I recently learned of Janus Motorcycles and they have been an inspiration to me across multiple dimensions. Not only do they make a cool bike, but even cooler is the way they make it. Aside from the engines, the bikes are made mostly by hand with almost all of the parts sourced and/or fabricated within 50 miles of the factory in Goshen, Indiana.
I've learned a little of the story behind the company from their website and an episode of Jay Leno's Garage, and I am hungry to learn more, but what I've learned so far resonates with me unlike any "startup" story I've heard in a long time. Instead of repeating what's been said I recommend consuming the links above.
This has made me think my latest crazy car company idea might not be as crazy as I thought it was (or at the very least, I'm not alone in the asylum). Here's the idea:
Recently several cities (ours included) have made UTV's (and some other recreational vehicles like four-wheelers, etc.) street legal. As a result these vehicles have become very popular and we see them on the roads around here every day. I've been unable to find a precise legal definition of what qualifies as a UTV, but aside from off-road capabilities, they have a lot in common with the citicars which were introduced in the 1970's in response to the fuel crisis. Small cars designed for low-speed commuting in and around cities, most of them powered by electric motors or high-MPG ICE.
Citicars were considered a failure and the companies making them went away because at the time most Americans were not willing to settle for their compromises compared to full-sized vehicles, but the popularity of UTV's, and their similarity in terms of size and performance to citicars makes me wonder if the time is right for a revival?
The other thing that is attractive about starting a company to make UTV's is that they are much simpler to build and test compared to full-sized automobiles, so the idea of cottage-scale manufacturing (at least initially) isn't entirely far-fetched, and learning about the Janus story made it feel even less so.
If you're a regular reader of this blog you know that this isn't the first time I've talked about starting a car company, but this might be a more incremental path than starting-out with regular full-sized automobiles. Much of the same ideas apply, but scaled-down and simplified to produce something simpler and less regulated.
