Carbon Motors : Blog

Sponsorship of the Pure Justice Tour

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

We have been inundated with folks wanting to lend their support to the effort of building the world’s first purpose-built law enforcement patrol vehicle! In some cases it has been because of a strong desire to support the country’s law enforcement First Responders’homeland security efforts. Others have been driven by pure patriotism – a desire to support a new American automaker and show the world that we can indeed be competitive in the industrial sector, all while creating thousands of new American jobs. Others are just car buffs who can’t wait to see the Machine come alive!

The team at Carbon Motors has been pondering ways to channel all this energy, enthusiasm and gracious support. Over the coming weeks we will be rallying the nation to help sponsor the 2008 Pure Justice Tour just like a concert tour or a racing team. When the Carbon E7 demonstration vehicle is done later in the year, we will be taking the vehicle around the country, and sponsorship would be a great way to include everyone in the effort. And for those of you law enforcement officials that have already volunteered your time to support the tour, thank you!

If the nation can rally to support politicians in a historical presidential race, we are sure Americans (Independent, Republican, or Democrat) will want to support a noble effort that will provide our nation’s first responders the equipment they need, create thousands of new jobs, and do so in an environmentally responsible manner – not a future promise, but right now. Check back with us as we’ll be adding the sponsorship capability to the Web site soon!

Location, Location, Location! Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Where will Carbon Motors locate its headquarters, research & development, production center, sales, etc.? Now that the word is out that Carbon Motors will be unveiling the E7 demonstration vehicle to the nation sometime this year (cross fingers), we have been taking some interesting meetings. Given the $3 billion positive economic impact and 10,000 new direct and indirect American jobs that the Carbon Campus will generate over a ten year period, it’s no surprise that so many people are interested to see where we will end up calling home.

The rumor mill is churning, too. Some reporters have been guessing that we will put the Carbon Campus in Metro Atlanta somewhere – perhaps even in Clayton County at Ft. Gillem (U.S. Military Base). Others have suggested Athens, Georgia. And yes, every time we stop in Savannah, it is always ‘boy, do we have some land to show you!”. And yet others have asked about the possibility of a brownfield site in Atlanta itself (Fulton County – seems like Ford and GM just left town having closed their respective plants)?

When I met with Secretary Tom Ridge (former head U.S. Dept of Homeland Security – he’s just joined our Advisory Board), he said that if he was still governor of Pennsylvania he would do everything in his power to get us to move there. Interesting.

Stay tuned.

Anticipation

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

4:00am. Can’t sleep. Jump out of bed. Today is the first day I get to drive what everyone’s been calling “The Machine in Black”. I can’t believe it. Roll call isn’t until 5:45am but I can’t wait.

Sergeant throws me my “keys” and I run out to the car. As I approach I hit the big red button on the carbon fiber fob and it roars to life. I notice the seats, steering wheel, and mirrors adjust to my settings.

I open the front passenger door and secure my gear in the specially designed seat. I run through my vehicle inspection checklist before sliding into a perfect seat surrounded by a cockpit that would make a fighter jet pilot proud. It is a crisp morning and the heated seat takes the bite out of the air for now. But I know the air conditioning blowing from the vent above and behind me will be most welcome this sunny afternoon when I begin roasting. I key up the mic with the button on the steering wheel and call “in service”. I put it in reverse and the backup camera turns on, preventing me from running over one of the midnight watch crew bragging about last night’s “big” arrest.

Running traffic. Integrated speed detection system locks on an approaching vehicle – target speed of 88 lights up in the heads-up display. Throw it into drive. Stomp on the accelerator. Launch. Pinned to the back of the seat. 30, 60, lights, 90, 110. As we slow to a stop the automatic license plate recognition device checks for 28s and 29s. After making contact with a violator, dispatch calls a cover unit for me and asks if my mic is secure. Adrenaline rush. Returns show felony warrant for registered owner vehicle. ID provided matches. Confirm warrant. Cover unit on scene. Warrant confirmed. I step out of the vehicle, draw my weapon, and take cover behind the bullet resistant door. Felon safely taken into custody.

Open the rear-hinged coach door and secure the suspect in the rear passenger compartment. I roll the integrated interior video and audio surveillance – streaming video directly to dispatch. Typical meth addict reeks like a size 12 gym shoe lost in the back of the locker room. No worries. Thankfully the rear compartment is completely sealed off from my cockpit. As I transport the subject to jail, I see him mouthing off in the rear view mirror. For my humor, I turn the intercom on to see what poetry he is spouting. Subject is freely confessing his past transgressions, the court admissible audio and video of which is automatically pinged to the mainframe as I pull into the sally port. After booking the subject, I return to my car, pull the drain plug from the rear floorpan and hose out the stench. Back on the street. Stench left behind. Bad guy in jail. Hands wrapped on the steering wheel. Code call. Lights, sirens, launch. Man, I love my job!