- 9 -
does not have sports car speed or acceleration characteristics.
The unique characteristic of the J car is its purported fuel
efficiency, which petitioner attributes to its lightweight
fiberglass body and its gear ratios. The claimed 116.7 miles per
gallon has never been certified or otherwise verified.
In 1989, petitioner began making attempts to sell copies of
the car through personal contacts and advertisements. He
identified those radio stations that would charge for commercials
on a per-inquiry basis;5 petitioner testified that two or three
California radio stations ran his advertisements under this
arrangement. Petitioner also testified that he sent flyers to
numerous automobile magazines, both in the United States and
Europe. Supposedly, two magazines in Europe published the
information; however, petitioner could not remember the names of
the magazines. Nor could he remember the local publications with
which he had placed advertisements. The flyers listed the sales
price as $14,500, plus an additional $2,500 for a turbocharged
model. The flyers claimed the gas mileage was 116.7 miles per
gallon, although this mileage had not been certified or otherwise
established. Petitioner did not receive any orders for the car,
and no sales resulted from these advertisements or his personal
contacts.
5 The cost of the advertisement was determined by the number
of responses received, with no initial charge for placing the
advertisement.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011