Peels on Dragons Den Tonight.

[Bob Purton]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned but it looks like the Peels put in there appearance tonight on Dragons den BBC2. Although why a car that was a commercial flop in the sixties because it was undrivable will be a viable investment in the twenty first century is beyond me! Should prove interesting!

[P50]

Check out page 20 of the uber gutter filth red top "The Sun"


All there in black and white..


I might do a Scootacar rep!  (Joking..)

[Jim Janecek]

I can't watch this show as I am in the US, but it appears that people put together a business plan and then compete with others to get it funded?
I got an email about this that says the business partners have either purchased "the Peel Factory" or "the Peel Name" and plan to make electric cars out of them.

Supposedly the actor James Caan agreed to invest £80,000 in exchange for 1/3 of the business plus one each of the cars according to this article in The SUN:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/3097165/THE-bubble-car-is-back-after-James-Caan-invested-on-Dragons-Den.html

I would be interested to know if these entrepreneurs actually obtained the rights to the "Peel P50" and "Peel Trident".
I don't know how Trademark law works in the UK but in the US if you let a trademark lapse (don't keep renewing it), someone else CAN register the Brand as THEIR trademark and claim the rights to the Brand.

[Bob Purton]

Thats almost right Jim but its the dragons or the investors that compete with each other if they spot some potential in a business plan or invention. Also its not James Caan the actor but James Caan the entrepreneur. I was thinking, all genuine Peel owners must be seething and willing the thing to fail as hundreds of electric Peels running around waters down the exclusivity of there own. Surley the thing is a disaster waiting to happen!

[Jim Janecek]

ah not the actor, thank you! 
also- thanks for the explanation of the show.

I would think that the price of the vehicle would dictate how many of these things become available.
If they are cheap enough, I would say there is some sort of market for them, but not for driving, instead for people to take them to Car Shows and then stick a "Peel P50" sign in front of them and act like it is a P50.
Ripley's can get away with it.  Why not someone else?
If enough of them get out there I can see where people might get a bit tired of them though. Especially since they just electric replicas.
Can you register them for road use in the UK?

Also - if they are cheap enough, there are people would would buy them basically as a "novelty" for their collections. Something silly to mess with and show off?

I don't know. 

I am still curious what the legal deal is with the PEEL ENGINEERING brand and if these guys actually took over the "brand" somehow.

[blob]

I’d rather the investment in Peel Engineering gave birth to a new generation Peel, just as BMW launched the new Mini, instead of regurgitating yet more imitations. After all Peel Engineering were innovators and the company should develop as pioneers, because eventually genuine cars will loose there lustre.

[Big Al]

I hate to say told you so but I did suggest obscurely that getting the rights to Peel Engineering was a good move and that a lot of cheap Peels, they are Peels if they are made by Peel Engineering, would affect the values of other Peel type objects. If they own Peel Engineering then they will almost inevitably have the rights to the Peel brand name and badging. Thus anything that is not made by Peel Engineering but calling itself a Peel can be sued for infringing rights. I am slightly pigged off as I was looking at getting the rights myself but was to late. Bummer. But I think they probably paid more than I would for them. Could be interesting to watch the furr fly if they decide to protect the brand.

Following from this it remains to be seen how successful the new Peel Engineering is. If it is selling lecky powered modern versions of the Peel concept then the only fakes of value will be those that accurately mimic the original Peel, unbadged of course, while real IOM Peels will remain as rare as ever. However the new cars will be Peels. Unreal fakes will be a Thingy and not a Peel. I hope the are a success as it will prove my idea was sound even if I was too late!

[Big Al]

I’d rather the investment in Peel Engineering gave birth to a new generation Peel, just as BMW launched the new Mini, instead of regurgitating yet more imitations. After all Peel Engineering were innovators and the company should develop as pioneers, because eventually genuine cars will loose there lustre.

BMW used the Mini name to launch something that bares very little relationship to the Mini concept. On that basis Peel Engineering should look to the Viking as the project of choice. If they own Peel whatever they make is not an imitation Peel. It is just you do not like the idea of more Peel replicas, which I can understand, even if they are real Peels. Confusing 'innit.

[blob]

just you do not like the idea of more Peel replicas

If it were down to me I'd burn the lot of them, but that's my opinion. Seriously though I prefer concepts to be developed, for instance I think the basic Porsche design has been developing since the 30's, I like the idea one can trace it's lineage from it's shape. The initial Peel design was a product of it's time and I think the new owners should respect that and be as creative in their approach for 2010.


... So let me get this straight, Microcars albeit small are real cars in their own right, now it seems they're toys for kids.

[Daniel Rodd]

turns out it was just an oppertunity for 2 rich men to get even richer selling fake cars that look like something else to amusement parks.not remanufacture of peels

[Bob Purton]

There was no business plan, James caan took no risk whatsoever as he gets two cars and his money back if it doesnt take off. All it was was a publicity stunt, quite clever really even though they came across as a right pair of chumps!

[Bob Purton]

Jim. You may be able to watch this using BBC I player   http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/tv/bbc_two

[Jim Janecek]

Thanks Bob. Not available outside the UK.
so what exactly was their "business plan"?

[Bob Purton]

Wel this is it, there was no plan, the only figures mentioned were the amount of people that go through the doors at ripleys annually and some mutterings about merchandising, board games and radio controled cars. No turn over/ profit projections, nothing. All the dragons barr one made them look very silly. The clever part was getting a free advert on national TV.

[Rusty Chrome (Malcolm Parker)]

They began by saying that after selling 2 cars to Ripleys believe it or not, they now have a 2-year exclusive deal to supply a further 14 cars. Later this was clarified to them having sold Ripleys 14 cars in total. They said they built 2 initially for £10k each, then another 20 for £5k each and they have 8 left over. They expect Ripleys to buy another 12 cars. They wanted £80k from investors for "further merchandising opportunities for the brand".

The roadtest says they're would sell them at £12.5K each.