Ever Hear of McManco? My Struggling Car Company

"Jamie McManus" (carburnation)
03/07/2018 at 09:04 • Filed to: None

Running a car company has always been an interest of mine, so in 2016 I decided I would start one. It’s not public, I don’t have any products for sale, and I haven’t made any money. However, I have a website and some idea on what I want to do. So I guess it’s better than nothing.

The McManco Vehicle Corporation (or MVC if you’re cool) is a boutique carmaker that is focused on building cars that are fun to drive and inexpensive. There are 3 models planned, but I’ve designed about 6. Usually a design is a sketch that I do digitally, and since I don’t have any CAD tools or experience I wing a lot of it. That doesn’t stop me from doing measurements and prototypes, though. All cars come in manual, all cars are rear engined, and hopefully, all models have rotary engines. I’m going for the driving experience of an old Porsche.

The breakout model is called the Twister . It’s a boxy, 3 wheeled convertible with a 10 hp rotary behind the rear wheels. It’s not the most powerful setup, but the Twister is supposed to be a simple, easy to repair commuter car. Later versions will have more power, but for now it’s good. The frame will be made of metal tubing with an exterior made of duroplast, like a Trabant. For the frame, I was inspired by the How It’s Made episode on Ginetta cars. Some other features include a full bench seat and steering similar to that on a Green Machine. I call it the “Reciprocating Rod System,” and it’s meant to be more compact than a steering wheel and allow the driver to steer safely with one hand. I built a rolling wooden chassis with this, and it works smoothly, and feels very direct.

The second car is the Talisman , and it’s essentially a 4 wheeled Twister with different styling and a steering wheel. I think the Talisman will be especially fun to chuck around the city.

Elephant in the room: most of the McMancos are very boxy. This is because boxy cars are very roomy on the inside. I was also going for a similar style to the Giugiaro wedges of the 70s and 80s, so it’s all good. As a matter of fact, there are two separate design languages that I use. (I keep using “I” because I’m the only employee). McMancos are meant to be very, very light, so hopefully that will help negate a lot of inefficiency. Eh. They have rotary engines. Gas mileage is going to suck, anyway.

The final design is the crown jewel. It’s the Victor . About the size of a Ford Fiesta, the Victor is a 2 door, rear wheel drive sports coupe with duroplast panels, a space frame, and steelies. Under the rear hood is a 1300 cc, 150 horsepower Freedom Motors Rotapower rotary engine mated to a six speed manual transmission or a six speed semi auto. The Victor is the first mass market model and is designed to be extremely simple to repair and modify. I will make a separate post about it and how it will have a 240 hp King Victor version.

But yeah, that’s my egotistical rant about my cars.

here’s the low-budget website.

you can also find McManco on Facebook.

DISCUSSION (13)

Party-vi > Jamie McManus
03/07/2018 at 09:23

This is great Oppo.

Matt Nichelson > Jamie McManus
03/07/2018 at 09:26

This is really cool. I like the effort put into it and the site has a nice minimalist feel. Keep up the good work!

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Jamie McManus
03/07/2018 at 09:37

I also want to start my own company, what steps do I need to take as in schooling and degrees?

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
03/07/2018 at 09:38

I say just get started, schooling as necessary.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
03/07/2018 at 09:39

I mean like would it be better to go to schools directed towards automotive engineering and building cars? And what degrees are required, or are any required at all for what he’s doing?

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute
03/07/2018 at 09:45

It seems this man had a vision and he got started!

But on a serious note, I assumed you wanted to start a car company. To start just any company, I assume a business degree would help. But really, what really does it take? Drive, ambition, tenacity, etc. And perhaps most importantly: a potentially successful idea.

For specific education, certifications and training, that’s different for every person. Personally I’m a very independent learner, I like to figure out everything on my own. It’s how I launched several blogs from which I made a modest amount of money and more recently I figured out how to run a profitable amazon reselling business.

I did this all on my own, reading blogs, websites, watching youtube videos, etc. But other people tend to learn this kind of thing by taking classes, talking to people face-to-face. In short: starting a business is all about the freedom of forging your own path! The path that best works for you.

And having my own business is not my primary income, so this is just my take on it, other more serious entrepreneurs who started a business as their sole source of income may have different opinions, haha. Although I do dream of some day being on of those that earn all their income from their own business.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
03/07/2018 at 09:49

Thanks. People are saying things along these lines so turns out they’re not crazy. Helps that I’m still in high school so I have some.more time to learn stuff.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Jamie McManus
03/07/2018 at 10:07

Is there an upcoming model called the Cheeseburger?

I heard a rumour that you were coming out with a Cheeseburger model.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Jamie McManus
03/07/2018 at 10:33

I will donate 3 dollars if you can promise an Elio style vehicle with Ford’s 1.0 Ecoboost. I’ll wear a helmet

Jamie McManus > Party-vi
03/07/2018 at 12:00

thanks!

Jamie McManus > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
03/07/2018 at 12:00

Twister?

Jamie McManus > Matt Nichelson
03/07/2018 at 12:08

Thanks! These things take time. IMO it’s going to take a few decades to get anything going but for now I have dreams

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Jamie McManus
03/07/2018 at 12:24

It’s gotta have two wheel on the front.