Personal Messages from Revolution Motors Officials...

[Derwin]

This is the place where you will find any official messages from officers of Revolution Motors.

Hopefully we will be getting some feedback from Ben, as well as others, in the coming days, weeks, and months.

Derwin

[Ben Werner]

Dear FTRC members,

First of all would like to thank, on behalf of Revolution Motors, the members of FTRC for their support and enthusiasm for our company and our vehicle, Dagne. Being self-funded entrepreneurs is challenging, and it can be a long and lonely road, so the encouragement of future customers such as yourselves really helps with morale. It also helps us convince potential investors that there really is a sincere interest in this novel class of vehicle.

I would like to answer some of the questions posted in response to my email with Derwin:

- The lack of activity on our Blog: Due to the lack of funding, we have not made much progress over the last few months in terms of further protoype development and production. Basically, we're engineers, so if we're not building cool stuff, then we feel there's not much to talk about. Still, we're always intersted in talking about Dagne, our vision for Revolution Motors, and our story in general, so perhaps FTRC is the place to have that conversation.

- Funding required and time-to-production: As some of you correctly remember, $40M has been stated as the required amout to bring Dagne fully to production. However, we are continually trying to find ways to reduce the required amount, particularly given the current economic situation. Along this line, we have recently developed an opportunity to work with an existing EV manufacturer in Europe, which would allow us to bring Dagne to production in 2 years for less than $20M. If we could raise $40M, that would allow us to bring our first US-based manufacturing site online in parallel with the European site.

Please feel free to post any more questions about Revolution Motors and Dagne here, and I will try and answer them as soon as I can. I would like to especially acknowledge Derwin's initiative for reconnecting with us. Engineers are not natural communicators, so sometimes it takes a little prodding :)

With Regards to All,
Ben Werner, CEO
Revolution Motors

[RAN]

Hi Ben

Thanks for posting! I know the waters in the moat have been a little low lately, but we're all still enthusiasts, and so there's still plenty to talk about.


...we have recently developed an opportunity to work with an existing EV manufacturer in Europe, which would allow us to bring Dagne to production in 2 years for less than $20M. If we could raise $40M, that would allow us to bring our first US-based manufacturing site online in parallel with the European site.

Wow, I am really pulling for you to get this going! So even if it takes several years to get the US plant opened, there's still a chance of being able to manufacture and ship Dagnes across the pond to us (as well as having a built-in European foothold)? It could be worse.... looks like maybe you found John Galt after all :wave:.


Engineers are not natural communicators, so sometimes it takes a little prodding :)
HAH! We're good at prodding, and at least when you *do* communicate, we get the sense that there's a Real Human Being at the other end of the keyboard. thu:mbs:up:22

[hedger65]

Hi there! Thanks for being a part of this community. I was wondering would it be possible to bring the Dagne vehicle to market as a full kit project? This might help some of the costly burdens of a new vehicle. If not,keep on trying, we all will be waiting.
Thanks!

[nadeaup]

I too would love a kit version as long as it had some kind of prefabed body!

-patrick

[ziggy951]

I'd probably get a kit without a body and make my own if it got to my driveway faster and/or cheaper.



Z

[Mike kZ]

agr:1 thu:mbs:up:22

[RAN]

Well, Ben, it seems now we have something to talk about. gath:er:2
What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of going the kit-car route in the beginning?

[Derwin]

Well, Ben, it seems now we have something to talk about. gath:er:2
What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of going the kit-car route in the beginning?


That is a very good question.

I would also like to know whether or not RM would/could offer their vehicle in Kit form.

So, Ben, what about it? Is this a possibility?

Derwin

[rickb]

Does anyone know the maximum degree of tilt on the Dagne. The greater the tilt the greater the fly the road experience.

[Ben Werner]

Hi All,

- Yes, the European manufacturing option would allow shipping and sales to the US.

- Dagne's tilt is +/- 45 degrees. It's possible to design in more tilt, but the vehicle would need to get taller or the floor of the battery compartment would need to get narrower, so this is a fundamental trade-off in the design (unless you want to start scraping the ground in a turn). I was pushing for a greater tilt angle in the initial design, but once we built the prototype and I experienced 45 degrees, I was convinced that it was plenty (it's actually more extreme when you're sitting in it than you would initially think)

- The kit option is a neat idea that we've talked about before. I like that there is an enthusiasm and spirit from folks who enjoy building things themselves. In order for us to sell a quality kit however, we still need to do more development and testing, so we've got to raise the cash to get there. I won't make any promises about the kit option at this point, but if folks are still asking for it further down the road, then we would seriously consider it.

Thanks for the questions!

Respectfully,

Ben

[Derwin]

- The kit option is a neat idea that we've talked about before. I like that there is an enthusiasm and spirit from folks who enjoy building things themselves. In order for us to sell a quality kit however, we still need to do more development and testing, so we've got to raise the cash to get there. I won't make any promises about the kit option at this point, but if folks are still asking for it further down the road, then we would seriously consider it.


I agree that the KIT option sounds pretty dang good, especially if it would save the consumer (ME!) some money!

Please keep us updated on your progress.

Derwin

[rickb]

Ben......thanks! The 45 degree tilt is adequate and will provide plenty of fly the road experience. I believe it is the same as Carver's. The Dagne Kit idea is good for the people who have that mechanical apptitude. I need a vehicle that has a high degree of quality finish detail, built in safety features and a network of dealerships that can handle sales and most importantly service after the sale. I'm hoping for USA manufacturing facilities.

[RAN]

I think RM would ultimately like to have US manufacturing too, but these days you take the deals where you can find them. If they can get started manufacturing in Europe, they'll be able to expand it to the US eventually. Ben, you have to agree to ship a good portion of the 1st Euro Dagnes back here though! thu:mbs:up:22

[rickb]

It really is to bad RM can't find a suitable US manufacturer. With the state of our economy, high unemployment rate, idle manufacturing plants and availability of Obama Alternative Energy Vehicle Dollars you would think we would be smart enough to put a deal together with an existing US company. Harley Davidson recently applied for a patent on a Tilting Tadpole Trike Design along with other companies expressing interest in 3 wheeled vehicles. It is a matter of selling the Dagne as a Concept that is ready to roll of the assembly line which I'm sure is no easy task.

[Ben Werner]

Just to clarify our feelings on the manufacturing locale - we are adamant that our vehicles should be built as close to the end customer as possible. Our vision is to locate small-to-mid-sized assembly sites in regions where there is strong customer interest and a supporting workforce/infrastructure. We expect that within a decade of launch there would be dozens of assembly sites worldwide, with a majority in the US. If I could have my way, the first site would located in our hometown of Santa Barbara :) (of course this could still happen)

[rickb]

Ben...........I don't suppose you have a 360 degree 3-D view that is similar to the Persu that would provide us the opportunity for a walk around view of Dagne? Models and graphics that you are using to sell your concept to investors. My guess is if you did it would be posted. I am a Dagne fan and would like to see more of her.