[Stan]

Originally Posted by dcb

What I am going to ding them for is failure to launch. Seems like more time is spent in washington than in manufacturing. I appreciate it is complicated, but they had a business plan going into the x-prize and got a decent chunk of change to get started.

How can one ding them for failure to launch? AFAIK there are no Federal standards for VLCs...you compete heads-up with Toydachevord on safety and emissions standards or you go home. Or you build a motorcycle (nttawwt).

This country NEEDS the legal framework for VLCs or we will never get beyond the current automobile paradigm, so 'spending time in Washington' is critical. It's bad enough IMO that the Feds own GM, which places them in an inherent conflict of interest when it comes to doing anything that threatens GM's dominance of the market. (Yes, I realize they had little choice but to rescue the company.)

It looks to me as if they are spending the money intelligently. Lobbying to get rules in place for VLCs and VSCs (very small constructors... ) while refining the design to a producible and salable product makes perfect sense to me. I'm a manufacturer in the motorsports sector growing by retained earnings, so they have my most sincere support!

PS - Yes, I'm aware I'm responding to an old post...just wanted to get this point off my chest!