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Spokane-based Tango electric cars remain a luxury

Tom Sowa
Staff writer
October 25, 2008

Rick Woodbury, president of Commuter Cars, poses by a partially finished electric car being built for Sergei Brin, one of the founders of Google, on Friday. His company in Spokane builds the tiny high-performance electric cars that sell for as high as $148,000 each. (JESSE TINSLEY The Spokesman-Review)

After Rick Woodbury sold his first Tango to George Clooney in 2005, it took about two years to make the car and ship it to the actor.

Spokane-based Commuter Cars Corp. has shaved that production time to about four weeks, if no hitches occur in procuring materials, said Woodbury, the company president.

Still, despite glowing publicity and rave driver reviews, the high cost and the work required to produce a single car keep the electric-powered Tango from becoming more than a rich person’s plaything.

In fact, two rich guys — Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin — soon will take delivery of two newly built Tangos at their Mountain View, Calif., office. To date, the Spokane-based Commuter Cars Corp. has sold a dozen of the electric-powered vehicles, which range in price from $108,000 to $148,000, depending on the type of batteries installed.

Powered by heavy-duty batteries and two motors and measuring 39 inches wide by 8.5 feet long, the Tango can easily zoom down freeways at 125 mph.

Google accounts for four of the dozen Tangos sold to date. In addition to the two about to be shipped to Brin and Page, the co-founders will get a third Tango in the spring.

Another Tango is already on the streets in Silicon Valley, purchased by Google engineer and manager Jorg Brown.

Brin and Page ordered theirs right after Woodbury spoke in 2006 at the Google campus. Woodbury loaded the Tango onto an elevator, then drove it into the auditorium to make his point about how small it is.

“Then an hour later I visited with Larry and Sergey. And within a few months, the orders came in,” he said.

He’s not sure why they want three. Brin may have plans to give one to CEO Eric Schmidt, Woodbury said.

The three models going to Brin and Page cost $148,000 each. They have the premium battery box for higher performance and longer travel time between recharging.

Brin, who has a strong commitment to electric automobiles, has invested $250,000 in Commuter Cars for development of a new battery pack, Woodbury said.

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The major difference between the first six Tangos Woodbury sold and the last six is a simplified manufacturing process, he said. In effect, they went through a total redesign of the components and how they’re put together.

Even though each car is largely hand-built, the production process has become almost routine. Eventually Woodbury would like to move to larger-volume production of the cars. He plans to drop the price at some point to $12,000 to $20,000.

Woodbury, 59, can’t say exactly how many hours it takes to make a Tango.

“I know it costs us about $80,000 in parts and $20,000 in labor. So, selling a car at the low-end price ($108,000) isn’t making us a lot of money,” he said.

While his crew finishes installing the interiors and motors for the two Tangos for Brin and Page, the next Tango leaving the company’s shop is a shiny-gray modeled headed for Seattle. The buyer is Keith Logan, a former Microsoft executive.

To reach Tom Sowa call (509) 459-5492 or e-mail toms@spokesman.com.

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