We’ve been keeping our eyes on two Southern California alternative vehicle startups whose stories reflect the turbulent nature of the quest to viably create new vehicles.
A few months back, Coda, makers of a practical, conservative-looking electric four-door sedan, was forced to declare bankruptcy after about a year in business, due to the extremely high financial barrier to entry into the business of automobile design, manufacturing, and sales.
“After concluding a comprehensive review of our strategic options, the Board of Directors, management team and senior lending group have concluded that focusing on the Company’s energy storage business presents the best opportunity moving forward,” said Phil Murtaugh, Chief Executive Officer, CODA Holdings, Inc.
Before the bankruptcy we test drove the all-electric Coda sedan from below a showroom the company had shoehorned into the Century City Mall next to Beverly Hills. Even though Coda sedans are no longer available for test drives from the parking garage below the Century City Mall, for the sake of knowing about some EV history and marketing, we encourage taking a peek at the vehicle, along with others EVs that were available at the 2011 LA International Auto Show.
The CODA drive begins at 1:04 into our Family Car Productions video below, which is also featured on our YouTube channel thefamilycar.
Innovative Trexa is another Southern California electric vehicle manufacturing startup which shares a great five-letter name and both first and last letters with well-known EV maker Tesla.
Seth Seaberg, the founder of Trexa hasn’t mounted his modular wireless-control EV platform to any sedan or SUV body as of yet, but if you click on the company’s highlighted name or the picture of the Trexa platform, you will have seen him driving it mounted with a dune buggy body.
Trexa is keeping their operation small, seeking customers who can utilize an integrated modular wireless-control EV platform in their designs for future vehicles.
Coda is hopefully re-energized by their battery-centric focus.
If you run into Seth or any of the Trexa team, or Phil and the Coda folks, tell them Wayback from The Family Car Cousins sez hi.
My cousin/partner Carguy Keith Turner and me cover the green auto news beat, always trying to keep the green vehicle info we share with you clear. We offer definitions when acronyms are used. We focus on features important to families. And we add our own off-beat perspectives to keep things fun here on Green Family Car.
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