barefoot founders blog

More Barefoot site, specs and store

Barefoot fans, thank you for being patient while we worked on updating our website with more personality, specs and the new Barefoot Store. Some of the highlights include:

-Updated product specs
-Pricing and availability for the Model One 2008
-Store to order your Model One and merchandise...Come on, you know you want one!
-Updated team members and advisors
-Video interview with Albert Straus of Straus Dairy
-Job Postings

Plan to see more of us and more active posting in the coming months as we get closer to our delivery date of late 2008!

Jamie Hyneman's "brain child"

Jamie's "Baby" the video on the Barefoot ATV for the Science Channel episode on EVs is now linked on their website check it out here and there's a link on the Mythbusters home page too, also there's some great discussions going on on the mythbuster fan site about the ATV, which is great!

The initial proof of concept Barefoot ATV, the Model One built on a Polaris Sportsman(r) chassis went head to head with a Polaris Sportsman 800. The video is short and it edits down the time trials. On the day of filming BOTH Adam and Jamie rode BOTH vehicles in the time trials. In BOTH cases, Jamie and Adam's time on the Model One was faster in the crazy twisty turny course that was set up, and no advantages were given to the Model One, none at all.

The premise for those of you new to Barefoot is that we're building a comparable electric ATV to a heavy duty gas powered ATV, all in the name of bringing the newest and far better technology to the market. Please feel free to pose questions and discuss the product, we're happy to oblige.

--Melissa Brandao

Ceago - Biodynamic and Nice (that's Neece)

I was up in Lakeport for the Sustainable Winegrowers workshop hosted by the Lake County Wine Commission not too long ago. It was held at Ceago in Nice, CA which is breathtaking in its Mediterranean style on the shores of Clear Lake. Jim Fetzer's attention to details like the lavender garden, the "recycled" palm and olive trees, the juniper walled 10-top for his up coming restaurant along with his commitment to biodynamic grape growing were topped off with a beautiful clear day. In my estimate it was a perfect event. Jim gave us a tour of the "vinegarden". His willingness to share with others the steps he's followed to be biodynamic was refreshing.  And Shannon and the team did a great job with the event.   I thought I'd share a few photos of the view.

-Melissa Brandao

Farm of the Future

This year I have been fortunate to spend a lot of time with farmers, viticulturalists, ranchers and dairymen here in California. What is being practiced and discussed out in the fields today, is nothing short of revolutionary agriculture: bio-dynamics, sustainable farming, resistance to genetic engineered foods, soil conservation, free range meats, closed loop systems, energy production and eco-friendly transportation. It is a synthesis of ideas and trends that has caught my attention, and it seems to be heading for a convergence of sorts--this new way of thinking about a centuries old profession l describe as the "Farm of the Future."

The concept of the "Farm of the Future" is that we are seeing a "shift of power" back to small functional farms. Responsible farming with an eye on sustainability, reducing Ag's contribution to global warming, local power generation (solar and methane), production in bio-fuels IN BALANCE with conservation and protection of lands and most importantly providing healthy food and clean energy. This is a dramatic shift away from the conventional farming practices of agriculture as  a mono-culture--which are actually less than 100 years old."Factory farming is a marriage of the industrial revolution and warfare technology", according to a group of farmers near Athens, Ohio in their video farming for the future. Even more critical to note, is that this factory farming has proven to be unsustainable. The overuse of land, pesticides, corn-based foods and diet-based illnesses (like diabetes) cannot continue if we as a nation are going to survive and thrive.

Our non-rural populations are totally dependent on resources that they cannot generate themselves. While we tend on our lawns and diet on processed foods and imported fruits, small  local farms can shift towards closed loop "eco-systems" and which can be self-sustaining as well provide food, clean water, and fuel to more and more of those that cannot provide for themselves. When we have a choice between industrial farming and local farming suppliers--make it local!

Farms are also a "green field" for new technology due to the fact that much of our early legacy technology was designed for urban consumers thus improved communication, power generation and vehicle technologies could potentially offer more uptake in the less saturated rural regions.

I am optimistic about the farm of the future, but I am also committed to it too--our nation's health and our familes' future on this planet depend on it.

