Marques speaking tomorrow, Can someone visit him and ask Qs?

[painfully hopeful]

This from the SDReader Events Calendar:

Marques McCammon, chief marketing officer for Aptera Motors, divulges "how they are launching a high-mileage, all-electric vehicle" for LIFE "senior learning group" in room 1068 (1pm). "Designer Mosquitoes and Homicide" examined by Chris Holmes, M.D., author and epidemiologist, discussing mosquito-borne diseases and craft of writing fiction (2:30pm). 760-721-8124.

Friday, Jan. 22 - 1 p.m.
Admission: Free

MiraCosta College One Barnard Drive Oceanside CA 92056

I cannot go, but thought some here might want to attend and get some Qs answered.

[painfully hopeful]

Information from reader is correct. apologies.

[DSC OFF]

What does malaria and the aptera have in common?

I guess they're both impossible to get in California.

I kid, I kid!

[jhm614]

What does malaria and the aptera have in common?

I guess they're both impossible to get in California.

I kid, I kid!


There's another joke in there too... but it's not quite coming to me. Maybe something like... so they asked a fiction writer to speak and, oh look, someone's going to talk about mosquitos, too! <insert rim shot here>

[SEGsby]

Ah, found the link to it:

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/events/2010/jan/22/14319/

[KarenRei]

This from the SDReader Events Calendar:

Marques McCammon, chief marketing officer for Aptera Motors, divulges "how they are launching a high-mileage, all-electric vehicle" for LIFE "senior learning group" in room 1068 (1pm). "Designer Mosquitoes and Homicide" examined by Chris Holmes, M.D., author and epidemiologist, discussing mosquito-borne diseases and craft of writing fiction (2:30pm). 760-721-8124.

Friday, Jan. 22 - 1 p.m.
Admission: Free

MiraCosta College One Barnard Drive Oceanside CA 92056

I cannot go, but thought some here might want to attend and get some Qs answered.

Oh god... I have something great that I would LOVE to see asked, but I need to check with someone first... oh, that would be so great; I would pay serious money to see his reaction ;)

Whoever is going -- please check this forum before you get there!

Update: Actually, if you're going, please PM me with your email.

[MarkTwain]

I could make it, what do you want me to ask Marques?

[KarenRei]

I could make it, what do you want me to ask Marques?

What question would I have *you* ask Marques?

Q: "How much am I paying you?"

Oh, and here's a followup question:

Q: "What, exactly, am I paying you for?"

[wcabdefense]

"Where did all the money go so quickly?"

"Has anyone seen the CFO recently?"

"Will you be entering PP6 or a secret, super-stealthy, image cloaking Aptera in the X-Prize?"

"Has anyone considered opening Investor Funding to the 4,000 initial (or handful remaining) Depositors, since the 10M dollar chunks are a bit difficult to find?"

[lapwing]

Then again why bother?

[gistmarrs]

We all knew that mark twain would be there.

[Antjel]

Is anyone going? I just saw this and I would have taken the day off. This sucks. Reaction or not it's a chance to drill and demand answers. I'm not even a reservation holder but if I was I can guarantee you I would be there grilling him.

[chijayhawker]

My question would be:

Is the lack of communication from Aptera due to your incompetance or due to a direct order from PW?

[wcabdefense]

We all knew that mark twain would be there.

Either MT will ask the hard questions, or control the Spin personally. You cannot really fence-sit with that. I would love to hear which way it goes. :animal0018:

[SEGsby]

I wants YouTube Video of it! :)

[DSC OFF]

There's another joke in there too... but it's not quite coming to me. Maybe something like... so they asked a fiction writer to speak and, oh look, someone's going to talk about mosquitos, too! <insert rim shot here>

HA! That's even better. Well done.

[KarenRei]

I don't know... MiraCosta (Community) College seems like a perfect fit for the Aptera team.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiraCosta_College

Julie Hatoff, who served as vice president for instructional services since 1983, was forced onto paid administrative leave Aug. 25, 2007 in connection with alleged fraud in the horticulture department that started the controversy at the college. She was later acquitted by the San Diego County District Attorney but retired instead of returning to work for MiraCosta.

