Visit to the factory

[eth3l]

I was lucky enough to spend the afternoon at the ORIGINAL Vetor factory at 404 N.Wilmington.

It was fantastic spending the afternoon with Mr. weigert. I was lucky enough to FINALLY be able to sit in a W8. A dream come true.

I also learned a few secrets. . .

3!

[Jay!]

Wow, awesome man! Take any pics?

And welcome to AF!!!

[eth3l]

Thanks for the welcome

No, I did not get pictures. I went as a fan and a possible investor in Aquajet. Further, Gerald would not have allowed photos.

I really cant tell you enough how BAD ASS the factory was, and how unbelievably genuine and cool Weigert was.

Keep an eye out for him in the coming years . . .

[eth3l]

updated profile, etc. test

[vectorfreak]

BS!!!!


Welcome to the forum, Mr. Weigert.

lol

[vectorclub]

I was at the Vector Supercars/Avtech Motors/ Aqau Jet factory and I cannot say "Bad Ass" is how I would describe it. Wiegert is an interesting man, but there is nothing special about their warehouses. I would say your excitement for the cars made you forget there is nothing special about that place. It looks like most other warehouses.

Those warehouses are special only from a historic standpoint. The 1990s Bugatti EB110 factories were special. Marble floors and everything was "top notch." At least that was what was reported by many. It was also one major reason they ran out of money so quickly. Maybe, if they had held off on the fancy offices and executive perks, then they would have had money to survive longer.

If you are a serious investor, then I suggest you do your homework before you invest. Limited production car companies have an extremely high failure rate. Panoz, Mosler, and Callaway are fighting to make a profit. Developing cars is costly and a real production run is a challenge. Steve Saleen is fighting hard to get his S7 into full production. Saleen has 20 years of constant manufacturing behind him, plus Hidden Creek Industries backing him, but the challenge of producing a super car is still hard for him. Just imagine the challenge Wiegert faces after not producing any cars for nearly 10 years.

Wiegert is famous for taking on long odds. The American Super Car market is tight. People with money to burn have many places to put that extra cash. I would love to see a side-by-side comparison between the new Lambo, Ferrari Modena, Porsche 911 Turbo, Saleen S7, Callaway C12, Corvette Z06, Mosler MT900 and the Avtech. Just the Avtech versus Mosler would be an interesting fight. From what I have seen, I would bet on the Mosler MT900 winning.

I know Wiegert, or at least his supporters read these forums, so maybe they would go for some PR and challenge Mosler. Let Car & Driver set up the showdown. It is just a thought. There is no slander or liable in this posting, just opinion. Since these are discussion boards, you can write your own response to anything you see here.

Anyone reading this is encouraged to do your own research into the history of Vector Aeromotive and/or Gerald Wiegert. Beware that you will find good info and bad info. Some people have extreme bias for or against Wiegert. Some people get lost in emotion when they speak or write. Vector history would make a good made for TV movie. While doing my research, I found a lot of finger pointing going on. Wiegert blames Vector Aeromotive managers and Indonesians, while they blame him for the failure of Vector.

Here is a direct quote from Wiegert as seen in June 1990 issue of Automobile magazine, "You'd think you'd be supported by your own media. You'd think they wouldn't shoot themselves into he foot trying to destroy an entrepreneur who could provide them with the material and feature-story opportunities that grace their publications. Every month it's Porsche this, Ferrari that, Lamborghini that. Next month, it's Porsche, Ferrari. Then Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini. Once in a while they throw in a Corvette just to give themselves a little bit of balance. But you never see too much in the way of true entrepreneurial product. They don't encourage that. Most publications have this attitude that, until it's proven, until it's being marketed, until it has passed all of the regulations, it isn't even valid or real. That doesn't make any sense to me. I'm sick of that sh*t. I want to give American magazines something to be proud of, so that they aren't always writing about European super cars or Japanese ones, raving about those cars sometimes unjustly, maybe only because of the advertising they buy. I don't have $20,000 to buy full-page ads. but one day I will. Isn't that good enough?"

First off, I know many publications in the early 1990s were showing cars by small niche market companies that did not advertise in magazines. The Vector W8 got as much ink or more then the Jaguar XJ220, Callaway Corvette and Bugatti EB110 (all cars built around the same time as the article above).

To expect publishers to write about every car that may never make it to market due to failure to meet safety regulations or to find funding is too much to ask. People who read magazines and newspapers give creditability to those companies in these publications. Good publishers don't want to give an unproven product or company creditability. If that company fails, then people blame publishers for making the failed company look good. The dream is journalist do not just write the hype feed to them by companies. I hope that when I read a review of a company that the publisher believes in what they write. If Car & Driver would have wrote the Yugo is great, then I would have thought about a Yugo. Obviously after I drove one, I would not think the Yugo is great. I would also quit buying Car & Driver magazine.

Just like, if I was an investor and I was ready to hand over $500,000 of my hard earned money, I would want to know everything about the company I am investing in. This would include dramatic battles, such as in 1993 with Vector and Gerald Wiegert. Hiring armed guards and changing the locks on the warehouses is not how most CEOs deal with being fired. Again, this is all documented in newspapers, magazines, and by TV news from 1993. The LA Times articles are online.

