my dad really surprised me

[Alexia]

for some years i've been making plans to build my own special car but i never really thought anything would ever come out of those plans since it would cost a lot of money to do it. but last week i was talking to my dad and he surprised me speechless when he randomly said he wants me to build that car and he'll take care of all the required finances and resources.

it turned out he wants to get really serious about this. i mean very serious. when i asked how he's planning to finance all this he said he can get some investors and hinted at his rich friend who's the founder and owner of a respected company. i obviously pointed out that nobody in his right mind would ever want to invest in anything without getting something out of it. well, after his response i realized he wants to start a motor company and my car would be the prototype for a new brand.

now i just don't know what to think of all this. automotive business is no joke and takes a huge investment to even attempt anything at it. that reminded me of the story of John DeLorean and his own special car. he knew all the right people from his backrgound with GM, convinced the Irish government to invest in his business, and yet he still lost everything in two years.
i mean, if a man like him failed so hard at establishing his own brand, then what chance do we have?

i really don't know what my dad is planning but i have no reason to object to anything if i finally get to start building that car

 

[ORBaby]

If someone else is willing to provide the money and take the risk go for it.

 

[egor]

All I can say is happens or not You need to make/take that man out for the biggest steak dinner you can get!!!!

 

[BabyTyrant]

Well, the story with John Delorean was that they had busted him selling Drugs, and when that happens The Police are allowed to take everything from you, whether or not it had anything to do with the guilty party selling drugs doesn't matter; they can argue it did in fact have something to do with selling drugs and take it.

But yeah you are right a car company is a big thing to try to start up.

 

[dogboy]

What kind of car to you wish to build? Electric cars are still big, looking toward the future.

 

[Alexia]

What kind of car to you wish to build? Electric cars are still big, looking toward the future.

to keep it short, it's a hybrid with no transmission. you better not get me started on this because i could talk about it for hours

 

[LeakingOut]

to keep it short, it's a hybrid with no transmission. you better not get me started on this because i could talk about it for hours

Challenge accepted

Are you referring to use individual motors, like an "Any-Wheel-Drive?"

I'm a lifelong car geek, an auto worker, and slowly working on my mechatronics (industrial) engineering degree. You've caught my interest.

 

[Alexia]

Challenge accepted

Are you referring to use individual motors, like an "Any-Wheel-Drive?"

I'm a lifelong car geek, an auto worker, and slowly working on my mechatronics (industrial) engineering degree. You've caught my interest.

that's something i'm still figuring out. the budget for the first test model won't be high enough to do anything fancy, but the plan is to use electric motors for acceleration until the combustion engine can take over. the goal is to get a smooth and fast ride with no gear shifts, just like if you were driving a steam car or a tesla.
anyway, there's a long way to go. i'm already having trouble finding the proper motors. ideally i'd order a tesla unit from ebay but that would already blow the entire budget. i'm thinking about forklift motors but i have no idea where to find those in my country

 

[LeakingOut]

that's something I'm still figuring out. the budget for the first test model won't be high enough to do anything fancy, but the plan is to use electric motors for acceleration until the combustion engine can take over. the goal is to get a smooth and fast ride with no gear shifts, just like if you were driving a steam car or a Tesla.
anyway, there's a long way to go. I'm already having trouble finding the proper motors. ideally, I'd order a Tesla unit from eBay but that would already blow the entire budget. I'm thinking about forklift motors but I have no idea where to find those in my country

I wouldn't look to Tesla for inspiration for your hybrid. Their entire setup is based on the exclusive use of electricity. Hence why they can get away with a single speed transmission like an oversized/overpriced RC car. You'd want to look more towards the Toyota Prius or Nissan Leaf for ideas since they're the most accessible to research. A lot of manufacturers actually licensed Toyota's hybrid tech until they fully developed their own.

Forklift motors are fairly heavy and not that efficient. Which is one of the biggest issues with electric propulsion in general; Accommodating for the size, weight, and location of the batterie(s). What type of motors would you ideally use? Would you be using a petrol or diesel CE? What's your target market? Would the battery be a plug-in system? Will you resort to building with exotic materials like Carbon Fiber or Titanium to keep weight down?

... Crap, now you're getting me excited...

 

[Llayden]

Forklift motors are fairly heavy and not that efficient. Which is one of the biggest issues with electric propulsion in general; Accommodating for the size, weight, and location of the batterie(s). What type of motors would you ideally use? Would you be using a petrol or diesel CE? What's your target market? Would the battery be a plug-in system? Will you resort to building with exotic materials like Carbon Fiber or Titanium to keep weight down?

All great questions and points.

However, I am more interested in the most basic form of this project...what are you propelling, OP? I'd be very interested in hearing what you are planning on driving. Will it be a proprietary chassis and suspension or repurposed components? I think propulsion designs are easier to discuss when the needs are more defined. Is this a private project, for personal use on your own land? Is the a prospective commercial venture? Is the product intended for industrial, recreational, or daily use? And not to sound doubtful, but much like your foam board/PVC airplane "design" and rocket powered airplane "design" threads I have yet to see any actual...designs.

(Please read the following objectively, absolutely no offense is meant. These are simply 'matter of fact' queries based on your own threads and posts. These same queries will most likely be posited by potential investors/clients)

I'd be very interested in hearing the particulars or seeing some plans. I'd be curious to know what your "pitch" will be to your prospective investors? How are you planning on getting companies/individuals to invest in someone that is so young, has no formal training, has no/little practical experience, and might even display a lack of material understanding. If you're looking to emulate a startup automotive venture...yours sounds an awful lot like the infamous "Dale" (Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation).

 

[dadboddl]

As a former Auto Design Engineer. I hope your dad has a lot of money and when I say a lot, I mean millions. The tooling alone will be that. Design is the cheapest part of a new car. Tooling to make parts and then the manufacturing line tooling. Oh testing, lots of prototypes need to be crashed. I could go on but, I would hope you see my point. Good luck.