This scandal, dubbed "Palmgate" by the college and the local media, had serious repercussions. On May 31, 2007, then President Victoria Muñoz Richart announced that one or more employees had been growing palm trees on campus and selling them for personal profit. Eileen Kraskouskas, dean of vocational education, was quickly forced into early retirement. She, like Hatoff, was acquitted by the San Diego County District Attorney. Horticulture professor Alleen Texeira was forced onto paid leave and ultimately pled to a felony of misusing approximately $300 of college funds.

Victoria Muñoz Richart was also the subject of another controversy. In June 2007, the board unanimously approved a settlement of almost $1.6 million in cash, wages and benefits to college President Victoria Muñoz Richart for her immediate resignation. Before the settlement, Richart reported death threats, and board President Charles Adams accused faculty members of scrawling the letters “KKK” on his home. Prior to her departure, Richart admitted to lying when she denied issuing an anoynmous negative press release about Hatoff on official college letterhead.

On October 8, 2008, the North County Times reported that: "The board's inability to get along has since been cited by a state panel that has warned the college it must improve in that area or risk losing its accreditation.".

[JustWilliam]

I don't know... MiraCosta (Community) College seems like a perfect fit for the Aptera team.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiraCosta_College

Oh SNAP! :doublethumbs:

(Terrible breech of respectable English and etiquette on my part- but it was my honest first reaction).

[evmavin]

This thread is from 08 and sounds very similar in content to some on here.. I find this very coincidental. Read down a bit.

http://mustangforums.com/forum/saleen-roush-and-boss-mustangs/481934-bye-bye-marques-m.html

Ed: Removed excess newline from link -- Karen

[Apt3448]

I'm sure all that felt really good, but pray do tell how that helps anything going anywhere. The history of that college is irrelevant at best, tendentious at worst.

I know Karen has given up hope, or so it seems, and as she knows more than most of us, so that really depresses me. Yet, I had hoped that by maintaining at least common decency we might get some tidbit, some morsel of info out of Marques speak. A hint about progress, perhaps. In stead we get more silliness on all sides.

Mr Twain, I have tried to give you a platform to say something, as everybody has the right to do. Yet you have given us nothing so far. Explain any of those 100 improvements, and you'll have a rapt audience. Explain the funding woes and we'll bitch and groan and think along. Talk about content, any content. The atmosphere here is a symptom, not a disease.

With respect to the management, my personal take is that (almost) running the company into the ground is plenty of reason to yell 'incompetence!'. The only way out of that is by showing both progress in development and a clear path forward financially. Heck, last year we have seen how greater minds than PW have almost run this country into the grounds by way of Wall-street. Mistakes are made all the time, and taking responsibility is part of the job. I'd like to distinguish between 'mistake were made' and questioning the motives of the management. So condescension is easy, but misplaced.

I see how Fisker is getting a boat of money, how Tesla is doing OK... None of those companies have a better claim than Aptera, in my estimation, so I fully expect Aptera management to get on with it. If they can do it, so can you. Keep those newsletters coming and talk to us on the forum, honestly - not by proxy or anonymity. Restore some credibility, not by whining about the tone here, but by showing content.

And Karen, others, for now, like it or not, PW cum suis are the management of Aptera. We're better than this.

[KarenRei]

For the record, I didn't have anyone raise what I was thinking about re. Marques.

And I love that link, evmaven. ;)

[palmer_md]

I'm sure all that felt really good, but pray do tell how that helps anything going anywhere. The history of that college is irrelevant at best, tendentious at worst.

I know Karen has given up hope, or so it seems, and as she knows more than most of us, so that really depresses me. Yet, I had hoped that by maintaining at least common decency we might get some tidbit, some morsel of info out of Marques speak. A hint about progress, perhaps. In stead we get more silliness on all sides.

