Personal Phone Conversation with Ben Werner, CEO

[Derwin]

Well, I just completed a phone conversation with the CEO of Revolution Motors, Ben Werner, which lasted almost an hour. We discussed many things, including his belief that they are much further along in the process than Venture Vehicles (which I expressed MY doubt about!). Here is an overview of what we discussed...

First, Ben told me that Steve Parry actually contacted him about NGEN investing in Revolution Motors BEFORE they ultimately went with Venture Vehicles. I found that to be very interesting!

At the time they lost NGEN as a financial backer, they were indeed behind VV in the process. But then they used PERSONAL funds to build their prototype. They did this within a 6-month time-period.

I asked Mr. Werner about the proposed specifications of the Dagne. I asked him where they were getting them from, and if they would change in a "real world" application. He told me that the specifications they are giving are coming from computer simulations using Off-the-shelf components and are cross-referenced with existing vehicles.

Needless to say, he is very confident that the specifications are what will actually be experienced in the finished product.

I mentioned the fact that in the videos that the Dagne seemed "jerky" not smooth at all when moving. He stated that they made some "engineering mistakes"...... One of them being that the lean control has less tork, causing the jerky movement. But that this, along with a few other things, will be fixed in the next prototype.

Ben Werner was very confident that they will be getting financial backing by the end of the year, and will be able to immediately begin work on the second prototype.

The main thrust of what he was attempting to convey to me was that they are actual engineers working on this project from start to finish, and are dedicated to seeing this through to completion. He compared that with the fact that Ian and Howard are NOT engineers, and may be having trouble for that very reason.

All in all it was a very good conversation, and he seems to be a very nice man that is willing to open his project up to any who wish to see it. This is very refreshing in a business that seems to be so secretive.

I asked him if he could give our club a "heads-up" on any updates or new information, and he said he would be happy to do it. He took my email address, and said he would send me information directly before it being posted to the RM website. This is yet another benefit of being a member of this ever-growing club!

Anyway, it's very exciting to see that our club is getting noticed in the industry!

Derwin

[Gunner]

Outstanding! I sure am curious as to what the final body design will look like. I wonder how long it will be before they have some drawings?

[AZEqualizer]

What kind of Engineers are they? An Engineer is not an engineer is not an engineer....

Yep, Ian and Howard are not Engineers but they work with some of the best in the business. It is a broad spectrum of expertise that is needed in the development of something of this scope.

[Derwin]

He mentioned what expertise they had in engineering, but unfortunately I neglected to write it down. But one of the main things he was trying to get across to me was that they have designed the Dagne from the ground up, and have their heart and soul wrapped up in the entire project. He hinted that it is not the same in the case of Ian and Howard since they are not engineers.

I will shoot him an email and ask him specifically about this.

Derwin

[Miracleman89]

Ok, just my opinion but, am I the only one who thinks they have an attitude toward VV? It appears they like to claim superiority over VV at every turn, almost like they are carrying a grudge. Maybe I am reading to much into it, but to me they sound like they take pride in explaining how they are better then VV. To me they sound a bit like the Quizno's commercials! You know the ones where they say Subway is crap but we are similar and our crap is better then there crap, kinda thing. LOL Just a thought!

[Derwin]

Brian, I really don't think that they have an "attitude" towards Venture Vehicles, but let's face it...... Venture Vehicles beat them out in obtaining the financing from NGEN. That would tick anybody off!

I'll tell you what.... Ben Werner was an incredibly nice guy, and he was willing to share ANYTHING with me about the project. Like I said, we spoke for about an hour, and he held nothing back.

But, sure, they are real competitors with Venture Vehicles, make no mistake about that! It's just nice to see the CEO of this company willing to spend so much time on the phone with me, and let me know how he really enjoys this club. That impressed me.

Derwin

[Jack Willard]

Like I said in the chat room when I inadvertantly came in during your telephone conversation with Ben, GREAT IDEA! agr:1

I had just noticed that Ben Werner had joined our club and imediately PM'd him with a wel;co;m;e101)) and invited him to join in our discussion on the Dagne. How great would that be?!

