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Commercial Amphibious Vehicle Is Part ATV Part Jet Ski
Hugh Pickens writes "The Washington Post reports that a new vehicle could soon be zooming out of James Bond's garage — or pond — as the Quadski, a one-person all-terrain vehicle that doubles as a personal watercraft, is being billed by its makers as the first high-speed, commercially available amphibious vehicle. Scheduled to go on sale in the U.S. by the end of this year for around $40,000, the four-cylinder, BMW-supplied engine can drive up to 45 miles per hour on land and do a brisk 45 miles per hour in the water (video). 'You just drive straight into the water, quite fast, and keep on going. It's sort of magic,' says Alan Gibbs, the founder of Gibbs Sports Amphibians. The company is also preparing to introduce the Phibian, a 30-foot long, 6.5-ton model, and the Humdinga, a 22-foot, 3.5-ton model, which are both intended for the military and first responders. The company plans to produce 20 Quadskis per day with 150 employees when the plant is in full operation and expects to sell around 1,000 Quadskis in the first year. 'We'll respond to how the market develops,' says Gibbs. 'We wouldn't be doing it without being very confident people will love them.'"
man I saw the videos yesterday...
looks like it would be great for out in the bush up here in Alaska!!!
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http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57532892-48/gibbs-demoes-atv-jet-ski-mashup/
http://www.gibbssports.com/quadski
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Enclose the cockpit, add some seat belts and safety features and that would be a heck of a commuter car for people who live someplace like Seattle. No more ferry lines!
That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
Pffft, I had a car that had half that functionality 20 years ago. Driving OUT of the water though, that would be new for me.
You seem to regard science as some kind of dodge... or hustle.
Limited use, really. Sure, the video makes it look great, but it has a much wider wheelbase than your typical ATV (more like one of those utility side-by-side vehicles) and looks like it doesn't have great ground clearance.
It only takes 50 days for them to hit the quote they're expecting to sell. That's roughly 20% of their capacity. What are they using the other 80% on? Otherwise they'll see some massive layoffs.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
This seems like little more than an ad for a product. It's a cool recreational vehicle, but is it really "New For Nerds"?
Well, rednecks don't make enough money to afford one, and real rich people don't do actual outdoors stuff where you get wet/dirty, which means the only other people who will buy it are geeks.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
... Out of a large one.
Alan Gibbs is a kiwi rich-lister who is monomaniacal about amphibious vehicles - typical for otherwise uncreative people who think they have had a good idea. Most engineers I know probably have a more viable commercial idea every month or two.
He has squandered probably in the region of $100 million on developing amphibious vehicles, but to date the world has yawned, because there is almost no one who could or would actually have a use for such an expensive and high maintenance folly with compromised performance on both land and water.
I saw this in the news yesterday and contacted a friend who worked there for a while. He said the company is a billionaire's toy shop and nothing has ever come to final production. He thought this project was shelved and told me to not hold my breath.
Very cool, but not the first of it's type. Ever hear of an Argo? Check out: http://www.argoatv.com/ although they are not fast, they sure are fun in the bush.
They"ll probably need one for The Italian Job remake.
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If it gets up on a plane, 45mph on water is entirely believable - 45mph limit on land is likely for safety, not lack of power to go faster. I took an ATV up to 50mph on a backwoods trail once - was great fun as a branch whizzed past my head... decided that was enough fun for one lifetime and I keep the ATVs under 30 in the woods now.
At least he's having fun, and spending his money instead of using it for insulation in his mansion.
Hit a rock or two in ATV mode and you precious water propulsion is probably busted. And those retractable wheels probably have lots of small fragile mechanical parts...
Non-Linux Penguins ?
The four tired wheels are sticking out of the sides when it is in water. Looks like Wile E Coyote after it has hit the ground after walking off a cliff and made the mistake of looking down. On land, ok, it looks like a regular ATV with some weirdly acceptable running boards. And this costs 40K? They are better off selling it as rescue vehicle rather than a recreational vehicle.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
You can buy a new jet ski for around $8000 and a new ATV for around $2000, meaning you could buy both for 1/4th the price.
There is another issue that jet skis probably suck at dragging huge wheels through the water, meaning that even if this guy isn't nearly as cool at that jet ski for doing jet ski stuff. I'd imagine it's not quite as cool for doing ATV stuff either
If you must travel on both land and water, then you should look into hovercraft instead. I believe most hovercrafts cost more than $40k, but this personal hovercraft costs $22000.
You could therefore buy a jet ski, an ATV, and a hovercraft, all brand new, and save $8k off this critter's price tag.
Also, there are hovercraft kits that cost maybe only $7k, not exactly sure, but not much worse than a jet ski.
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I went to high school with that guy. Engraves bowling trophies for a living. What a mook.
Given how everything's being outsourced to China these days, I'm sure the fact that this is US built also adds to the price tag. Maybe they can also play up the patriotism factor a bit - 'buy an innovative honest to goodness American built ATV!'
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So this is "something new" when the YouTube video shows it was uploaded 6 years ago? I don't seem to recall James Bond driving used vehicles.
"If it's got a switch... it's my bitch!!"
Now you can harass waterfowl as well as land animals without having to change equipment!
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And he's created $100 million in jobs (and materials) over that time and he didn't waste anyone else's money. More (or less) power to him. At least he is not the government...
How awful. We already have too many ATVs, Snowmobiles and Jetskis zipping around, destroying the environment and making it harder to enjoy the natural world. We don't need the noise, toxic pollution and other destruction.
How many non-amphibious jet-skis and quads could you buy with that same 40,000 USD?
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