Mr Twain, I have tried to give you a platform to say something, as everybody has the right to do. Yet you have given us nothing so far. Explain any of those 100 improvements, and you'll have a rapt audience. Explain the funding woes and we'll bitch and groan and think along. Talk about content, any content. The atmosphere here is a symptom, not a disease.

With respect to the management, my personal take is that (almost) running the company into the ground is plenty of reason to yell 'incompetence!'. The only way out of that is by showing both progress in development and a clear path forward financially. Heck, last year we have seen how greater minds than PW have almost run this country into the grounds by way of Wall-street. Mistakes are made all the time, and taking responsibility is part of the job. I'd like to distinguish between 'mistake were made' and questioning the motives of the management. So condescension is easy, but misplaced.

I see how Fisker is getting a boat of money, how Tesla is doing OK... None of those companies have a better claim than Aptera, in my estimation, so I fully expect Aptera management to get on with it. If they can do it, so can you. Keep those newsletters coming and talk to us on the forum, honestly - not by proxy or anonymity. Restore some credibility, not by whining about the tone here, but by showing content.

And Karen, others, for now, like it or not, PW cum suis are the management of Aptera. We're better than this.

Very nice post. Thank you. I agree that the current Aptera management has an opportunity here to really show us something. I hope they can turn it around. I hope they decided to use the deposit holders as arms of their marketing department, I hope they come here and use us as the resource we are. We can be a very good sounding board if they decided to use it that way. Sure they are taking a beating here right now, but that is because of the way things were handled this past year. That can all turn around if they start communicating and "using" us to their advantage. My hope is that they start asking us for help. If they asked us to help them get funding by giving us specific people to write to promoting the product, I'm sure they could get hundreds of letters written in their favor. Ask us to write to the gov't to help grease the wheels for the funding they are desperately in need of, and see what happens. If they come here openly and honestly and ask for our views on things, they will be surprised how well educated this group is and how informative our views might be for their design process. Then can decide to use the information or not, but it would go a long way to repairing the hurt feelings if they would just start communicating. Tell us something, ask us something, do something.

[aptera1213]

I hope communication increases. I hope we see progress on the car.

If so, I'm sure we can work with this management.

At the same time, history has shown that management can and does change.

Why should be think this management group is permanent when the last group was removed so quickly?

I've learned not to get attached to any personnel, just the car.

Gavin

[Steve Martin]

Did anyone make it and ask questions? I assume not since no one has posted.

[byplug]

Did anyone make it and ask questions? I assume not since no one has posted.

Hi Steve, I made it to the presentation. It was very good. Very professional. It answered some questions on many levels. I am writing a detailed piece to post on my news web byplug.com in an hour or so... and will post more information here when it is done. I asked Marques McCammon for a picture and he said that it would be out in a Newsletter in about a week. He did say that I could post it and "scoop" him. Note that it is the new body, assembled on a plywood stand. ..more later. So here it is:

http://www.byplug.com/aptera_eva.jpg

[Steve Martin]

Hi Steve, I made it to the presentation. It was very good. Very professional. It answered some questions on many levels. I am writing a detailed piece to post on my news web byplug.com in an hour or so... and will post more information here when it is done.

Thank you for the write up. Well done.

[SEGsby]

Great, positive news. Thanks Byplug! Looking forward to your report and the next newsletter from Aptera... :jumping0007:

[evmavin]

Great, positive news. Thanks Byplug! Looking forward to your report and the next newsletter from Aptera... :jumping0007:


It's on his site and the basic message is there may be one car built before the end of this year and may be a high ramp up in 2011. Basically the same yearly Aptera statement, but it's nice he took the time to go.

[aptera1213]

Thanks byplug

look forward to hitting your blog and getting some news

the shell looks good, but obviously ramp up is not happening yet

still having even just one production intent model running the roads will be a good thing to see...hopefully you can get some spy shots of it when it hits the roads in vista.

