Talk to me about Thunder Ranch

Here's a quick vid we took Monday of 5 550's that we currently have in shop, 2 owned by us, 3 are finished projects being delivered this week to clients (yes, Carrera Coachwerks FINISHES projects).  These Spyders were powered by Porsche, VW and Subaru motors. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCcCZowMHZ4

NICE!!

YES BUT I WANT TO SEE THE COUPES

Finish projects you say MisterAC?! If the sample you were displaying at Coronado Speed Fest was an example of your finished work, I do hope you include SEATS and UPHOLSTERY in your future product. Or is that an up charge?

Funny! The 904 wasn't finished, but the client wanted to show the build. Wr took an order just from showing that specific build. I encourage you and anyone else to visit our shop and see the 5 other 904's in production. Keep the zingers coming!

 

OK, we all know what you guys are looking at...  But is that Chuck Hirsch's old speedster - only now with a bumper?  I mean, grill, custom plates, color, exhaust,  lights...  This pic has a bumper.  If it's the same car, I actually like it with the bumper.  This is a pic of it (assuming it is the same car and I haven't lost ALL my marbles) a few years back in Kit Car magazine.

 

http://www.kitcarmag.com/featu...edster/photo_06.html

 

I wonder what ever happened to Chuck Hirsch.  Always liked him.  Nice fellow

 

angela

Laser precise observation, it WAS Chuck Hirsch's car.  It was for sale which is how I stumbled onto Thunder Ranch.  I picked up this one, a 550 Spyder and decided to buy out everything he had including his lease and employees.  I'm up to four former TR rides, and am now building new cars with a new team (after pushing out about 20+ builds that were sitting at TR for months/years).  Funny, we have been calling the clients that had builds sitting forever and most are in shock and disbelief that we have their cars on the ground and shaken out.  We appreciate the zingers, comments and insight the Speedster/Spyder community has, keep it coming! It keeps us on our toes!

Intentional or not, it seems Mr.AC quietly slipped into offering SOC comments under the impression that he was but an observer offering information about the new order at TR..."my recent visit, etc, etc".

 

Then he slid from observer status to representing himself as having an intere$$t in the remarkable Pheonix arising from the ashes of TR...and now he informs us that he owns it lock stock and barrel!!! 

 

I wish he'd been up front from the beginning

Well, maybe all of this has just evolved.  Given the number of TR not-so-positive comments on this forum over these many months, I would have thought we would have received a comprehensive report from one of the local LA SOC members that stopped by to 'check it out'.

 

I must say that I do find all of this a rather phenomenal turnaround.  BTW, this is an observation and not a zinger.  I am usually not the source of zingers on this forum but I suspect they are lurking out there somewhere.

Interesting perspective, please allow me to clarify.  I am an owner, but also an observer.  I literally stumbled into this opportunity as a first timer to this very interesting vintage replica world.  I don't work out of what is now CCW, I'm not in the car business.  We hired a tremendous team and let them do what they do best.  I simply wanted to share that something new was going on, rather than "HI! I JUST BOUGHT THIS PLACE AND BOY IS IT AWESOME!".  I appreciate everyone's commentaries, as we will only improve what we do by hearing the good and the bad from past, present and future.  And Carl, I did order a new ride, and I'm damned impressed as a consumer, a 250 GTO that will knock socks off...

I think its fair to do a reconn of an area you about to wade into. I'm guessing MrAC has been on this site long enough to know that many a newbie got skewered on here for injecting a relatively innocuous question or comment.

 

Best of luck, Mr AC in your new and noble endeavor!

 

Peace-Out!

lots of stones undertaking this business at this moment. much luck to you.

 

Bob

Mister AC, good luck with your new venture.  One slight correction.  You state in your post above that you are not in the car business.  When you buy a company that makes cars, you are in the car business.  Of course, you may have other business interests, but you are now officially "in the car business".  This industry needs committed individuals who provide a good product.  We will all hope that you fit that category.  Once again, best of luck! 

ARGH! Point well delivered and received...thanks for the support!

AC-Interesting thread...predictable. Since there are so many current owners out here in the SoCal area, why not set up an open house or get together. Certainly having some eyeballs on scene could do some good for your cause. No better way to hit the ground running.

Thought it was Chuck's old car.  Fine little car, glad to see it in the hands of someone who appreciates it.  What I am even more happy to see is that you've cleane up the backlog in TR's pipeline.  Alot of people were owed cars, nice that you've made that good. 

