Re: (ET) Wheelhorse and their last ET in 1983

[Steve & Carol Welch <welches dejazzd com>]

I couldn't agree more with Jack's last sentence.  You have to  
engineer an excellent, reliable product, while undercutting the "old  
technology" competition.  The lower price entices non-zealot  
consumers to "give it a try".  Also, as the Ford guy stated in the  
"Who Killed the Electric Car" movie, if average people perceive that  
the item you're selling has less capability than the competition,  
they (reasonably) expect to pay less for it.

The problem is that launching new technologies like these cost more,  
not less (at least initially).  It takes a company with deep pockets,  
good engineers & marketers, and a long-term commitment to succeed.   
Witness Toyota and the Prius, now on generation two (plus the Camry &  
Highlander & system sales to Ford) - think they've recovered their  
Hybrid Synergy Drive R&D by now??  Had GM not been so schizophrenic  
with the EV1, they might be in a much better place in terms of  
marketable (maybe even profitable) "green" products today.

I also wonder if the ET was a victim of the well-established ICE  
sales & repair industry.  Not necessarily by intent, but just by not  
fitting in with the usual product.  Plus, no tuneups, plugs, oil,  
filters = less service money for the local dealer (kinda like the  
EV1).   Maybe if a big company (Deere) made a good electric and sold  
thru Home Depot (appliance-like merchandise, no service dept to  
threaten) perhaps it would sell better.  It would require a very  
intentional, determined advertising / education campaign.  I firmly  
believe there is an excellent case to be made - home lawn tractors  
are an excellent use for electric technology - much better than  
cars.  You're never more than your property line away from a  
recharge, plus no messy gas, oil, & noise - what's a suburbanite not  
to like?

Okay, off soapbox now.  Y'all in the choir can go back to whatever  
more important you were doing...   ;^)

Steve


On Dec 11, 2006, at 12:45 PM, John Casey wrote:

> ...snip...
> They did not see that selling a new concept against strong
> competition almost always dictates that you must price lower to  
> build a
> following.
> Jack
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Matthew callahan" <callahanrc hotmail com>
> To: <maxo iname com>; <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
> Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 9:24 AM
> Subject: Re: (ET) Wheelhorse and their last ET in 1983
>
>
> > Gee, I wonder if that did have anything to do with it... <VBG>
> >
> > Were there other factors?  High cost was probably one.  How about
> marketing,
> > did wheelhorse do a good job marketing their electric tractors, or  
> > did
> they
> > pull the same thing that GM did with the EV1? Did the tractors  
> > have any
> > safety issues, premature failures, or anything of the sort?
> >
> > Matt
> >
> >
> > > From: "Max Hall" <maxmatic gmail com>
> > > Reply-To: maxo iname com
> > > To: elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu
> > > Subject: Re: (ET) Wheelhorse and their last ET in 1983
> > > Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 09:06:05 -0500
> > >
> > > Gasoline hit its peak in '81, and plummeted almost uninterruptedly
> > > through '86 to less than half the '81 peak.
> > >
> > > I don't know if thast had anything at all to do with it, though.
> > >
> > > -Max
> > >
> > > On 12/11/06, Matthew callahan <callahanrc hotmail com> wrote:
> > > > Hi all,
> > > >
> > > > Could any of you enlighten us with your insight on why GE sold the
> > > original
> > > > ET line, why New Idea only produced it for what? one year?, and why
> did
> > > > Wheelhorse stop making them in 1983?  What were the reasons that
> > > contributed
> > > > to their downfall at that time?
> > > >
> > > > Any historical references or articles from that time period  
> > > > regarding
> > > the
> > > > downfall of ETs would be greatly appreciated.
> > > >
> > > > Cheers
> > > >
> > > > Matt
> > > >
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