Secondly, Wiegert kept saying in his PR videos and press releases that his W8s would outlast the life of their owner. Implying that the W8 was a very high quality care that would not give the usual issues associated with owning an exotic car. This was not true. I have spoken with a few W8 owners. Imagine if Car & Driver would have backed such a statement. Not even Rolls Royce made statements like that.

I could go on, but the point here is the media should not be just printing out the hype or PR companies put out. There are magazines that do write about very small entrepreneur efforts. There is no doubt in my mind that manufactures that advertise in a magazine do stand a much better chance of being written about. This is where public awareness needs to go up.

Think about reading a movie review about Fox Produced Movie, written by Fox New Service reviewer. Do you think the reviewer might fear for his job if he gives a bad review to a Fox Movie? I would say the thought could cross their mind. Has it been proven, I doubt it. It would take a brave writer to confess being pressured by a publisher to write a nice review about something they did not like.

Those who read this, should know that I have no financial or legal connections to Vector or Gerald Wiegert. I did attempt to write a story about Wiegert for California CEO magazine. I had fought to get a cover slot for the story, but after a couple meetings with the editors, it was ruled out. As the publishing date closed in, Gerald Wiegert asked about the story. When my editor told him it was 90% positive and 10% negative he fired off a 15 page fax threatening the publisher of a lawsuit. This basically killed the story. I have no idea if it will ever see the light of day.

It seems kind of nuts to me that anyone would threaten lawsuit before they see the final article published. The article was very meek compared to this. I would say most people would not call this very tough. The impression given to me by Wiegert's actions is that he wants to control the press. It could be he fears his past making investors fear working with him. Vector Aeromotive burned up millions of dollars under Wiegert's leadership and I know of no investor who recovered their losses. I have not seen anything to show me Aquajet is a successful business yet. Success being defined as making good profits on a regular basis.

Gerald Wiegert has designed some very stylish cars. David Kostka has done a great job making the designs live. I have not posted or written some of the very harsh words people told me about Wiegert. I did not even touch the drive chain for W8 #012 game played by Wiegert. (If you are reading this Jerry, you know what I am talking about).

I have no ill will towards Wiegert. The article I wrote not being published does not mean much to me. I had grown up admiring the W2 and W8. In the magazines, they looked so amazing. After seeing some W8s in person, I was disappointed. What I do love is the history. Vector history is filled with drama.

If Wiegert does get production of new car going again and it proves to be a solid car, then I would be the first to write to everyone I could about the great car Gerald Wiegert has brought to car lovers around the world. At this moment, I do not hold much hope a new car from Wiegert reaching real production. The quality of cars is jumping up every year. The cost of developing a high quality car is very expensive. When Chrysler developed the Viper it spent $100 million dollars. I would be curious to see what Mosler spent on developing the MT900. Koeingsegg will show how good of a car a very small niche market car builder can build in todays market. Check the November 2001 issue of Car and Driver to learn more about them.

I would be shocked if the Avtech could hold its own gets most competitors. I would not doubt there are some buyers who would pay the estimated $200,000 (likely to be more, in my opinion) for an Avtech, but I would not say there is enough to make Vector Super cars or Avtech Motors a strong investment for investors.

Anyone reading this should know this was written without doing much checking for grammar issues. Forgive me if this is a rough posting to read through. These are my opinions and do not reflect the views of this site or my publishers. This site is a great example of freedom of speech. Just don't believe everything you read. Do your own research and never beleive everything you are told or see in the media.

My article may never get published, but I enjoyed seeing the reality of my teen age dreams. I may not have Vectors at the top of my dream car list anymore, but the story is amazing. Best of luck to all.

[eth3l]

Dude -

I was excited to go there. I support US Supercars. I especially support Weigert. If anything I would invest in him. Not the car. Not the Jet Bike, But Him: Gerald Weigert.

Because I believe in him, and his causes, and his engineering capabilities.

IF I devided to invest in him . . .

Otherwise I was just excited to be in that place. very sentimental and emotional for me.

Thanks for your opinions.

PS - I'd take a W8 anyday

[Gunman]

Originally posted by vectorclub
Just the Avtech versus Mosler would be an interesting fight. From what I have seen, I would bet on the Mosler MT900 winning.

I know Wiegert, or at least his supporters read these forums, so maybe they would go for some PR and challenge Mosler. Let Car & Driver set up the showdown. It is just a thought.

Actually Car and Driver did a supercar shootout last year, and I believe they plan to keep doing one. To get in, you had to be invited, which makes me curious if Wiegert's Avtech was invited.

As for a Mosler MT900 vs Avtech fight...I'd love to see that one.

[vectorfreak]

eth3l,

I went for the long shot because of the 'cool,' 'bad ass.' and 'pontential investor' and 'keep an eye out for him in coming years' hyperbole.

I mean, c'mon! I will give you that he is tenacious, maybe even visionary, but you really want to invest in him as a man, not the company?

Have you invested before?
Do you know the history of this guy, really?
You know he was fired by the board for some pretty damn good reasons right?
Do you know how many how many of those Aquajets have been sold in the last ten years? Is that successful?

This is just the TIP of the iceberg with this guy.

But hey, it's your money ~ your choice.

lol

[Scott 02]

After reading this whole post..Im going to have to make a trip there sometime.

[modkiller]

Too Friking Long