 

This business is all about the product and service.  Unlike a home, or food, a replica car is something you can live WITHOUT.  It is a disposable income item.  Bought for pleasure and expected to be a pleasurable experience to drive/own. 

 

Tell people the TRUTH, even when it's bad news.  Build a quality product, test it before delivery, follow up with customers and you will be successful.  Wish you all the best MisterAC, and as before - WELCOME! 

 

angela

Scott, that is exactly what we're planning. We hope to announce a date early next week for late October just before SEMA. Our priority for first 90 days was to get shop in order and get production disciplines set. If you ever saw TR before, you would understand how many improvements were needed in order to produce any sort of volume. We plan to do an event with all mechanic staff present to consult with Speedster/Spyder owners and more importantly get to know other enthusiasts who love Porsche heritage.  Stay tuned...

To make these folks happy all it takes is an unflagging commitment to excellence, a huge amount of toil, total dedication to after-sale "sorting," absolute passion for the marque*, and the patience to maintain a genuine smile as people heap crap on you anyway.**

 

You can charge for it though. So there's that.

 

 

*The marque is the Porsche Replica, superior in every way to the overpriced, rusty original

 

**Not to be confused with the "SEG."

I managed to escape the office today and rode over to El Cajon to visit CCW. I decided to go look for myself. I had a nice visit with Theo, COO for the company. They have quite a few cars in process mostly 550s, a ferrari, 3 904s, 2 in process and 1 finished, and a speedster or two. Build quality and Fit and Finish extremly good. The Company makes its own bodies on site and had about 6 people working the glass today.

 

Theo also showed me the Coupe they are using to make the mold for the coupe. There is a separate Shop area for the assembly and other space for development and Frame Fab. Very organized and claen shop. parts are organized and shelved.

 

The staff that I talked to was very helpful and seemed to enjoy the work.

 

I went over to CCW looking for the car guy amoungst all the realtors. Theo is their car guy he has a background in racing and fabrication and enjoys the replicas. all in all I had a positive vist and wish the group well in their business.

 

This post reminds me of my construction inspection days might as well add the rest.

 

Time of arrival 11:45, temp 80, wind easterly 10 MPH, weather clear, site condition good.

 

I'll post a few pictures when I find the camera cable.

 

Larry Bull

"....makes its own bodies on site..."  That piques my curiosity. Hmmmm...possibilities.

That would be a cool cruise for the SoCal SOCers. Incorporate in the cruise a visit at MrAC's shop and drool over some 904's. Our cruises typically have 10 or so cars (and drivers).

Maybe resurrect the hotel del Run. meet at the standard staion on I5, del Dios to highland and 67 to Elcajon/CCW then to the Del for lunch or snacks.

 

LArry

 

I'm going I wanna see the coupe

Larry, work it out, I'm in....

I'll work something up for the del run and Post in events.

 

Here are a few pictures of the CCW shop. the coupe used to splash ther tooling, 904 in work, and general shop area.  

Larry

 

Thanks for posting the pics!  Did Theo mention to you that we just delivered the Hotel Del Coronado a special edition speedster?  We show a few speedsters at the Del and make them available for rent through their affiliate exotic rental business.  Let us know how we can help and participate in such what you're planning.  

I'm in for that cruise!

If dates don't conflict I'm in for the cruise and tour.

I've posted a Del run in events. Checking with CCW for a couple of dates.

 

Larry

So.......the big question I have is: Whatever happened to Tom McBurnie?

Tom McBurnie.....yeah.
We kept Tom on as an employee of Carrera Coachwerks as a designer. Despite a lot of historical challenges running a business, he is tremendously talented as a prototyper and has a ton automotive knowledge.  He has a design studio adjacent to our main facility.

Poor Tom. The biggest "challenge" he had running his business was himself and his own poor business practices. He did know a lot about cars, but it is sad that he purported to know about treating his customers in as would any successful automobile dealership. Since I had to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees in a lawsuit against TR to get money returned to me for a car that had supposedly been in production (but then unknown to me, sold to another customer), you can bet that I was not a fan of McBurnie and his questionable deals in California and elsewhere. Several others---including a couple of lawyers---have similar stories to tell. We all wondered how long it would take Tom to finally go belly-up, and hoped that it would be sooner than later so as to save other customers from getting similar shoddy treatment we received.

