More information on V Vehicle Co.'s Louisiana plant endeavor, high-mpg cars
by Sebastian Blanco on Jun 18th 2009 at 4:13PM 
There was big news out of Louisiana yesterday when new automaker V-Vehicle Co. came out of stealth mode with its announcement that it would start building high-mileage, environmentally friendly vehicles in an idled GM plant. In the hours since, we've found a bit more information about VVC and what the company needs to bring new vehicles to the American auto market.
- The company was formed in 2006 and has received financial investments from T. Boone Pickens and Al Gore as well as Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, the venture capital firm that's also into Fisker.
- So far, VVC has received about $100 million form the VC groups and $82 million chipped in by state and local governments. Before the end, though, VVC hopes to raise between $400 and $500 million, including a $263 million federal loan it is working on with Fifth District U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander. Other sources say VVC is looking for $340 million in loans from the federal government.
- Current speculation says that VVC's first car will be a midsize vehicle that could start production in 18 months.
[Sources: MotorTrend, AP, News Star]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jpm100 4:36PM (6/18/2009)
So what price did they make GM sell this to Al Gore's investment group for?
Must be nice to have friends in the right places.
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ronEbear 4:56PM (6/18/2009)
Well, GM could have manned up and face bankruptcy without the government holding their hands which would have forced them to liquidate their assets which would then have enabled VVC to buy the plant for probably cheaper. GFY.
Tohe 6:07PM (6/18/2009)
One of the reasons they need so much money is because this used to be a headlamp factory, they would need to completely refurnish it. My guess is that they decided to locate in Monroe, because it is a depressed area which would guaranteed steady cheap labor and ease of governmental restrictions. Yes "part" of the portfolio of investors is impressive, but I wouldn't make much of it at this point, after all investors are educated gamblers whose fortune is partial to good luck.
jpm100 11:16PM (6/18/2009)
"liquidate their assets which would then have enabled VVC to buy the plant for probably cheaper"
But would it have? That's the reason for the question.
Liquidated it wouldn't have been made available so readily and perhaps gone for pennies on the dollar. Did they get it for tenths of pennies?
SumideXE 4:44PM (6/18/2009)
Wow.. powerful investors. I'm still takin' this with a grain of salt.. but this is kinda exciting.
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Matt 6:11PM (6/18/2009)
Ugh... Pickens AAAND Gore!? Count me out. I'm sure it'll get some kind of major award with Gore's name on it, though.
Chris M 5:02PM (6/18/2009)
I'm holding back my enthusiasm until we see what they plan to produce, and at what price. If it turns out to be yet another NEV or hideously ugly "punishment car" or yet another overpriced underpowered H2 car, forget it. If it is a decent design running on CNG (likely, with T Boone Pickens involved), thats just fine.
But if it has a plug and rivals the GM Volt or Tesla Model S, at a reasonable price, then I'll be very enthusiastic!
Considering that they incorporated in 2006 and just bought the plant, I don't expect production until 2011 or 2012, but they should be showing off a prototype before then. .
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Dave 5:47PM (6/18/2009)
They sure seem to be planning on hitting the ground running with a good amount of production capacity. With the amount of funding they have, they must have some neat trick hidden up their sleeve.
I'm curious!
Anyone else notice the number of automobile startups based in California now? Tesla, Aptera, Fisker and now V-Co.
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Tohe 6:00PM (6/18/2009)
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, they throw Jindale into the mix! Now I'm completely turned off.
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Jack 11:02PM (6/18/2009)
To be fair, he is the governor of the state, so he gets to make the exciting announcement about new jobs. I doubt he had much to do with it beyond that, though I'm sure his appointed economic development director and staff were instrumental in bringing the company in since state money is involved.
Nick 5:09AM (6/19/2009)
@Matt
It seems that the Republican smut campaigns have worked well on you; Al Gore has done more than anyone to put environmentalism on the map, and believe it or not, without his work, the push for alternative energy and cars wouldn't be what it is today.
And besides, he was elected president of the united states in 2001, with a 700,000 vote lead, believe it or not.
Cheers.
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Bayou Bum 11:48AM (6/19/2009)
Too bad the election was in 2000 and we elect the president with electoral votes and not popular votes. Maybe that is why we call him President Bush.
And for the record. The Guide plant was not owned by GM, it was leased and the building has been vacant for a few years. This has nothing to do with Government Motors.
I think it is a good location. Good universities nearby and good labor pool, it is a right to work state, and plenty of natural gas for manufacturing and fueling natural gas powered vehicles.
Keith 12:26PM (6/28/2009)
Nick
You've obviously been sniffing gasoline fumes for far too long. Global warming is a crock o' poop and the sooner everyone stops lauding the Democrats for being environmentally friendly the better. Yes, we disperse too much CO2 into the atmosphere and that issue needs to be addressed but the world warms and cools in cycles and has done for far more years than we have had democrats on this planet and there is historical data to prove it, unlike the these so-called models that have been presented and proven to be inaccurate in their assessment.
So go back to your dark corner and let the high almighty Obama and his band of merry men continue to spoon feed your ration of soylent green and brainwash you into telling you what you think that you want to hear
jeff 11:27AM (6/29/2009)
is this voltage vehicles?
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maj den 2:53PM (7/23/2009)
Anybody know the stock symbol for these guys?
maj den
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