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Police car maker not giving up on Indiana plans

June 1, 2012

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Auto Industry, Automakers, Factories, Manufacturing & Technology, Technology

A company with plans for building high-tech police cars at an eastern Indiana factory has added a venture capitalist on board as it tries to raise millions of dollars to get off the ground.

The move by Carbon Motors Corp. comes after the U.S. Department of Energy's in March rejected the company's request for a $310 million loan to finance the start of production at a former auto-parts factory in Connersville, about 60 miles east of Indianapolis.

New board member Ron Nash is a member of InterWest Partners, a California-based technology venture capital partnership. Nash said he believes the company has a "breakthrough product" with its car.

Carbon Motors announced in 2009 its plans to move into a former Visteon plant and hire perhaps 1,500 workers.

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smoke and mirrors

Tom GreenacresJune 2, 2012 1:10 PM
The Carbon technology is now at least 5 years old. It would be almost a decade old before cars could be delivered. This one-trick pony needs to leave the stage.

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bad investment

AceJune 1, 2012 9:47 PM
Carbon Motors sounded like a business which was destined to fail from the very beginning.

I can't imagine that any police department would seriously consider paying $50,000 - $60,000 for a vehicle from an upstart company when a Dodge Charger can be had for $30,000. The Carbon Motors police car looks good on paper but the company has yet to build a single production vehicle. We have no idea how much the cars would cost to maintain or how reliable they would be. What happens if they start falling apart after a year of wear and tear?

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All Wheel Drive

MrGadgetJune 1, 2012 3:01 PM
IMHO they should be AWD too.

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BMW Powered?

MrGadgetJune 1, 2012 2:54 PM
I was impressed right up to the point the video mentions the BMW powertrain. Law Enforcement is spending American $$ for their cars and should be buying American...I get that the chassis is fabricated here, but the drivetrain should be too. The linked article (http://www.ibj.com/carbon-motors-prototype-police-car-is-crammed-with-technology/PARAMS/article/19310) says "Chairman and CEO Bill Santana Li anticipates sourcing 70 percent of the car domestically..." but in my view the powertrain is a lot more than 30% of the car, at least in $$, if not by weight, and likely more than 30% of the jobs directly and/or indirectly driven (no pun intended) by this product.

Upgrade an American V8 or drop in a twin-turbo and then you'll have it right.

PS...I know some track hounds that would love to flog this thing around a road course...too bad a public version with all-carbon-fiber body isn't offered without the police-centric bits.

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