- 14 -
360, 371 (1986); Allen v. Commissioner, 72 T.C. at 34; sec.
1.183-2(b), Income Tax Regs. No one factor nor a majority of the
factors is determinative, and we do not reach our decision by
merely counting the factors that support each party's position.
Taube v. Commissioner, supra at 480; Dunn v. Commissioner, 70
T.C. at 720.
Keeping in mind these factors, we review various aspects of
petitioner's activity. Petitioner had no design plans drawn or
otherwise reproduced, no patent, no mold for the production of
copies of the J car, and no records of the production expenses or
of his marketing activities or expenses. Other than his own
extensive reading on the production of automobiles, petitioner
had no background in the design and construction of an
experimental automobile. Petitioner consulted no experts on
design, manufacturing, or marketing. We cannot assume that the
auto shop mechanics, experienced in automobile alignments, had
expertise in the design and development of a car such as the one
at issue. The unique feature of the J car, its purported fuel
efficiency of 116.7 miles per gallon, has never been certified or
otherwise verified; the J car has been driven only 5 miles, from
the auto shop to petitioner's home.
Petitioner's marketing activities were minimal at best. He
ran radio advertisements only where they could be obtained on a
per-inquiry basis, a strangely miserly decision when he termed
the expense of $3,500 for a body mold "not a big expense". The
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