Free money for Zero

[FreepZ]

California is giving Zero motorcycles $1.8 million for being a green company. I suppose Brammo would have gotten some of that if they were still over there. Tesla got $10 million out of the $20 million that was budgeted.

Read about it here:
http://green.autoblog.com/2012/10/12/tesla-gets-10-million-from-california-for-model-x-production/

[Richard230]

I heard on the local radio financial news report this morning that the money for the grants comes from a portion of the vehicle registration fees paid by all vehicle owners in the state every year.  I kind of wonder who it is that determines which "green" company gets the grants and in what amount?     It is not that I don't trust government bureaucrats to make a rational decision about how to spend the public's money - but their track record is not the best in my opinion.     However, in this case, I think they did OK.   

[protomech]

Was Brammo ever located in California?

[FreepZ]

Was Brammo ever located in California?

I thought that it was, but I'm probably mistaken. Wikipedia says that in 2002 Bramscher registered Brammo Motorsports in Oregon, and he's from Kansas, so perhaps he never lived in California.

I suspect that my confusion was due to a couple of facts:

• Bramscher was inspired to create Brammo after visiting some supercar dealerships in Los Angeles
• In an interview, he said that he had moved to Ashland because it was a safe place to raise his kids.

I assumed he had moved out of LA, but I may have jumped to that conclusion a bit too quickly.

In any case, in spite of numerous attempts to get him to move the company, he seems quite disinterested in leaving Ashland (as reported here).

[00049 (AKA SopFu)]

  It is not that I don't trust government bureaucrats to make a rational decision about how to spend the public's money - but their track record is not the best in my opinion.    

Actually, considering the Government tends to focus on very high risk technologies and companies, their track record is actually very, very good.  Far better then venture capital that focuses on green tech.  It's just that you hear about the federally funded failures.

[EmpulseRider]

I dont know, I think they should have passed this directly to the consumers in the form of an instant rebate for Zero motorcycles. 1.8 million could be like 2k rebate for 900 bikes sold in CA alone! That would move 900 bikes fairly quickly and really everyone would benefit.