Gavin

[Antjel]

Thanks byplug

still having even just one production intent model running the roads will be a good thing to see...hopefully you can get some spy shots of it when it hits the roads in vista.

Gavin

I have family in Carlsbad and Oceanside, if one is on the road there will be pic's oh yes there will be pic's!

[Yerington]

Re: Aptera Marketing

I realize the recent frustration, I've had it too, but I must say that I've been having an email conversation with Marques and he really is addressing some the needs posted here. He also daily reads this blog. All good news to me. I won't post the whole conversation we had (because I was a bit less professional than he was). But he handled my responses like a champ. And I''ll say it here - I was impressed.

Still Locked in! And still a fan of Aptera.
:aptera:

His email from yesterday:
:logo:

-------------------------------------------------
Marques McCammon to Matt Yerington
show details 5:34 PM (21 hours ago)

Matt,

Thanks again and I appreciate your opinions and perspective on things. And as far as you comments about me, I am a big boy, and I have been doing this for a while so I can take it. We do realize that we have a great deal of support in the community. We appreciate it. We also realize you have all been waiting a long time. That burden falls on us on many levels. We created the expectation, so we need to support it.

As for the forum, yes I read it every week. Always have. So, I am well aware of the frustrations that exist among some of the participants. Though there is frustration, there is also a lot of love for the company. Our hope is that as they learn more about the great work that the team is doing it will calm their frustrations. We are doing to making the product better.

As to the newsletter, I wonder if you have given it a look recently. We are not talking about new hires. We are talking about the business.

You commented on your deposit. It’s in an escrow account so unless our merchant bank is going under (not likely) it’s safe, and available to you at any point that you decide you want it back. Of course we would like you to stay, but that is your choice. If you are still uneasy, I will tell you definitively that we do not need deposit money to run our business and it is not even available to our operations if we did. We are okay.

As to your suggestion on the conference call, not exactly, but we are planning something similar. Stay tuned.

As to you other suggested updates…I hear you. We have been planning a town hall, and that will come soon. Unfortunately however, we don’t have the liberty of being as naked about the business as so many people seem to want us to be. Yes, have we been too closed? Sure I can accept that. But, I have seen more than one person suggest that we should talk about our fundraising. In fact, one person even went as far as to suggest that we should offer commentary as though we are speaking to executive leadership or the board. I am sorry but that’s just not practical. So my commitment to you, and the community at large, is that we will give you more information, but we will do so prudently.

Yes web updates come slow. That is mostly because the majority of the marketing budget has been surrendered to support engineering and product development. It is simple math. Without a product, there is nothing to sell so prioritizing spending is pretty easy. This is all a part of a start up.

So in closing, I appreciate your offer and your commentary. I am sure that you have many more good ideas. You are always welcome to share.

All the best,

Marques

[Edited to be legible for the mostly-sighted: SEGsby]

[KarenRei]

Huh. Not enough marketing budget to even support web updates. And without a product there's nothing to sell.

Then you're getting paid for.... ?

[KarenRei]

Also, does any of this sound familiar to anyone?

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2008/09/saleen-says-auction-is-not-a-fire-sale.html


Saleen says auction is not a fire sale
September 4, 2008 | 5:14 pm

As Mark Twain might say — if he’d been in the business of building high-performance automobiles — news of Saleen Inc.’s demise appears to be greatly exaggerated.

Raptor_03 Last month, websites aimed at specialty car buffs were circulating reports of an auction of Saleen property that smelled suspiciously like the kind of fire sale that accompanies a bankruptcy filing. Besides the usual cache of chairs, desks, filing cabinets and other office essentials, the auction catalog for the niche automaker included machine tools, car parts and — gasp! — 20 vehicles.

Saleen exec Marques McCammon, while acknowledging that his firm is dealing with some of the same woes as their larger car-making brethren, insists the company isn't on the brink of insolvency. In a recent memo, McCammon ticked off a list of current and upcoming Saleen projects, including a refreshed four-vehicle lineup for 2009, launch of the new Racecraft performance marque and continued development of its S5S Raptor supercar, above.

