Posted on 07/01/2009 6:45:40 AM PDT by Schnucki
CARVER EUROPE the Dutch company responsible for the extraordinarily dramatic Carver One three-wheeler, has declared bankruptcy and closed up shop.
While not exactly posessing the broadest appeal, the Carver One boasted a unique and innovative automatic tilting mechanism that improved maneuvrability - and looked damned cool in the process.
But with demand for quirky three-wheelers squished by the global recession, Carver was left with a rapidly evaporating market for their sole road-going product. The company was ostensibly formed to manufacture and market its tilting technology (named Dynamic Vehicle Control) to major automakers, but the Carver One was virtually its sole source of income.
Only 200 Carver Ones were sold in the past two years, well short of the company’s targets. A major supply deal (the details of which aren’t known) had apparently been brokered between Carver and another company, but was scuttled in May after the global economic situation made it unviable.
However, while Carver Europe has gone under the company responsible for marketing its Dynamic Vehicle Control system still remains active.
Will the Carver’s distinctive tilting mechanism find its way into another manufacturer’s product? Low uptake of the Carver One would probably make most car and bike manufacters think twice about adopting the technology for a similar vehicle, but we may yet see a resurgence of interest in fully-enclosed articulated three-wheeled quasi-bikes.
Masrketing surveys, marketing surveys. Can’t function without marketing surveys. It’s a neat vehicle but really, what use is it? Can’t carry much and less performance than a motorcycle. So it fails as transportation and as a performance toy.
That’s perfect, if you’re a Grand Prix motorcycle racer.
The Persu mobility (formally Venture One) hybrid was based on this design.
It had potential though a lot of talk about it being “vaporware” lately on the boards.
Guess this pushes it further in that direction.
Those things were an accident looking for a place to happen.
I think its illegal to even sell one of those death traps in the used market.
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