Michigan Performance Company Takes To Crowdfunding For CNG Mustang Concept
Crowdfunding has been used to deliver financing to projects ranging from fashion collections and film productions, to food trucks and the occasional work that ends up bombing while investors are left holding nothing (not even the bag their were promised as a gift for investing).
This project may be a success or failure, but if all goes as promised, Michigan’s Performance CNG will be able to deliver a CNG-powered 2003 Ford Mustang while demonstrating all compressed natural gas can do in the name of energy independence.
Autoblog Green reports the company, headed by founder Daryl Patrishkoff, is attempting to raise $55,000 through IndieGoGo to pay for the battery of emissions testing required by the Environmental Protection Agency, acquisition of high-performance CNG parts, and engine calibration. Currently, the Mustang, which runs on gasoline and CNG paired with alcohol injection, puts out 470 horsepower, with the aim of adding more horses through the fundraising.
And what will the project deliver to its investors (beyond being named a contributor in all promotion material)? The hope others will take notice on natural gas, bringing their investment capital to the table with the goal of liberating the United States from foreign energy resources, adding jobs to the industry, and delivering a wide range of vehicles using CNG to the masses; as of this moment, only 120,000 vehicles use the fuel, the majority of which are buses and trucks.
Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.
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Energy independent? Hell,we have enough that companies here are exporting it and still we are paying as if demand was as high here as it used to be.All this while they claim to not have the refineries to keep up with it all.
CNG-fueled vehicles are hardly cutting edge technology, they've been around for years. What's novel here is that Daryl Patrishkoff is trying to get investors to finance his hot rod by sticking a CNG tank in the trunk.
SCAM! I don't understand why any crowd-sourcing is needed for this? It is a straight up engine swap from a factory CNG powered Crown Victoria or F150. Really, there are plenty of them around. 2 examples, just to show they are out there, the prices seem a little high: http://www.cngautosales.com/en/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_images.tpl&product_id=107&category_id=3&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=72 http://www.cngautosales.com/en/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_images.tpl&product_id=119&category_id=3&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=72 Edit: here is an F150 5.4 CNG for $2600. http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/4476232932.html Buy, swap engine, sell to this guy for big profits!
I like the idea, I've been wanting to put together something like he's talking about for awhile. It seems to me that the remaining V8 pony/muscle/sports cars are all excellent candidates for CNG conversions due to the much lower cost of fuel. If there was a retrofit available for 1-2K I could see them being very popular, even more so if any of the manufacturers approved it so it wouldn't void the warranty.