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This week, at the AFVI Expo, I moderated a panel on the roll-out of electric vehicle products from Miles EV, Phoenix Motorcars and GEM. The representatives were Bryon Bliss, vice president of sales and marketing for Phoenix, Jeff Boyd, COO of Miles, and Richard Kaspar, GEM’s president and COO. Oh, and our friend Ed Begley, Jr. was there as well, continuing his relationship with Phoenix.

The purpose of the panel was for each company to present their case not only for EVs but for their particular products. Since these companies all offer vehicles with quite different capabilities and styles, they’re not really competitors, and it was a congenial event. Since I expect our readers to be pretty familiar with the vehicle line-ups of these three companies, I won’t go into details about them. There were a few things said during the 90 minutes that caught my ear, though, that I think you’ll want to hear about.

• The Miles EV offices are in Santa Monica, CA. To commute to work, Boyd drives a prototype of the XS500, Miles’ upcoming highway-speed battery-powered sedan. The price target is still $35,000 and deliveries should start in the third quarter of 2009. The sedan will be followed by an electric SUV. I told Boyd that the next time I’m in town, I’ll be knocking on the office door, begging for a ride. I mean, it worked for the Roadster.
• Phoenix expects deliveries of its all-electric SUT to start at the end of June (yes, in six weeks). Certification should be finished June 1, Bliss said and the company has orders for 600 vehicles to fill as of today.
• GEM’s big news is the addition of new options to the back cargo space of its work trucks. Since GEM vehicles have been selling for over a decade, GEM has had plenty of time to listen to customers and find out what they want/need. New covers and door types are now available, and you can see a list of GEM vehicle options here.

Greentech media was also in the room, and wrote up this account of what happened. Both Miles and GEM had vehicles on the show floor, and I’ve included galleries of their displays below. The Phoenix photos are from the 2007 AFVI Expo. For those of you keeping score, Zap and Dynasty were nowhere to be found at the Expo this year (unlike last year).

It’s been a while since we have heard from Noble, the small British manufacturer that has put out some pretty impressive sports cars over the last decade. The company is currently developing a new car called the M600, and PistonHeads.com recently had the chance to interview Noble’s head honcho Peter Boutwood about the upcoming model. Boutwood revealed that the M600 will be powered by a Yamaha-designed twin-turbo Volvo V8 and will have a full carbon fiber body shell. While no specific details were given regarding specifications or performance figures, the M600 promises to keep pace with the world’s top supercars. It will also be absent of any driver aids like traction control and have a focus on being a pure driver’s car. No word on whether the M600 will be available in the United States, but it may be imported as a rolling chassis sans engine like the current car. Thanks for the tip, pottz!

[Source: PistonHeads.com]

Click the image above for more hi-res pics of the Ferrari Concept 2008

We realize that not everyone will agree with us on this one — passions seem to run highest over the cars that the fewest number of people will drive — but if the Ferrari California looked like this concept, we’d put down a deposit right now. Once someone else gave us the money to do so.

Sure, from the A-pillar forward is pure Maserati, and there’s no way a front intake like that could or should make it onto a Ferrari. Still, it’s a good looking front end, and we don’t mind design elements going up as well as down. Besides, a couple of keystrokes can get a proper Ferrari nose in place.

But from the A-pillar to the rear… those are the kind of aggressive, subtle lines we like in our Ferraris. Which is not to say we don’t like the California — we just like this a little better… A coupe, please. That color.

[Source: Sefsdesign]

The board of directors at Tesla has a new member today as Larry Sonsini has joined the party. The presence of Sonsini as a member of the Tesla team is of particular importance moving forward because of his area of expertise. Sonsini is Chairman of Silicon Valley law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and a specialist in IPOs and mergers and acquisitions. This is important because Tesla chairman Elon Musk has previously declared that the company will be going public, likely sometime in 2009.

According Tesla’s Darryl Siry, Sonsini “is the most influential lawyer in the valley and has extraordinary experience with corporate structuring, IPOs, governance, and M&A.” Sonsini will be providing guidance to the board on how to move forward. Sonsini has previously been involved in the Google IPO and the Hewlett-Packard/Compaq merger. The plan is to use the proceeds from the IPO in part to fund the development and production of the WhiteStar sedan and the future lower-priced high-volume model. Meanwhile founding board member Laurie Yoler will shift over to the limbo of the Tesla Motors Advisory Board. The full press release is after the jump.

Press Release:

Larry W. Sonsini Joins Tesla Motors Board of Directors

Source: Tesla Motors
Date: May 13th, 2008

Larry W. Sonsini, Chairman of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, has been elected to the board of directors of Tesla Motors, manufacturer of the breakthrough Tesla Roadster high-performance electric vehicle.

Mr. Sonsini has gained international recognition for his expertise in the areas of corporate law, corporate governance, securities, and mergers and acquisitions. He has been instrumental in many of the IPOs, mergers, acquisitions, and other key transactions of Silicon Valley and beyond, including Google’s historic IPO and Hewlett-Packard’s merger with Compaq Computer.

In addition to his duties at his firm, which included serving as chief executive officer as well as chairman for more than 20 years, Larry was a member of the board of directors of the New York Stock Exchange from 2001 to 2003, and served for more than five years as Chairman of the NYSE Regulation, enforcement and Listing Standards Committee.

Larry is one of the country’s best-known governance experts. In addition to serving on a number of public company boards, he was named “one of the most influential players in U.S. corporate governance” by Directorship magazine, recognized as Business Leader of the Year by the Harvard Business School Association of Northern California, and received the Bay Area Council’s Business Hall of Fame award.

Larry joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in 1966 upon receiving his J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley. He also received an A.B. from UC Berkeley in 1963. Larry was admitted to the California Bar in 1966.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has since grown into the premier legal advisor to technology and growth companies worldwide, advising over 300 public enterprises on issues of corporate law, securities and corporate governance. In the past 5 years, the firm has advised clients on over 350 public offerings, more than any other law firm worldwide. In addition, the firm has completed over 400 public equity and debt financings and advised on more than 1,000 M&A transactions.

“Larry Sonsini has played a role in building and advising some of the most successful companies in existence today,” said Elon Musk, Chairman of Tesla Motors, “His guidance will be invaluable as Tesla Motors drives forward the electric transport revolution and grows to become one of the great car companies of the 21st century.”

Laurie Yoler, who has served on the Tesla Motors Board of Directors since the company’s founding, will transition to the Tesla Motors Advisory Board.

[Source: Tesla Motors]