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This photo is all we have of the new car from V-Vehicle Company
With all of the terrible news about the American auto industry lately, the last thing you expect to hear is that a new company is about to launch an automobile manufacturing business in the United States.
But here comes V-Vehicle, a San Diego, California based company that has just announced it will start manufacturing a “high quality, environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient car” for the U.S. market. VVC President and CEO, Frank Varasano says, "We've designed and engineered this car from start to finish to give the U.S. consumer a quality car with great value made right here in America."
While no details of the first car to come from VVC were released, it will be manufactured in Monroe, Louisiana, in an old GM plant. Click HERE to see a video by Louisiana Economic Development on the project. Although it is touted as a GM plant, it is not a car facility. It is an ex-Guide Lamp division factory and has been closed for some time. The announced plans call for a full renovation and expansion to almost double its current size. Plans also call for hiring at least 1,400 workers from the local area. The promise of jobs will always attract politicians and this is no exception, Louisiana is fully on-board from Governor Bobby Jindal on down.
We don’t have much information on the car, but we do know something about the principals and the investors of VVC. The money is coming from the venture capital firm KPCB and none other than T. Boone Pickens. Several of the managers, including President Varasano came from Booz Allen Hamilton and their chief of design is Tom Mantano, who, during is career at Mazda, is credited with the design of the first Mazda Miata.
Having T. Boone Pickens bankrolling the project brings some interesting possibilities to the table. With Pickens recent push for energy use reform, (see his website www.pickensplan.com) it would be a near certainty that the VVC vehicle will be some type of super-fuel-efficient/alternative fuel vehicle. The Pickens Plan is heavy on wind and solar electricity and also compressed natural gas (CNG). All are resources that free us from reliance on foreign oil, which is the primary goal of the Pickens Plan. Building a car to use one of these sources of power would be a natural for Pickens.
It is always exciting to hear of a new manufacturer, but history is littered with unsuccessful start-ups. There are a myriad of regulations, requirements and other government hoops to jump through. With the current economic climate, it would seem even more difficult. But the established players are weak and don’t have the resources to worry about some small startup. Will they make it? Can they make it? Once we see the product, the judgment may be easier.
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