“Now, I may not be the brightest guy, but I would guess that you don’t make these kind of investments/announcements if you are planning on closing your doors in a month,” McCammon wrote.

In fact, he hinted in an interview Thursday that the other rumor floating around about Saleen — that the company may be a bidder for Chrysler’s Viper sports car business — may be true.

Naturally, Marques left shortly after making that statement, and then:

http://www.themustangnews.com/forums/fomoco-discussion/106-saleen-inc-sale.html

IRVINE, CA -- November 7, 2008 -- SOEC/Saleen Forums News -- Automotive News reported today that specialty car builder Saleen Automotive is seeking a buyer. The company has experienced trying times in an industry segment that has seen slow sales due to high gas prices and tougher financing.

"The [HPA] board has set a tentative timetable to receive preliminary indications of interest from prospective parties over the next two months and plans on finalizing a transaction in early 2009," reports Automotive News.

Saleen Automotive has suffered from internal struggles in recent years. While founder Steve Saleen and other partners continue to own a substantial interest in the company, controlling interest was sold to investment group Hancock Park Associates in 2004 as part of the cash infusion needed to expand facilities for the Ford GT program. There was a surprisingly high turnover of their own CEOs who were brought from within the firm, but from outside the industry. Reportedly heads butted over the years, and eventually Steve Saleen left the company in May of 2007 with several key engineers. The three Saleen children, Clint, Sean and Molly, left just a few months later. Saleen's wife Liz left the company in 2006.

Saleen Automotive's CEO Paul Wilbur left in August of 2008, followed shortly by its General Manager Marques McCammon -- both from ASC -- and both ended up in a green car company in San Diego County. September saw additional departures of upper management as well as throughout the ranks as vehicle production stalled.

The sale of the company may be a tough order in these challenging times, as auto sales in general are slowed as financing is tight. Paint and partial assembly of the Dodge Viper are done at Saleen Automotive, but the uncertain future of that program complicates matters as Chrysler LLC consideres selling that Dodge brand.

Saleen Automotive had been operated in California for nearly 25 years, all production had been moved to Michigan in 2007.

Marques -- or "The King of Bling" as he was known -- is about as trustworthy as a Wylie E. Coyote Free Birdseed Stand. Seriously, go search his name for his statements in late 2008. And take a look at what people who were used to him and Paul back at Saleen have to say about them.

[Grendal]

Marques -- or "The King of Bling" as he was known -- is about as trustworthy as a Wylie E. Coyote Free Birdseed Stand. Seriously, go search his name for his statements in late 2008. And take a look at what people who were used to him and Paul back at Saleen have to say about them.

What I don't understand is why the board/investors haven't gotten rid of Paul, Marques, and company. They can't look at what has occured and thought that under Paul's watch that Aptera is anything but a failure. Sure the concept is still great and maybe they like some or all of the changes that were initiated by Paul and Co. But they still have not achieved much and have definitely slowed what was potentially a sensation (huge moneymaker for them) down to a mildly interesting niche vehicle (little to no $$).

The only thing that has even a remote possibilty of bringing them back into the spotlight is winning the automotive x-prize. And most of the sensation that will bring was just killed by the fact that the AXP is going to happen behind closed doors. Whoever thought that was a good idea should also be fired.

[KarenRei]

Paul's team is the industry "professionals". That's what they were hired for. That's why they get paid so much money. And besides, he's right about to close a big round of funding!... just like he's been for the past year and a quarter. It's almost like hydrogen cars -- just five years away! Or fusion power -- just thirty years away!

Paul hasn't been able to stay at the top of so many companies (until they collapse) by being inept at cozying up to board members. Just ask anyone from Saleen.

[IanO]

Did anyone ask Marques about the state of the DOE loan application? Last we heard, the remaining employees were all working on the second draft of it, but had not actually resubmitted it.