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Electrum Spyder

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DDB

DDB

Member
Sep 1, 2006
590
0
#1
New Sports Car debuts on Dec. 9, in CA

It's no Tesla, but competition is GOOD NEWS. ;D


Production Updates : Breaking news!

Update: November 6, 2006

Universal Electric Vehicle corp

Breaking News!

Universal Electric Vehicle Corp will unveil the Electrum Spyder on December 9 th, 2006 at The Alternative Car and Transportation Expo in Santa Monica, California. U.E.V. will begin taking limited orders for the vehicle. More information regarding ordering will be forthcoming.


For more information regarding the Expo please go to www.altcarexpo.com


http://www.universalelectricvehicle.com/news.html
 
#3
Re: New Sports Car debuts on Dec. 9, in CA

Where is all the hype around the Spyder? This one is a contender, especially with the price. For example, convert an eBox for the same price as a roadster? Give me a break. And the $30,000 premium for a Tesla is enough to make anyone think twice. But if I plopped money down for an order, I'd be very concerned about bankruptcy with the lack of press time around this company.

I'm thinking they just don't publicize their day-to-day affairs like Tesla...although I don't see why not. If they're serious about taking orders in December of 2006, why not have an expected release date? They haven't updated the "news" on their website for a very long time, although they've been at Alt Car Expo, where's the press? ???

I hope they are a real competitor to Tesla.




Part of an article from EV World:



Premium Feature Article Originally Published: January 19, 2007
We were secretly hoping that Tesla would have their super-sexy Roadster on display at the AltCar Expo in Santa Monica. They didn't. It was over at the L.A. Auto Show.

But sex-appeal wasn't lacking at the event held on the city's airport grounds, which explains why there are airplanes in the background of the acompanying photo. And given the throngs of admirers who crowded around Universal Electric Vehicle's display booth, it was obvious they too found the Electrum Spyder equally exciting. No longer can electric cars be portrayed as ugly ducklings. Tesla and UEV have redefined the paradigm.

With the steady stream of admirers, media and -- hopefully -- potential buyers, we finally got to the opportunity to pull the company president Diana Lane aside to do a quick stand-up interview, only to discover that our stalwart publisher forgot to turn on the video camera. Good help is so hard to find!

http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?page=article&storyid=1176
 
#4
Re: New Sports Car debuts on Dec. 9, in CA

This reminds me of a comment from someboday at Tesla Motors. . . I think it may have been Martin Eberhard in a press interview, though I can't find it now. He said some words to the effect of: These other electric car companies have some great people, they have some great ideas and they mean well, but it seems like none of them can really pull it all together.

That's the impression I get of UEV. And Wrightspeed. And Commuter Cars. And Phoenix. And AC Propulsion. They're all doing interesting things but they all seem to lack either the resources, or the vision, or the business acumen, or the technical know-how, or the contacts in the industry, or some combination of the above. They seem more like hobbyists or a cottage industry than they seem like car companies.

Also most importantly. . . Tesla Motors have done a masterful job of communicating their business to the public through the unveiling party, interviews, test drives, appearances at major events, and most of all their incredible website which humiliates those of GM and Toyota. The sheer volume of hard information they've provided can convince skeptics that Tesla is a real company with a real product and a viable business plan.

We've seen photos and other material from the Lotus facilities in England. Do we even know where the UEV Spyder is made? What's it based on? Is it a Hungarian kit car that UEV bolt together in their home garage-turned-factory? Nobody seems to know.

I hope the Spyder turns out to be a real competitor to Tesla. But so far I haven't seen anything to convince me that it won't be another Tropica, or Solectria, or Bradley, or EXAR-1. All of those looked cool and promising in their time, and all became historical footnotes.
 
#6
Re: New Sports Car debuts on Dec. 9, in CA

I'd be real interested to see how many consumers have plopped down $69,000 for a Spyder...I'd be concerned it would never be delivered. I hope I'm wrong.
 
#7
Updated stats and new pics of the all-electric $70,000 UEV Spyder

Any reason why someone would get this car over a Tesla Roadster? I can't really think of any.

spyder-uev-450.jpg
 
Last edited:
#8
They do start at a somewhat lower price point . . . for a considerably lower performing car, with probably limited support from the maker.  Also, it's just possible that there may not be a year (or longer) waiting list to get one.  Some people don't like to wait that long, and it will probably be A While before Tesla catch up with demand.

Other than that. . .   No, I can't think of any.  At least if you buy a Tango you would be getting something more unique due to the narrow form factor, or if you buy a Wrightspeed X1 or a Silence then you would be getting more pure track performance. . .   I can't figure out what you are getting from the UEV Spyder, aside from a much more compromised car at a somewhat lower price.  It doesn't sound like a good competitive formula to me.
 
#13
$2 million isn't enough to go into production, but it is enough to get it to the Automotive X-Prize specifications. Their plan is to win the X-Prize and use the prize money and press attention to go the rest of the way.

There are a couple problems with this plan:
- The UEV spyder and their planned three-wheeler will both have to go in the crowded "Alternative" class, where they'll have to compete with Aptera and other advanced concepts. The Tesla Roadster could theoretically compete in this class, too.
- I think I heard somewhere that UEV also wants to go for the mainstream class. There's less competition there, but it's also much much harder. At least one group (Loremo) already has a prototype.
- The Automotive X-Prize people appear to be struggling with getting the rules finalized, which could delay the race and push away sponsers, possibly to the point where the X-Prize's work is eclipsed by what's being done commercially.

-Ryan / Kardax
 
#17
Final sales price, $25.600.00

That's a steal, I found out this with 4 hours left. I could have raced over there but I am not an impulse buyer at that level -especially sight unseen!

They need to get the word out better. With the proper hype they could have sold it for double that price.

If all things about the car were right for me I would have easily paid that price for a hot EV.
 
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