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Carver Europe Goes Bankrupt – Manufacturer of Tilting Three Wheeler

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Carver Europe Goes Bankrupt
Carver Europe Goes Bankrupt

Carver Europe, makers of the really cool tilting three wheel car, the Carver One, has gone bankrupt. It seems, though, Advanced Technology Licensing Company, which was formed to sell the tilting technology, is still in business, so the technology itself may live on and be used by other manufacturers in their own vehicles.

If you remember this video, (no longer available) the Carver got a big thumbs up from the guys at Top Gear for the really fun ride, but commercialization of the car was a problem. A major deal was evidently supposed to take place in May and fell through, which put the company into bankruptcy.

Got the tip from our comments. Thanks!

Link: AD Economie
Link: Yahoo

Comments

  3. I saw it demoed on TV and what a rig it was but it was aimed at the wrong market, if they had made it so the average guy could get one it would have taken off big time but they didn’t and it didn’t,

  4. What a shame. Very innovative, and I’d be very much more likely to get one of these than either a Smart or a Spyder. To me it’d be the perfect commuter vehicle. I only need to seat myself, I want motorcycle-ish mileage and handling, but heat/wipers/roof for those inevitable Northeast springs. Here’s hoping someone picks it up and runs with it, or it becomes available in kit form.

  5. Once upon a time I used to see my banker to buy one… he gived me the money, and two weeks later the carver was 10K€ more expensive… so I didn’ buy it…
    Bankrupt ? Well done !

  6. If I had sufficient money for such a toy, i would buy an Ecomobile from http://www.peraves.ch

    More motobike, more power, more show. The fastest Ecomobile (turbo) are “Porschekiller”, as we in germany says, with a topspeed of nearly 200mph.

  8. well i dont want to sound naysarayish ! but its a bad design, closed cabins with fore/aft seating are an antisocial non starter and 3 wheelers should never ever have a single wheel at the front, do it like the brillliant piaggo and it makes sense this one is nonsense.
    a better soloution for this concept in terms of practical social fun would be the T-rex which doesnt lean

  9. Without adding a lot more electro/gyro-mechanics/hydraulics wizardry, leaning vehicles would seem to have to keep the variable driver/passenger/load weight close to the vehicle center line. Otherwise how to deal with driver-only use with a side-by-side driver/passenger arrangement, to name just one example of possible passenger/load weight distributions. I’m sure it can be done, but at what cost and complication?

    Non- leaning 3-wheelers still tend to embody all the inherent worst handling characteristics of both single and dual track vehicles, and few of the positive ones of either. I agree the Piaggio MP-3 concept is the best handling 3-wheel development I’ve seen to date, but the lack of cab/amenities and fore/aft seating leaves its potential appeal with the moto crowd, unlikely to attract many drivers from their cars.

    Honda tried the same 2-rear/single front wheel with the tilting “body” layout in its scooter line decades ago. It may have been caught up in the 3-wheel ATV ban, but more likely the functional issues and neither-fish-no-fowl nature of it was what led to poor sales, and it being pulled from the line fairly quickly. In the day, saw one sitting in a Honda dealer showroom for nearly a year, never saw one on the road, have seen one (perhaps the same one?) at local vintage races and rallies. Maybe Carver and Advanced Tech Licensing Co should have looked at some moto-history before committing big bucks…

  12. TED SAID IT BEST, THEY WENT FOR THE WRONG KIND OF PEOPLE. WITH PRICE AT 48,000 US . THIS WAS DOOMED FORM THE START. BUT IN THER DEFENCE. THE PRESIDENT OF CARVER SAID THEY BEEN TALKING WITH LARGE A COMPANY. TO BRING THE PER UNIT COST DOWN. I WONDER IF THAT WAS THE DEAL IN MAY THAT FAILED.

  13. What a fantastic product with a real place in the market, price was a factor. Too expensive for the everyday commuter. Hope that there is something that will take over, at the right price, from where the BMW C1 left off.

  14. I have just leased a smart car for £100/month – I have been reliably informed that it will give me 65-70mpg – what else could I get that will allow me to commute 50+ miles a day in the comfort/dry at this fuel consumption and this cost other than a motorcycle. I can’t believe a car manufacturer hasn’t woken up to the fact that petrol will be £1.20/litre this summer and only going up (look under Peak Oil on Wikipedia if you don’t believe me) – I am saving the cost of the vehicle every year in petrol if I compare it to an avarage small family cars – but if the likes of a tilting trike like the carver was available (and I can’t see why the unit cost could get down to the same a s a smart), I would have jumped at it…

  15. pabs,
    fore and aft has been an accepted and generally functional – NOT antisocial vehicular configuration for over 100 years. It’s called a motorcycle and I’ve had plent of effective social time on one… not to mention the social time after being on one 🙂

    As far as this vehicle goes, they got the form factor and they got the notion of fun with less hazard but they didn’t sell them in America that I know of and the price was all over the map while they were around so… you got to reach the right market and you have to make it easy to buy your product.

  16. I am developing a similar machine. However my idea is different than this and easier to control. does not need computer technology to control the tilt. More to come later.