--Melissa Brandao

[Full disclosure: I AM biased, farming is in my blood--my mother grew up on a farm in Southwestern Ohio and I lived with my husband and kids in Lancaster, Ohio on a 100 acre farm, which we managed along with the numerous horses, goats, chickens, ducks, cats, you name it.]

World Ag Expo, Model One shows up

The World Ag Expo in Tulare, California is known as the biggest Farm Show in the US. This is the second year I've attended. This year we brought along the Model One to show off to Matt Finley of Under My Helmet. Thanks for the great write up Matt!! Robert Jordan of Buckland Vineyard Management was there at the show with me and in the photo shown here.

It was as big as I remembered from last year. What I didn't remember was the scores and scores of service vehicles that were engaged in shuffling people from one side of the event to the other. There were dozens of UTVs (aka side by sides), golf carts, and tractors pulling wagon loads of people. It seemed to me in some times that there were more people riding on carts than walking. Saddest part of all is that all of these service vehicles were all gas-powered. All of us pedestrians had to deal with the noise and the pollution from these little four stroke engines. Based on data provided by the EPA, these little vehicles can put off anything from 10 to 34 times more than a car in pollutants. That made the idea of walking around and behind them seem almost wrong. Later in the afternoon, we got smart and snuck in with the Model One and did a little of our own riding. It was incredible how many people came up to us to ask if it was electric. I wasn't sure how they knew but their level of interest and enthusiasm was a great litmus test for what opportunities lie ahead for Barefoot's product, not just at the farm show where we will definitely be displaying our products next year but a long term relationship with California ag.

--Melissa Brandao

Significant growth for Electric ATVs, etc.

Russ Hollman in his QuadExperts.com blog has discovered a gold mine! And he mentioned Barefoot as part of the blog thank you Russ you're a hero!

While we at Barefoot talk about the growth potential in this market as often and as vigorously as we can, it is something altogether different when a third party comes out with the same clear message, and it couldn't be clearer than the research conducted by the International Market Solutions, "2008 Market Study of the Small, Task-Oriented Vehicle Market" .

Strong gains are expected in major non-fleet golf car markets (aka ATVs, service vehicles, etc) with significant growth over the next five years....

Stephen Metzger, IMS Managing Director and principal author of the study, states, "We have seen continued market strength in the utility and privately-owned markets during the 2000-2006 trend period, as well as in 2007."

The small, task-oriented vehicle industry marked several milestones in the past two years that will help drive expansion in the next five years. These include:

• Key new product entries and innovative technologies that boost performance and comfort, including the first adaptation of AC electric power to a major golf car-type vehicle manufacturer's product line;
• Continued evidence of the globalization of the small vehicle industry, particularly in the sourcing of parts and accessories;
• A major concentration of sales efforts and capacity expansion in off-road vehicles;
• A tightening of used vehicle supplies, pointing to increases in the privately-owned (personal use) market.

For those that doubted...alternative fueled off-road vehicles are coming and in a big way, we're going to have a market party--you're all invited!

--Melissa Brandao

Ducati's rising star

I just wanted to send a congratulations out to Michael Lock on Ducati's record breaking sales year. Ducati North America was able to grow by a stellar 22% in 2007. We're are very fortunate to have Michael's input as an advisor to Barefoot and it goes to show that well run companies, with strong leadership can perform well despite market cycles.

We recently filmed Michael Lock on our Model One click on the video below to see more...

--Melissa Brandao

Lakeport with the Mythbusters

I am so impressed that the AutoBlog Green picked up the Lake County Record Bee (has been archived so they can charge you) story on the recent Mythbuster visit---though one slight correction--Kari as seen in this photo, wasn't there that day--only Jamie and Adam. LOL! Thanks for connecting the dots.

On December 19th we were at the Lakeport Speedway with our Model One electric ATV and a Polaris 800 doing a few side by side comparisons between electric and gas vehicles for a Mythbuster's episode to be aired sometime the early part of next year. While there were "discoveries" made, suffice it to say that we were happy with the results. For those of you that didn't know, our proof of concept model used a Polaris 800 chassis. That same product category we hope to build our production models coming out next year. Polaris is in no way associated with our efforts at Barefoot we just felt that their Sportsman 800 could us a great baseline for a powerful and rugged vehicle, and indirectly Barefoot was able to give them some good TV time. Being on set was fun but it was a long cold rainy day--I have only more admiration for how Jamie and Adam and t heir production team make it look on TV! Blair Aiken the Lakeport track manager set up a fantastic indoor track to race these vehicles, along with his tremendous effort to find a fill-in Polaris 800 when the local source backed out. We also had stellar  last minute tech support on our Model One from Brian Hall at Thunderstruck Motors, here in Santa Rosa.

