Monday, May 14, 2012

One of the rarest cars on earth.



Oh. I can tell you were expecting a super car. Just because it's rare, doesn't make it good!

This is a Think electric car. I believe there are only 400 of these in existence. The car is long on drama though. I am glad to have seen it. It is rare. Most of the other cars are in government fleets. Maybe in a basement in Florida.

Notice the plastic body. It looks like you could run into anything and it would pop back out trash can style.

"We've said we're out to make Indiana the electric vehicle state. It's beginning to look like the state capital will be Elkhart County," Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said in January 2010 in announcing government incentives used to lure Think to his state.

Instead, the Hoosier state's big bet has been a bust. The plant is devoid of activity; there are just two employees. A Russian investor who recently purchased Think's bankrupt parent in Norway has been silent about its future. A government-backed Indianapolis battery maker that was to supply Think wrote off a $73 million investment in the car company and on Thursday declared bankruptcy. Two unrelated electric truck makers Indiana planned to nurture have yet to get off the ground.


Indiana's foray into electric vehicles is a cautionary tale for states in hot pursuit of high tech manufacturing jobs. Think's story illustrates how politicians so badly wanted to stimulate job growth that they showered it and the battery supplier with tax breaks and incentives while at the same time failing to determine whether there was a market for the car: a plastic two-seater with a top speed of about 65 mph and a price tag approaching $42,000.


" Read the whole article here.





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