Glad to hear that your conversation with Ben was productive and I sure hope that the idea of getting
a "heads-up" on any updates or new information is a genuine one.

Actually, I believe that our club forums site is a much better one than that provided at either the RM site or the FTR site. This site offers thread creation and discussion features much more robust than the "factory" or "engineering development" sites. I feel much more restricted when visiting their sites.


First, Ben told me that Steve Parry actually contacted him about NGEN investing in Revolution Motors BEFORE they ultimately went with Venture Vehicles. I found that to be very interesting! agr:1 That is surely new information that I would never have guessed. It would be most interesting to know why Steve Parry at NGEN chose to go with Venture Vehicles instead of Revolution Motors, wouldn't it?

That certainly makes me wonder if perhaps NGEN shares the same "deal breaker" that I have when it comes to the Dagne design, which is the joystick control. du:n:n:o(bang:h:1 It sure seems like RM is stuck on that idea.

In any case, I hope that Ben Werner will visit here often and keep us updated on the development of the Dagne vehicle. Competition is a good thing. And the discussions here could help both vehicles get designed better, that is to suit the actual customers' (US) needs and desires. ypslj:kes;7(

[AZEqualizer]

I don't think they are competition to the VV persay (yes and no, similar but different)... I think there is plenty of room for even 10 or more different companies with similar designs. And this helps keep everyone honest.

[esoneson]

RM has to work harder because of VV.
VV has to work harder because of RM.
And what is it that they are working for?
Producing something that we (the consumer) wants.
So that they (both companies) can sell the product and make money.
Competition is a good thing.
It benefits us.
I want to see a third and fourth company with similar products.
Milton Freedman was right.
We win.

Eric

[esoneson]

Sorry, I was a bit anxious in that last post.
It is Milton "Friedman".

Eric

[ziggy951]

RM has to work harder because of VV.
VV has to work harder because of RM.
And what is it that they are working for?
Producing something that we (the consumer) wants.
So that they (both companies) can sell the product and make money.
Competition is a good thing.
It benefits us.
I want to see a third and fourth company with similar products.
Milton Freedman was right.
We win.

Eric


Competition? Careful now, you are making the socialists uneasy.:shup:




Z

[JoeU]

Very uneasy! :shup: Especially since I heard Obama wants to nationalize 401Ks. :mad: More places to to get spread-the-wealth funds.:(

[Jack Willard]

Very uneasy! :shup: Especially since I heard Obama wants to nationalize 401Ks. :mad: More places to to get spread-the-wealth funds.:(

Careful JoeU, partisan politics comments and/or discussion is not permitted here, especially with the election tommorrow. (friendly reminder)

[Miracleman89]

Don't get me wrong guys! I wish Dagne and their team the best I hope they do well! The better they do, the more they push VV and the better things are for all of us! I just thought that a few comments sounded petty! But hey that's just my opinion I could be wrong!

[Charles]

I'm sorry to offend any VV old time supporters but I have to side with Ben and the gang at RM. VV have not created anything new. All they have done is take an existing vehicle (which they touted as their own design from the original press releases in the US) and proposed putting a new propulsion system in it. On the other hand, RM have created a new vehicle which in many respects is superior to the V1. Why shouldn't they feel good about that and feel a little aggrieved that VV has financial backing? If the Dagne's predictions are correct it will double the mpg of the V1 and have better performance. I know all this still has to be proven but to create something from nothing has to be more impressive than taking someone else's design and tweaking it a little.

[espresso_curve]

I have to agree with Charles (and not only because we have the same name). Weather I get a V1 or a Dagne time will tell, but RM definately gets a tip of my hat. They used there ingenuity and hard work to create something brand new. VV also is doing something substantial and putting everything they have into it, but with someone elses idea as a base (which is cool in my book). I really like both vehicles and hope both come to fruition soon.

