Virtual View from Inside CarverOne!

[Derwin]

I just found this really cool site that shows how it is like actually driving the CarverOne....a virtual view from the inside!

http://www.carverexperience.co.nz/inside.php

I would think that the Persu Hybrid would have the same exact view.

Heck, I think we should put our heads together in this club and create some kind of interactive video game experience using these graphics. What do you think?

Derwin

[Miracleman89]

Dude, I just went to that link and almost never came back!!!! I was busy playing! Dreaming of the day I shoot the curves in my Persu hybrid!

[Derwin]

LOL! Yeah, I know. It's pretty unique.

Did you notice how that the harder you turn, the more green lights went on...until it went into the RED lights. It's exactly how Jeremy Clarkson describes it in the Top Gear program!

Derwin

[Miracleman89]

Oh man!!! That is an awesome idea!!! I live right at the base of Highway 191's famous Coronado trail aka devil's trail formerly known as route 666. I could start a small business giving people tours up the trail in the Persu! That is brilliant!!! I wonder how much I could charge for a day trip up the trail?? (Includes lunch at the Bear's Den in Springerville) what do you think?

[Derwin]

Oh man!!! That is an awesome idea!!!

Yep. That's what that website is all about. They actually turned the Carver into an "adventure" business of renting the units out to people. Very good idea in my opinion.

Heck, I think a Carver could pay for itself in a short time if we imported one and used it for that purpose. Now it's just a matter of scratching up the $40K to buy a Carver! wh;aa;aa;t1

Derwin

[Mike kZ]

That's cool! But too bad the road doesn't move!

[Derwin]

That's cool! But too bad the road doesn't move!

I know it. There must be some way that we can create something a little more interactive. I think it would be a nice way to pass the time while waiting for the REAL experience!

Derwin

[Mike kZ]

I know it. There must be some way that we can create something a little more interactive. I think it would be a nice way to pass the time while waiting for the REAL experience!

Derwin

Yeah, if the road moved, I'd playing with that thing all day!

[luckylindy]

Wow... Great find Derwin. I have had the same idea for a recreational rental business all along. As a matter of fact I e-mailed 3 times to ask some preliminary questions on this topic and VV (now Persu) never responded.

I know they are busy with the design stages... but I was really disappointed that they did not even reply to my inquiry. I hopw they will be more responsive once the Persu is in production.

I think rentals would be very popular both as passengers and as drivers. One would have to have a good insurance policy on them as rentals though. I can just see someone renting and then trying to countersteer on a slide and flip it like the guy in Germany.

[Chuck]

Heck, I think a Carver could pay for itself in a short time if we imported one and used it for that purpose. Now it's just a matter of scratching up the $40K to buy a Carver!

It was explained to me that it's not possible to directly import a Carver One into the United States because the engine manufacturer (Daihatsu) forbids the sale of its products (or maybe just the engines?) to the United States.

I assume that a second hand purchase would not be under the same restrictions, since it would be a private sale. Warranty, parts, etc., may be problematic, though.

[Miracleman89]

I was going to wait until Persu hits the market!

[carverconcept]

Just to add quickly: I've tried to establish the same adventure business for two years now in Germany but due to the high pricing of the Carver One it isn't an easy job. Plus Carver is taking a long time to deliver parts in case things go wrong or there is an accident. I came to the conclusion that this business will only work if you get a fleet of Carvers available so one car can be easily replaced by another car while it's been repaired. Still building this fleet here.

Business plan etc. is all available, if you guys can get a venture capital or investor for this idea I am happy to support you in the US. I've learned a lot of lessons in the last few years and we shouldn't do the same mistakes again in the US. This idea can work but it needs a lot of preparation. And of course in the end it's all about money.

About importing Carver One's to the US: I think most practicel is to register the Carver One's in Germany, rent them out for some month and then ship them to the US. Would it be possible for you to defintely find out if we can change the number plates to US that way?

Let me know if there is any more interest in that idea. Happy to get this going!

