Hurricane is ALIVE!

[HurricaneBit]

Hey all, if you haven't seen already - Hurricane Motorsports is now Hurricane Roadsters. Under new ownership and first build is in the house! We are ready for new orders if interested in discussing.

HurricaneRoadsters.com

[twobjshelbys]

Wow, that's quite a surprise! Wishing you the best.

Link looks like old site?

[patrickt]

That's good. Now what's the new business plan that will keep the company afloat?

[767Jockey]

Congrats, hope all goes well for you. Two questions I have are where will the new company be located, and what changes are in store for the car and in pricing?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by 767Jockey

Congrats, hope all goes well for you. Two questions I have are where will the new company be located, and what changes are in store for the car and in pricing?

What? You mean you can't just give it a go because you always wanted to build sports cars for people because it's so fun and cool and it would be a blast to do that all day and maybe make some money in the process even though others have tried it and gone out of business?

[767Jockey]

Originally Posted by patrickt

What? You mean you can't just give it a go because you always wanted to build sports cars for people because it's so fun and cool and it would be a blast to do that all day and maybe make some money in the process even though others have tried it and gone out of business?

Clearly, neither quality of product nor engineeering excellence in design guarantees success in this business. Without naming brands so as to not offend anyone, there are some Cobras that in my opinion were and very low quality and very poorly engineered, yet they did survive and have survived. Hurricane, again in my opinion, produced a far superior car to those mentioned above, and yet has failed twice.

What that emphasizes, to me at least, is that this is about more than just making a good car. This is a competitive business and a Cobra manufacturing company needs to be run by people who realize that and have a plan to competently run the business. This is not a hobby. Manufacturing a nice car is simply not enough to ensure success. There has to be some business acumen involved in the process.

[Alfa02]

I think "Eddie" (patrickt) was just giving "The Beaver." (767jockey) The Business Cheers .

[Tommy]

I wish good fortune and success to the new owners of Hurricane Roadsters.

Not all business models are the same. Cases in point, Superformance and Unique Motorcars. There are also "bespoke" car builders who build each car to order and do only a few each year. The challenge for prospective buyers, IMHO, is that the smaller businesses seem at greater risk for collapsing midway through a build, leaving the buyer with a partially paid for but incomplete car. In each case the onus is on the buyer to evaluate the financial viability of the company and the integrity of its owner. . . . And if the company wants the buyer to put upfront money in a car that seems too good to be true, it likely is.

[eschaider]

In a retail sales competition being the best does not guarantee victory or even success. A very obvious example most of us can still remember is VHS and Sony Beta-Max.

Guess who was better. We already know who won ...

[patrickt]

And when you make your first post proudly announcing new ownership and that you're ready for new orders... you should probably check back on the thread to see if there are any responses.

[kanuck]

Just an observation the prior owners were put to much energy trying to go after the Factory Five market, which is a totally different market and you will never change the mind of someone who has there there mind set on there product. It is a culture whether good bad or indifferent, concentraite on your own brand and build your own customer base and pray that the supply chain keeps up.

[bwcobra15]

Lots of clueless commentary from the cheep seats here.

The original company was owned by two brothers that also had a software company, and decided to sell after completing about 125 kits to focus on their primary business. They didn't leave any customers hung out to dry, holding on to their deposits.

The second owners, McLaughlin Family Companies in Iowa, were not really 'car guys' and, even though they initially made great improvements to the product with input from key previous builders, they did very little to promote or market the product. Hurricane was a subsidiary of a much larger company, and in the end it was a business write off. https://mcfamco.com/product-lines/ They sold about 42 kits over about a dozen years. Thats hardly attempting to compete with Factory Five or Superformance. And, even after cutting off sales, they continued to provide parts and support to all current customers.

I wish the new owners well, and all the success in the world. At least they seem very passionate about their venture, by their social media posts.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by bwcobra15

... They sold about 42 kits over about a dozen years. ....

That's about 3 per year. I'd like to see the annual numbers though. My bet is it's front end loaded.

But like it or not, that was the demand for this product. Now if the new owners can survive on 3 a year and still run it profitably, then more power to them. But don't look to double or triple that number any time soon. The whole Cobra market TAM is dropping every year, which is why the lowest volume and lowest quality suppliers are disappearing. Now there's been some consolidation in the past few years and there may be an opportunity to sustain a 3-4 car per year business. But don't look for it to grow to 20 or even 10 which is where the volume needs to be for a manufacturing business that is not a hobby.

It's not a model for a business plan that I would invest in, so I too would like to see what business plan supports it.

I still wish them good luck.

PS. I would add with regards to updating the status on the forum that forums have been subsumed by places like Facebook. Shelby American has dropped their forum (it exists, but gets no traffic, even SAI doesn't post there any more, and only a few die hards even bother to log in, me included.) For all intents, all of Shelby (SAI, foundation, etc) are predominantly on facebook. Facebook is great for transient visitors but not for threaded or historical content where forums work best. But the days when the Shelby forum had any inkling of technical content go back to the early 2010s near the height of the GT500 when people were modding them like crazy. Now the drive-by style of Facebook suits the needs of most.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by twobjshelbys

That's about 3 per year.