Don't worry these guys didn't ride without helmets--these were all downtime shots.

Why Sonoma?

I read recently that it's Alice Water's year. Indeed the idea of "eating local" that she institutionalized through Chez Panisse has certainly come into it's own and nowhere is it more embraced, more relevant than Sonoma County, CA In fact I would take it one step further and say, living local is the mantra in Sonoma. This isn't a blog-ode to Sonoma...well maybe it is..and don't mind me if I do indulge a little in why Barefoot Motors originating in Sonoma County makes perfect sense.

Sonoma County was recognized by the EPA in 2007 as the "greenest county in the country" for mobilizing all of its cities in a plan to reduce emissions by 20-30% in just a few years. Thank you Ann Hancock and the Climate Protection Campaign.

We are some of the highest solar power per capita in the US.

Sonoma has been a hot bed for alternative transportation since Jim McGreen founded ZAP (zero air pollution) so many years ago and the legacy of his innovation remains strongly supported in the minds of local residents.

Sonoma is home to some 1900 wineries with organic growing throughout the state at about 30% that's strong statement for sustainable business.

Paul Dolan, Mike Benziger, and Jim Fetzer (okay so, Jim's in Lake County now) are local and international leaders in winemaking through bio-dynamics a closed loop process.

Bob Cannard, the "father of the organic farm" and local farmer's markets (along with supplier to Chez Panisse) lives in Sonoma County.

Michael Pollan when he needed to find mushrooms and wild hogs for the Omnivore's Dilemma visited Sonoma.

We eat local because if you want it you can find it--poultry, milk, eggs, melon, corn, tomatoes, strawberries, apples and of course...wine is made right here in Sonoma.

Finally and most important Sonoma is an ideal test bed for building the right "green" vehicle for the right application. As Lex McCorvey said it in this morning's North Bay Business Journal, "We're very intrigued with what [Barefoot Motors has]. If they can work with farmers to work out the bugs, they'll have a success."

Ask Andy Karsner

If you could ask Andy Karsner, Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy one question--what would it be?

For me, Andy Karsner has the same kind of rock star status that Alan Greenspan had during his tenure at the Federal Reserve. He has been an inspiration to Max and I and in founding barefoot, his words at the Washington DC car show last year were central to our hopes for this company, "We don't need hundreds, we don't need thousands, we need millions. Millions of cars on the road available to consumers, in showrooms, and the earliest possible timeframe that the market can bear, so that people have greater fuel choice and vehicle choice and the cars that people want are efficient, are easier on their pocketbook, and are greater for the aggregate good for the environment and for our national security, and for our national competitiveness."

Such words coming from a high level government official are electrifying! (no pun intended) But it's not just us, that hang on Mr. Karsner's words, it's the clean tech industry in general, and well they should. He has helped transform a relatively stodgy and stuffy (and for the common man relatively unknown) department of the federal government into one of the leading agencies in reshaping the US government's role to private enterprise.  He is incredibly smart and he has a clear master of his domain as well as all the technical details and the key individuals within that domain.

On Tuesday, at a round table discussion sponsored by WSGR (thanks to Marc Gottschalk once more) I got my chance to ask Mr. Karsner a question. Something close to, "How do you see the farm bill, the energy bill and all of these bio-fuel incentives impacting the farmers and their ability to improve conservation even as they become energy generators? His answer was quick and direct.

"Right now they are still very separate issues. Farmers can pursue energy grants through the DOE as well as conservation grants through the USDA", but he added "there is the Interagency Biomass Research and Development Board, which I co-chair with USDA and we are trying to find ways to incorporate those efforts to improve energy production along with conservation." 

His answer didn't provide me any hard data points to address barefoot's planning and strategy for policy development in alternative transportation, but it certainly offered me some assurance that those issues are on the radar in Washington and more important, Andy Karsner is on watch.

Best, Melissa Brandao