ELECTRIC CARS don't have a stellar track record when it comes to production and sales. But an Ontario manufacturer of them, Phoenix Motorcars, is working to change all that.
The company, it seems, was named with a purpose.
"Electric cars go back and forth, but I think the time has finally come and this company is rising out of the ashes of past efforts. We will succeed," says Daniel J. Elliott, the company's president and chief executive officer who has spent 17 years in the auto industry.
Elliott has worked in Detroit with some of the "big guys" as he calls them, but he's found his role with Phoenix Motorcars in Ontario both productive and personally fulfilling.
He's convinced that alternative-fuel vehicles, like the ones Phoenix Motorcars produces, are the way to go. While admitting that not everyone can embrace his electric vehicle zeal, he's convinced that this is the future.
The company's market entry involves pickup trucks and small SUVs. The vehicles can reach 95 mph on the freeway, have strong acceleration, come with air- conditioning and everything else car buyers have come to expect.
Elliott has spent six years working in Japan, Korea and China.
"What I saw, particularly in China, stunned me," he said. "The pollution is unbelievable. The smog cover literally hangs in the air. With that country going through its own industrial revolution, the conditions aren't going to get any better." Electric and other alternative-fuel vehicles can help make a serious dent in smog. The company's mission is to develop world-class electric vehicles that have zero emissions.
"If you go back 20 years, the necessary battery technology wasn't there, but it is today and continues to make advances," said the Rancho Cucamonga resident.
"I don't want my 5-year-old son growing up in a polluted environment," he added. "The air quality out here has gotten a lot better, but it's still not good enough for my son and anyone else's children. I see my work with Phoenix Motorcars as an opportunity to put our company's skills to good use." Elliott's team includes Alexander S. Lee, Dennis Hogan, Bryon Bliss, W. Jeff Ulrich, Rick Reinhard and Thad Balkman. Elliott met company founders in 2001 and came on board in 2006.
The company picked Ontario as the base for its operations for several reasons: proximity to Los Angeles/Ontario International Airport, local ports and the city's "very friendly" reception.
"We're in California because we love the lifestyle, but from a business standpoint, California is the leader in emission regulation and has been for years. This is a prime market for us," Elliott said.
He is proud of the company's innovative engineering and design capabilities in providing vehicles that have a real car feel that most consumers would like to have.
Estimated sales this year will be 500 vehicles, with that number growing to 6,000 next year.
Consumers should be able to buy the cars by 2010.
With a growing alternative-fuel market, Phoenix Motorcars welcomes the competition.
"We have a particular niche, and the market is so enormous, there's room. More competition helps drive costs down," Elliott said. "The majors, such as Chrysler, General Motors, Ford and the Japanese companies, are getting into the market, but it takes time to shift and retool. To be perfectly honest, we're not ruling out partnering in the future. The big guys need us, and we need the big guys because they have the resources to get the job done."
a closer look
Phoenix Motorcars will be at the AltCar Expo and Conference, Sept. 26-27 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The company also will be at the Southern California Clean Vehicle Tech Expo on Oct. 16-17 at the Ontario Convention Center.