 

IMO, Chuck Hirsch was a decent guy that got sucked into TR's poor practices. He should have bailed long before the house burned down. To this day, I don't know why he stuck around as long as he did.

 

MisterAC, I wish you the best of luck in taking over TR. Please remember that the grapevine is rather short in the repli-car manufacturing world, and that as such we will be keeping a collective eye on TR.

 

Keeping Tom McBurnie around is like putting a turd on a hot stove.  Sooner or later it's going to stink.

I agree. If I had purchased the business, the purchase contract would have stipulated that McBurnie never again stick his nose around what was formerly TR. Then again, I would have never purchased the business from McBurnie in the first place. He owed so much to so many, and there are too many skeletons.........

 

If the business succeeds under the new ownership (and I sincerely hope it does), it will be in spite of McBurnie's lingering presence, not because of it.

A point of clarification, we didn't "buy Thunder Ranch" for exactly the reasons you very clearly stated. We purchased everything it had in an asset sale and have done our best completing a mass of unfinished projects that TR had.  We hope to promote good experiences after some of the wretched and awful legacies we've heard of from TR.

As an active Business Broker I'll congratulate you on making the deal an asset purchase rather than an entity or corporation burchase.  Any suits in progress or any future ones against the business before you bought the assets won't land on your desk!  You are a smart guy and I'd bet you know all this well.

 

Best of luck to you.

 

One thing T.R. always did was to attend the Carlisle show as a manufacturer---I hope you will continue attending this event. 

You'd be in good company as all manufacturers in the US (& Canada) attend except for the Vintage folks.  Join us for some of out cruises and dinners and you'll see why folks are so passionate about this hobby.  I can almost guarantee that you'll gain some useful insights for your business.

Hey guys amd gals. Sorry I have not been around for sometime but I'm back now. Had a couple of cars to get done and shipped.

 

Those of you who know me know I'm a NO Bullshit type of guy and could not stand Tom or the now GONE TR.

 

Here is a link to a forum that one of my customers wrote up about me. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=527009&highlight=zagar

 

It kind of show the type of guy I am.

 

I too have had a chance to talk to the new owners and managers of the all new CCW. I will say that I would recommend these guys and I'll tell you why.

 

Some of you know we at Mendeola had done some business with TR and like most dealings with Tom that people have we got screwed. We lost a brand new Shawn Gears built engine that cost over $17k. It was a joint venture with TR to display a car in our booth at SEMA and we had agreed to let him keep the $10K Mendeola 5 speed trans for use of the car. We asked for the motor back after the show and were told over and over he had not had a chance to pull it out yet. Then after a few weeks he says the engine is in a car out of the country and he thought we had given him it as payment for use of the car. No way did we do this as the engine belonged to one of our customers. Guess who paid for a replacement, NOT Tom.

 

Anyhow after talking to Chris one of the main guys at CCW he called us up the next day and said he thought he might have bought that engine from Tom along with a Mendeola 5 speed. He was willing to give it back to us and lose out on what he paid Tom for the engine. It turned out it was not our engine, but talk about speaking volumes about the new guys.

 

As for the shop, it looks like things are coming together and cars are getting finished. These guys are not joking around and look to be in full swing buy the end of the year. I would say look out Speedster and Porsche kit car world, there is a new player in the market and things are nice.

 

Keeping Tom on is the only thing that worries me. It's like finding out you have canser and only removing part of it. If something can hurt CCW that is it. I know there are a ton of tallanted people out there in the world. Keeping someone on your team that you can NOT trust is DUMB...... It's got me wondering why?????

 

Good night all.... I'm off to find a new hobby now that TR is gone.....   

Great synopsis Kevin 'coolryde'...Well done

 

Not speculation, but informed opinion with reputation to back it up!

Theron, I noticed that TR is still listed in Makers on the SOC website. I feel that since so many of those who have been screwed by TR in the past have come out of the woodwork that TR should be erased from the Makers section and replaced with CCW. IMHO, TR is nothing less than an ugly wart on the site and it should be promptly excised with a sharp scalpel. 

 

Mister AC: I am disappointed that you have kept McBurnie on the payroll. His very presence would make me hesitant to be one of your customers. I hate to say it, but the stink remains, and even though McBurnie may have no direct input into the CCW decision-making process, IMO he is a public relations liability; keeping him around may well negatively affect your business....at least in the short run.