Open Access Article Originally Published: April 03, 2004
To Part One
"I want to be the Henry Ford of the 21st century," Rick Woodbury told me as we talked about his plans to bring down the cost of his uniquely narrow, but high-performance electric commuter car. Like Ford, Woodbury has to find a way to make the car affordable for the common man, because with a price tag of $85,0000, there aren't a many who will be able to afford it, a problem Woodbury is acutely aware of.
"The next step is to build a stripped down version," he said. But by that, he doesn't mean just substituting the high-end goodies found in the prototype car, including top-of-the-line Sparco seats, leather dash, and 300 watt Nakamichi stereo system. He said that taking out those elements would only reduce the car to $60,000 a copy, still well out of the price range of the average buyer, while making it undesirable to upscale clientele.
Instead, he explained that he needs to find less expensive sources for the components that make up the car, itself. For example, the Tango's steering column costs $1,500 because it is OEM-grade. He projects a target price of $42,000 for the stripped down model that would include fewer amenities, but would include air conditioning. Woodbury also said he is talking to manufacturers in Taiwan about building a kit car version that would bring the cost down to the $20,000 price-range.
"I am not in love with having cars priced so high that nobody can afford one. My goal is to be the Henry Food of this century."
That might sound a bit presumptuous, but Woodbury believes there's a worldwide market for these cars totaling 150 million vehicles. He bases this number on the fact that over 92 million Americans commute to work alone every day. He thinks 50 million of them could easily adopt to the Tango for their daily commuting regime.
He foresees a time when UNVs (Ultra Narrow Vehicle) like the Tango become the norm and special lanes, like HOV lanes, are created for them. He thinks people will begin to rethink the utility of their current vehicles when UNVs go racing by at 70 mph while their conventional motor vehicles are stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic plodding along at 5-10 mph.
Interestingly, I rode Chicago's light rail service from downtown out to Midway airport this week while attending the Global Windpower 2004 conference and exhibition, and just as Woodbury noted, we rolled along at steady, gentle 35-40 mph while the traffic on the adjoining freeway was barely moving during rush hour. It was an satisfying experience.
Woodbury isn't just indulging in wishful thinking when it comes to creating a regulatory framework for UNVs, one that accords the such special privileges. He's actually working with both regulators in the nation's capitol and with the Washington State legislature. He explained that after giving a special presentation to the legislature, it approved passage -- almost unanimously -- of legislation according UNVs the right to lane share, among other privileges.
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Reader Comments
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6 comments so far...
22-Jul-2008
62918
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Rick no one wants a clown car!!
make an ev that looks normal and your market will be so huge, also until a gm or honda does your idea no way your gunna do it
I just bought a ev converted acura and love it
it looks normal
Jack
Posted by: jack hall
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08-Apr-2004
2269
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Perhaps the real reason GM dropped their cooperation was when they heard Rick talking about wanting to be the 21st Centuries' Thomas Edison.
In the meantime, it's interesting to see news from Great Britain pertaining to their own 2 passenger commuter car.
The Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport (CLEVER)is being developed for the E.U. at the University of Bath, UK. No talk of it being all electric/battery powered, but anyone interested can investigate here: http://www.bath.ac.uk/mech-eng/msys/clever.htm
It is a clever design, as is the Tango. You go Rick. Upwards and onwards."
Posted by: David Cutter
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08-Apr-2004
2275
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The 'common man or women' are not willing to pay anything above what a fuel powered vehicle costs. Most people do not give a crap about technology when it costs them more money. I own a single seater new all electric Gizmo (www.nevco.com). People are very excited when they see the vehicle- until I tell them the price. If we are all lucky, fuel prices will continue rising to about $10.00 per gallon, then the 'common man or women' will consider electric cars as an option."
Posted by: robert veach
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08-Apr-2004
2281
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Chicago Tribune,5/29/03 interviewed Rick who then talked of much lower prices in the future: $19,000 or perhaps as low as $10,000
"
Posted by: Joanne Ashdown
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09-Apr-2004
2292
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I agree, when it hits them in the pocket they will start to care. I converted a Nissan P/U to electric at a cost of approx. $10,000. People think that is too much. We've got to start somewhere."
Posted by: Don Barry
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14-Apr-2004
2352
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I tried to get the idea across in the interview, but obviously failed. It takes about $300k in tooling and engineering to produce cars that can be sold for $85k; $50 million to produce a car for under $20k at 10,000 per annum production; and about $1.5 billion to produce a car for $10k. If anyone wants us to produce the Tango for $10k, you know what to do. Write us a check for $1.5 billion and we'll get right on it. That would start production at 100,000 units per year just like other cars that cost $10k. Right now we're working on getting the $300k together to build the $85k car. We'll skip steps happily if investors come up with $50 million or more to produce an FMVSS certified turn-key Tango. I hope our situation is clearer now.
Best wishes,
Rick"
Posted by: Rick Woodbury
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