cars in California! The job is bigger than any one of us, and it will take all of us to do."
The Battery Operated Future...
(«Motorcycle Online»,
October 1995)
Something else we can't wait to play on: The electric bike. Entrepreneur
Malcolm Bricklin, who brought the Yugo to the American public, a cheap
Yugoslavian import once described as a tin can on wheels, is introducing the
electric bike. Bricklin has teamed up with Malcolm Currie, undersecretary of
defense in the Nixon and Ford administrations, forming the Electric Bicycle
Company. The first electric bicycles debuted in Portland, Oregon recently.
"This isn't what you'd call advanced technology" Currie said
"I'm more used to building missiles and satellites." Currie
used to head Hughes aircraft and Delco electronics.
Called the EV Warrior, the electric bicycle uses a 12V
electric motor powered by a lead acid battery. Speed control is via a thumb
throttle switch on the handlebars. According to the Electric Bicycle Co, the
new machine will go 30 miles between battery charges. The bikes will marketed
in Portland and San Diego, the two test markets, soon, with price tags of $900
to $1,500. The electric bicycles will be sold through car dealerships.
Future models from the Electric Bicycle Company will have higher-powered
batteries and composite frame construction, according to the company. Interest
in electric vehicles is fuelled by California legislation that mandates 2% of
vehicles sold in 1998 must be electric. The automotive industry is fighting the
requirement, on the grounds that electric vehicles are incapable of replacing
internal combustion engined cars. The automakers claim that battery storage is
inadequate for the demands of commuters, charging technology is insufficiently
advanced to maintain reliability, and the cost of producing electric cars will
be uneconomic. The EV warrior is not expected to replace cars as a form of
transportation in Los Angeles, but Currie and Bricklin are optimistic that the
bicycle will be a way to introduce Americans to the concept of electric
propulsion.
Electric bike gets plug pulled...
(«Detroit Free Press»,
October 1997)
Investors lose millions after company goes bankrupt.
The first version of an electric bicycle, touted two years ago as a commuting
vehicle of the future, has gone the way of the Edsel. The Electric Bicycle Co.,
which introduced the EV Warrior with great fanfare in 1995, went bankrupt in
mid-September. Investors say they have lost millions.
Meanwhile, former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca is still pursuing his plan to
sell electric bicycles and scooters. He formed his new company, EV Global
Motors, in June. The Electric Bicycle Co. was founded by Malcolm Bricklin, the
ill-fated entrepreneur who also brought America the Yugo. He also imported
Fiats long after the Italian company had pulled out of the U.S. market and
built a futuristic, gull-winged car that bore his name but sold poorly.
"I guess I thought he finally had come around and had something
solid," said Portland auto dealer Ron Tonkin, who invested about
$100,000 in the company. "The guy's got nine lives, but I think this
one was No. 9."
The bikes originally were priced between $800 and $1,000. "But when
they began selling, Bricklin upped the price to $2,000," Tonkin said.
"There's just not that big a market for a $2,000 bicycle."
Tonkin accused Bricklin of using his investments to
finance a lavish lifestyle, leaving major backers
with huge losses.
Sanyo North America said it had $5.45 million invested in the company. Malcolm
Currie, undersecretary of defense in the Nixon and Ford administrations and
one-time head of Hughes Aircraft and Delco Electronics, listed $1.5 million in
EV Warrior debt. Currie's involvement was one of the reasons Tonkin decided to
invest in the bicycle.
"But he was getting his information from Bricklin," Tonkin
said. "He went along just like the rest of us."
Bricklin couldn't be reached for comment. No listing exists for his company and
his phone listing in Malibu, Calif., is no longer in service. Tonkin said he's
less concerned about the financial loss than the damage done to the reputation
of electronic vehicles. He said he remains a firm believer in alternative
sources of fuel and carries a variety of vehicles in stores throughout
Portland. Business for the EV Warrior initially was brisk.
"We had deposits for 70 or 80 based on delivery by Christmas"
of last year, Tonkin said. "We lost almost all of them. In February, we
still didn't have bikes, and you can't blame people for wanting their money
back."
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