No, that's 3.5, which means somebody got half a kit. Bet that guy's pissed.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by patrickt

No, that's 3.5, which means somebody got half a kit. Bet that guy's pissed.

Well in cases like this we work with whole numbers so it's really 3 some years, 4 others, but like I said, more likely it's 6 at the beginning and 1 or 2 at the end. (I think their going out of business thread said they had two they were finishing.)

Unlike some others trying to pass themselves off as manufacturers Hurricane never took someone's money and failed to deliver or used Y's money to build X's car. There is a lot to be said for that. It does say that near the end it was a passionate hobby that wasn't making money. The same thing happened with HST.

[kanuck]

Originally Posted by bwcobra15

Lots of clueless commentary from the cheep seats here.

The original company was owned by two brothers that also had a software company, and decided to sell after completing about 125 kits to focus on their primary business. They didn't leave any customers hung out to dry, holding on to their deposits.

The second owners, McLaughlin Family Companies in Iowa, were not really 'car guys' and, even though they initially made great improvements to the product with input from key previous builders, they did very little to promote or market the product. Hurricane was a subsidiary of a much larger company, and in the end it was a business write off. https://mcfamco.com/product-lines/ They sold about 42 kits over about a dozen years. Thats hardly attempting to compete with Factory Five or Superformance. And, even after cutting off sales, they continued to provide parts and support to all current customers.

I wish the new owners well, and all the success in the world. At least they seem very passionate about their venture, by their social media posts.

I looked into buying a kit twice actually, the first time the delivery time was to long, and then the second time covid hit and both times Factory Five was compared and mentioned a lot in the conversations.

[FFR428]

Originally Posted by kanuck

I looked into buying a kit twice actually, the first time the delivery time was to long, and then the second time covid hit and both times Factory Five was compared and mentioned a lot in the conversations.

I bought HM-2027 during covid. This under the 2nd owners the McLaughlin family. Very sharp people they had in metal and glass. Alec and Jake were the 2 gents that handled my kit. It took a few extra months and back ordered/missing parts quickly followed. Didn't want a FFR, been there and done that. A street car was my choice. I didn't get lost in a sea of promises and missing parts. Quite the opposite. They had quite a boom on kits ordered. Guys sitting home during covid wanting to do something it seems. The last kit sent out was HM-2040 I believe. My wait time was about 7 months including Stewart who delivered it. Just my observations. Wish the new owners Nate and Shawn all the best.

[767Jockey]

Bob, I very intentionally and vigorusly avoid anything having to do with social media, so I have no idea what the new proprietors of Hurricane are saying on there. The Cobra community tends to trend toward an older demographic, with many of us in the age group having the same aversion to the social media cesspool. The new owners might do well to realize that and look for alternative methods of reaching their targeted audience. The first post here was a good step, not following it up was not wise. That goes back to my comment about knowing how to run a business.
As for the product, I have always believed that the Hurricane was a well designed and well built kit, with a good bang for the buck. I never understood why it didn't sell better, leaving a lack of business savvy as the only reason I can think of. I wish the new owners the best.

[bwcobra15]

Originally Posted by 767Jockey

Bob, I very intentionally and vigorusly avoid anything having to do with social media, so I have no idea what the new proprietors of Hurricane are saying on there. ....

I am trying like hell to adopt that policy as well. Its all a cesspool. But I've got car clubs, bands, musicians, classmates, family reunions that all use FB for announcements, etc. Our own cobra club has different FB pages/groups for each chapters and its a major PITA. I created a new website for the club at Texas Cobra Club with a forum in an attempt to drag folks off social media. Its a slow, painful process to get folks to let go of Farcebook and migrate to the new website/forum.

FWIW, their fb page is https://www.facebook.com/HurricaneRoadsters if you want to peruse. Its public, signup not required.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by bwcobra15

I am trying like hell to adopt that policy as well. Its all a cesspool. But I've got car clubs, bands, musicians, classmates, family reunions that all use FB for announcements, etc. Our own cobra club has different FB pages/groups for each chapters and its a major PITA. I created a new website for the club at Texas Cobra Club with a forum in an attempt to drag folks off social media. Its a slow, painful process to get folks to let go of Farcebook and migrate to the new website/forum.

FWIW, their fb page is https://www.facebook.com/HurricaneRoadsters if you want to peruse. Its public, signup not required.

I once had a person say that they had missed me at the big meeting. I said I'd not seen any notice. They said "it was on facebook". I said "oh, is that next door to Alpha Centauri"? (The reference went over their head.)

I don't do facebook. I do have a facebook account because my slot machine game uses facebook as a place to store my game "points". I posted right on the page that "I don't do facebook, game only, don't try to friend me or send notices as this account is ignored". People still try. When they ask in person I said "didn't you read it"? It is in this way I found my sister doesn't follow instructions. Oh well.