Spokane electric car aimed at narrow niche

SPOKANE — Congestion, oil dependency and pollution are broad concerns for Rick Woodbury.

But when the Spokane resident thought about a solution, he decided to narrow it down — 39 inches narrow, to be exact. That’s the width of the Tango, the extremely compact, emissions-free electric car he’s invented with his son, Bryan.

By Lisa Heyamoto
Seattle Times business reporter

Despite its looks, this car is no golf cart. It can accelerate like a sports car, going from 0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds.

The Woodburys have started a company, Commuter Cars http://www.commutercars.com/ . The prototype’s ready for replication. And they’ve received some high-profile support from U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Spokane, who has test-driven the car in Spokane and on Capitol Hill.

"I really enjoyed the experience," Nethercutt said. "I think this is a potential source of relief to congestion and commuter ease, but I also think there’s a fuel efficiency side to the Tango that’s deserving of consideration and applause."

Now everything hinges on the funding, and the selling.

Woodbury, who also runs a typesetting business, said he already has received a $300,000 loan from a childhood friend and is in talks with other potential investors.

Early buyers may have to assemble their own battery-powered Tangos, but Woodbury said that can be done in about eight hours. That will help keep the price down and get the business rolling.

He hopes to eventually sell preassembled cars for under $19,000 and possibly as low as $10,000.

So far, production is strictly by hand, but the Woodburys hope orders for the Tango will allow them to set up a larger-scale operation than the warehouse where they work now. The father and son hope to continue building the cars in Spokane.

Electric cars have been swinging on the popularity pendulum for years, generally attracting more attention as gas prices jump.

While gasoline-electric hybrid cars may become more of a mainstream option, some analysts say the future of electric cars remains doubtful.

But both General Motors and Ford recently scrapped ventures into the electric-car market, saying the cars didn’t prove economically feasible. Ford’s model never got off the ground, and GM’s was "a dead flop," according to David Healy, an auto analyst with Burnham Securities.

"There’s just not enough storage capacity (in the batteries) to compete with a gas-powered car," he said. "The industry, in terms of saving gas and reducing emissions, is in the near term going more in the direction of hybrids."

But the two-seater Tango isn’t meant to replace the family sedan. "This isn’t the car you take your family out to the country in; it’s the car you drive to work and back," Woodbury said, citing 22 miles as the average round-trip commute.

Able to travel up to 80 miles on a charge, the car is envisioned by Woodbury as a nonpolluting commuter vehicle that will conserve highway real estate. Skinnier than some motorcycles, the Tango takes up half the space of a regular car and can legally park perpendicular to the curb.

In California, for example, lane-splitting is legal for motorcycles, and two Tangos could share a lane. In Washington, a Tango can legally cruise in the car-pool lane, he said.

And much like a cellphone, you can recharge the car overnight.

Woodbury sees the minuscule model as the future and he said a high-performance motor will help the Tango stand out among homegrown electric models and small-scale operations.

He said the cartoonish car can smoke a Dodge Viper at a stoplight and can reach 124 mph.

Woodbury also has patented a ballast system that uses the weight of the 25 batteries to keep the narrow car from tipping on tight corners.

"It’s safer, it’s easier — everything about it just makes you feel better when you drive it," he said.

For added safety, it’s equipped with a racing-regulation roll cage. Weighing 3,050 pounds, about the same as a Toyota Camry, the Tango won’t give drivers a feeling of being bullied by larger vehicles, Woodbury said.

"We just went overkill to make sure we had the safest car," he said.

The idea for the Tango came to Woodbury in the late 1970s while he idled in Los Angeles traffic. He moved to Spokane in 1992 and started his car company in 1998.

While he hopes for the money to jump-start his business, he doesn’t expect to get rich. "We’re not in it for the money," Woodbury said. "We just want to change the world."

Lisa Heyamoto: 206-464-2149 or [email protected].

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company

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