Dan Whitfield has seen the future of personal transportation, and it looks like a stubby missile on two wheels and goes like one, too, depending on your tolerance for drawing attention from police cruisers.
It’s called an Ecomobile, or Eco, and it’s basically a motorcycle enclosed in a hard shell that makes it suitable for riding year-round, in any kind of weather short of Buffalo in January.
And since the shell is made of Kevlar carbon fiber–yes, Kevlar’s the stuff bullet-proof vests are made of–and is three times stronger than a car’s, it may appeal to those who see a motorcycle as nothing more than a rolling coffin with tailpipes.
“I see it as a much more humane motorcycle,” said Whitfield, 59, an instructor at York Technical Institute who is also the sole U.S. service agent for Eco.
“If you’re driving a normal motorcycle and you strike a deer at night, you’re in trouble. [With] this vehicle, if you strike another vehicle, your survivability chances are 200 percent better than on a motorcycle.”
As we know, though, history is replete with all sorts of gizmos heralded as the future of personal transportation that never caught on.
Just a few years ago, the Segway was considered the can’t-miss way to get around in the new millennium.
But well-publicized braking and steering problems, coupled with public indifference, have kept sales below expectations.
Still, the Eco appears to be user-friendly enough for the finicky U.S. driving public. It has motorcycle-type handlebars and can be operated by anyone with a motorcycle license. Since it has seat belts, the driver isn’t required to wear a helmet.
The driver can’t stick his feet out for balance, so the Eco has retractable wheels that can be operated manually when slowing and stopping. (The wheels also act as safety bars to prevent damage in the event of a fall.)
It comes with heat, air conditioning and a radio, stereo and GPS system. Its 1200-cc BMW motorcycle engine gets 50 miles per gallon of gasoline.
However, with a price tag of nearly $80,000, the Eco would appear to be a tough sell as a mass-market vehicle.
Hefty price tag or no, Whitfield, a genial man who test-drove and worked on Harley-Davidson motorcycles for years, is a true believer.
“The fact they can build this for $80,000–that is one bargain-basement price,” he said. “Every single component is made by hand.” Plus, the Eco is designed to the personal specifications of each buyer.
By proselytizing the virtues of the Eco–especially that it’s a fun, safe, all-weather, environmentally friendly ride–Whitfield hopes to attract Eco enthusiasts in different parts of the country. He hopes those enthusiasts will then become hooked on the product and sign up to be Eco service agents themselves, thereby building the brand in the national consciousness.
“You could say I’m looking at this the way a president does when he gets to the end of his term and starts thinking about his legacy,” Whitfield said. “I guess what attracts me to this is it’s something that will be here after I’m gone. And it’ll make people’s lives better.”
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