[Miracleman89]

carverconcept- I was thinking with the high cost of a carver and the economy being all but in the gutter, this idea might be best utilized by waiting for the Persu Hybrid to come to market. Less cost for vehicle and they are planning for a mass production setup. All this should add up to easier operation and lower starting cost. The thing I like is that with a mass production setup getting parts for repairs should not be as difficult.
Just out of curiousity how many vehicles do you suggest I start out with? Also where do you see the best return for your advertising dollar? Is it news papers, pamplets at local tourism establishments, TV, on-line website or billboards?

[carverconcept]

carverconcept- I was thinking with the high cost of a carver and the economy being all but in the gutter, this idea might be best utilized by waiting for the Persu Hybrid to come to market. Less cost for vehicle and they are planning for a mass production setup. All this should add up to easier operation and lower starting cost. The thing I like is that with a mass production setup getting parts for repairs should not be as difficult.
Just out of curiousity how many vehicles do you suggest I start out with? Also where do you see the best return for your advertising dollar? Is it news papers, pamplets at local tourism establishments, TV, on-line website or billboards?

I agree, to get this going properly it's an advantage to have an american mass production in place. On the other hand, waiting for Venture might not be needed in case some investor steps in properly. We found out that having an event business going also helps marketising the car itself so there is also the chance of selling cars and getting a commission out.

For the beginning about 5 Carvers are required, at the moment there are still cheap Carvers around but the new production line (it will get even more expensive) is already in place. Advantage of the basic Carver is that there is no trouble with the engine. It needs to be looked at constantly but the Daihatsu V4 itself is a proofed engine. Not very efficient (chip tuning makes it a bit better) but reliable. I suppose the first 2 years with the new Venture will end up a bit like upgrading to Windows 7 right now. So be prepared for some beta testing like I did with the Carver One.

But I am actually more worried about the communication strategy of Carver as they're trying to dig thereself in a lot and not propagating enough repair-manuals (the same might happen with venture). But I think this could be fixed by visiting those dutch guys and explaining the business well to them. But again this is also about money. Unfortunately I don't know a lot of venture capital guys around the US.

To your last question: There are a lot of specialised agencies around Europe (and propable in the US too) I work with. It's a lot about birthday and christmas gifts. Agencies and us bring out things in the media and of course it's about the Google ranking. It's important that people find the Carver One (or Venture One) Tour page if they do an internet research for the car. I think the main reason is cause there is a lot of interest for new mobility.

[Chuck]

They're making it work, albeit slowly, in the area of Asolo, Italy. I went down there for the tryke festival last September (www.trykefestival.it) and the company, jPrestige, had a pair of Carver Ones for rent. One of the owners explained that he was pretty satisfied with how quickly they would pay themselves off over time.

They said that they used to park them outside of the shop, leaning over on their sides, until the police asked them to stop. They kept causing accidents because people were trying to look at the Carver Ones as they drove by. :)

The thing is that many of the parts of the Carver don't appear to be brand name items built only for the Carver One. So far as I can tell, the DVC hydraulics seem to be the only thing that is truly proprietary.

[denisg]

I,ve was thinking about starting something here in Modesto.Renting Persue vehicles to go up hwy 49 and 108 also hwy 4. These roads would be great fun to ride on,and would make a ton of money.

[Jack Willard]

I,ve was thinking about starting something here in Modesto.Renting Persue vehicles to go up hwy 49 and 108 also hwy 4. These roads would be great fun to ride on,and would make a ton of money.

I will be making the FIRST ride up 49 to Downieville! That's one primo ride and certainly MY favorite. Did that ride last Friday for breakfast with my wife. I'm wanting to do a video of that ride to show behind a cockpit view in the Persue! dr:ive1)

[carverconcept]

First of all, congratulations on your new president. He will help a new generation of electrical cars to become true. And interesting. Didn't know about this italian bloke. I must agree, there is a lot of interest and the driving experience is worth some money and people like to spend it! Here in middle europe wintertime is quiet problematik so we actually look for a place with better weather conditions. Modesto looks like a great piece of land! Tell me more!

[luckylindy]

Just out of curiousity how many vehicles do you suggest I start out with? Also where do you see the best return for your advertising dollar? Is it news papers, pamplets at local tourism establishments, TV, on-line website or billboards?

