VPG goes under...aka another scam car company feasting of the taxpayer money
05-08-2013, 04:39 PM
#1
The sizzle in the Steak
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VPG goes under...aka another scam car company feasting of the taxpayer money
Vehicle Production Group, or VPG for short, has become the latest taxpayer-funded automaker to close up shop.
John Walsh, the former CEO of VPG, confirmed to the Detroit Free Press that the company ceased operations in February. VPG, which produced the MV-1 commercial van, received $50 million from the U.S. Department of Energy because it planned to equip some of its vehicles with clean-burning natural gas engines.
VPG quietly stopped all operations earlier this year after it was cutoff by the DOE for failing to meet certain performance measures. VPG has not filed for bankruptcy as of this writing.
VPG began production of its MV-1 van in 2011 after winning government funding. The van, which was tailored for the transportation of those in wheelchairs, was built by AM General, the same company that built the Hummer H2 for General Motors.
Walsh claims VPG's closure wasn't for a lack of business – the company's former CEO says it had about 2,300 vehicle orders, but simply lacked the capital to fulfill demand.
“We just couldn't get the capital to keep it going,” he said.
VPG closures comes about a month after federally funder Fisker Automotive laid of about 75 percent of its staff. Fisker was granted a $529 million loan from the DOE's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program, but those funds were frozen after Fisker drew down just $192 million.
John Walsh, the former CEO of VPG, confirmed to the Detroit Free Press that the company ceased operations in February. VPG, which produced the MV-1 commercial van, received $50 million from the U.S. Department of Energy because it planned to equip some of its vehicles with clean-burning natural gas engines.
VPG quietly stopped all operations earlier this year after it was cutoff by the DOE for failing to meet certain performance measures. VPG has not filed for bankruptcy as of this writing.
VPG began production of its MV-1 van in 2011 after winning government funding. The van, which was tailored for the transportation of those in wheelchairs, was built by AM General, the same company that built the Hummer H2 for General Motors.
Walsh claims VPG's closure wasn't for a lack of business – the company's former CEO says it had about 2,300 vehicle orders, but simply lacked the capital to fulfill demand.
“We just couldn't get the capital to keep it going,” he said.
VPG closures comes about a month after federally funder Fisker Automotive laid of about 75 percent of its staff. Fisker was granted a $529 million loan from the DOE's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program, but those funds were frozen after Fisker drew down just $192 million.
A box of rocks is smarter than the DOE.
Then again, it's not that the DOE is dumb, but rather it's corrupt.....giving out tax payer money to all cronies with connections, who can run a scam company.
05-09-2013, 01:03 PM
#3
Your government at work.
05-10-2013, 12:17 PM
#5
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There are car companies that already make natural gas vehicles.
I smell political payoff.
I smell political payoff.
05-13-2013, 05:59 AM
#6
Welcome to Olliewood
From what I understood, it wasn't VPG failing to deliver as much as it wasn't possible for them to do so. They were already backed up for demand and didn't have the capital to continue forward with production after their funding got cut.
To be fair if your selling point is being a handicap accessible vehicle, you can only take that so far.
To be fair if your selling point is being a handicap accessible vehicle, you can only take that so far.
05-13-2013, 06:27 AM
#7
Race Director
^ anyone with a good enough business plan can get financing outside of the gov't - you can have all of the orders in the world but if it doesn't make sense financially, no one will invest in that. This is the problem with the gov't getting in the middle of these deals. They spend the taxpayers' money on stuff that makes no sense financially. Solyndra, Fisker and a host of other "green" ideas just don't make sense financially - it makes sense to some tree huggers with an agenda. 
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05-13-2013, 02:28 PM
#9
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