[Ben Werner]

Hi All,

I appreciate the opportunity to share the story of our company with you through this forum. Concerning aspects of my conversation with Derwin, although Derwin accurately conveyed everything I said during our conversation through his post, the tone that came through the post was not quite what I had intended (classic electronic media problem). Hopefully I can correct a couple subtle points here.

I did not intend to come across as antagonistic towards VV. Maybe in ten years when RM and VV are both successful we can start throwing mud at each other, but for now, I would prefer a mutually supportive relationship, given the challenges we both face. One of my main purposes in connecting with Derwin was to offer clarity as to exactly where RM is coming from, what we have accomplished to date, and with what means. The same story needs to be told on the VV side if any meaningful comparisons are to be made between our two companies.

My point regarding relative engineering expertise between RM and VV was simply my attempt to offer clarity (albeit from an outside perspective) on what may be happening with VV. In my many years of experience as a manager at an engineering company, I observed that the successful projects usually had a leader with a skill set directly relevant to the needs of the project. Projects where the leaders relied on outside talent to provide the core competency tended to suffer serious problems because the leader(s) could never take direct responsibility for the successful execution of the project.

I sincerely hope both RM and VV are successful. Needless-to-say, neither one of us alone will easily meet the demand for the vehicles we are producing.

Best Regards to All,
Ben

[Ben Werner]

P.S. I just showed this to my wife and she totally slammed me for making matters worse if my intent was to smooth the waters - oops. Let me try this - clearly VV has done a great job in generating interest and publicity for the kind of vehicles we are producing - we owe this forum and many of our RM fans to them. Who knows, maybe there's a synergy between RM and VV waiting to happen...

[Miracleman89]

Ben - Thanks again for the insider update. I hope I did not offend you and I appreciate you coming by and clarifing your comments. I agree that it sometimes is so very hard to communicate through simple written word, what we wish to convey. I would also like to personally welcome you to the club! Please, if there is ever anything you need from us by all means do not hesitate to ask any of our admins. I am sure that anyone of us would be all too willing to help!

[randi]

Thanks, Ben!

Just want to welcome you (and your missus) to our community.

[Derwin]

Ben,

First off, I would like to welcome you to the club wel;co;m;e101)) and thank you for making your first official posts!

As you stated, the written word can sometimes come across differently then intended. And maybe something also got "lost" in the translation when I posted to this thread.

Anyway, I think it is simply fantastic that you have chosen our club to be one of your outlets of information, and I can assure you that we will do everything to present your company/project in the most accurate way and in the best light. I am actually thrilled that you are sharing information with us!

By the way, I think your posts have worked "wonders" in clarifying things, and in "smoothing" things over with those that may have misunderstood a few things.....including me.

Please feel free to contact me with any new information that you would like me to post. And, again, welcome to the club!

Derwin

[Jack Willard]

My point regarding relative engineering expertise between RM and VV was simply my attempt to offer clarity (albeit from an outside perspective) on what may be happening with VV. In my many years of experience as a manager at an engineering company, I observed that the successful projects usually had a leader with a skill set directly relevant to the needs of the project. Projects where the leaders relied on outside talent to provide the core competency tended to suffer serious problems because the leader(s) could never take direct responsibility for the successful execution of the project.
Ben

agr:1 Having been in the engineering discipline my whole career as well, direct understanding of the 'engineering' project at many levels brings much more clarity to the mindset. However, I will be the first to point out the 'can't see the forest for all the trees' syndrome. It is always nice to have that separate person with a clear core vision to keep directing the team to stay on track. It is so easy to get too involved in working on the development details and forget to 'up periscope' as it were, take a fresh breath of air and get your bearings. wh;aa;aa;t1

That is why it is so important to gather the right team of partners, each with valuable and different talents. No one person or small group has all the right things to bring to the table. gath:er:2 A big venture takes a big team. I've been an engineering manager too.

We all wish Revolution Motors the best of luck in their big venture. Gather together the best team that you can.