As I posted a few days ago, I have been looking at the same type of recreational rental business for Las Vegas. I have a Masters Degree in Leisure Services Management and have run recreational experience adventures for the past 15 years. My best suggestion for start up is begin with a few ( maybe 3 -5 P-Hybrids ) and grow as needed.

As far as advertising... much depends on the market you are developing. In las Vegas the advertising might be focused differently than in your small town in Arizona. Ofcourse.... like the guy in Italy... who had to move the carvers from the street view due to accidents... direct exposure of the vehicle is in my opinion the most effective. For example in Las Vegas,I plan to have one vehicle driving up and down the strip at least 12 - 16 hours a day. Ofcourse the driver will have flyers/business card for handouts. This direct contact marketing along with some selected print media will be my approach. In your small town you would be more limited in numbers of tourists ofcourse but I would think it could still be a profitable business. It has to be marketed as an adventure outing like going bungee jumping when in New Zealand.
Route 666 sounds perfect for a tour.

Also Miracleman , in this venture one would have to consider two rental options: just giving rides and self-driven rentals. I see no reason that you could not rent them out. If they are classified as a motorcycle, but no M/C license is needed... the only thing that would hold you back is the cost of liability insurance. I have not researched the insurance coverage to date.... mainly because there in no vehicle yet ! But you can rent cars and you can rent motorcycles.. so why not rent the P -Hybrid. I would take some time to educated the renters on the particular characteristics of the tilting vehicle, mayabe take them for a short demo trip for 5 minutes before you let them take off for 2, 4, 8 hours. Also I would probably REQUIRE they take the insurance option on the rental form. All in all I believe this business has potential to be very profitable.

[carverconcept]

As far as I can tell you rental business will be much more problematic than you think. We do this business for more than a year and there is a great risk of accidents or at least damages according to the new and uncommon driving experience of the vehicle. For this reason we decided to make rental extremely expensive as we can't afford the insurance otherwise. Or they even decide not to cover us at all (as it already happened with Quads). Speaking about Carver One's (and I expect the same situation for Venture as well) we are concentrating on Carver One Tour's which means our instructor is running a group of vehicles driving in front watching them carefully via mirror and giving them instructions via radio. Another advantage of the Tour business is that a lot of girls like to give this to their boyfriends or husbands as a gift.

[luckylindy]

carverconcept....

I definitly see your point of the rental business being in great risk of accidents or damage. I used to manufacture and operate a 130ft portable bungee jumping tower system. The insurance was not cheap, but affordable with the right price on the recreation activity. This has always been a concern in my plans for Las Vegas. Maybe a driver training program should be required... Charge a substantial fee for training program before renting.

So do you actually rent them at this time ....or just give rides?
Or are you saying that you did rent them and have stopped?

[Miracleman89]

If I choose to go with the rental idea, I would most definately require that our insurance policy be purchased and thus I would include it into the pricing! Pricing would be set high because of replacement cost and availability of the vehicle! Also I do like the idea of having a trained guide that would have direct comunication with the other Persu drivers. If I went this route I would also add a second person to the trip to watch from behind. Route 666/ Hwy 191 can be a bit intimidating due to the fact that their is no guard rails and it is a very curvvy road with shear mountain drop offs and breathe taking views. Adding an additional person to watch from behind I think would make things alot more safe!

[carverconcept]

carverconcept....

I definitly see your point of the rental business being in great risk of accidents or damage. I used to manufacture and operate a 130ft portable bungee jumping tower system. The insurance was not cheap, but affordable with the right price on the recreation activity. This has always been a concern in my plans for Las Vegas. Maybe a driver training program should be required... Charge a substantial fee for training program before renting.

So do you actually rent them at this time ....or just give rides?
Or are you saying that you did rent them and have stopped?

We do both things: Daily or a weekend rental including a 45 minutes training and 2.500 EUR own-risk. Carver Tours either 90 minutes or 3 hours with an instructor and also 2.500 EUR own risk. Fully insured of course. I've just increased prices for the rental to cover the risk. 770 USD for a weekend. 565 USD for a day. Sounds a lot, mainly because of the exchange rate USD vs EUR.