ekauppi7
ekauppi7 New Reader
10/19/22 9:50 p.m.

The Carver has all the tilting fun of a motorcycle, but is fully enclosed and steers like a car with a steering wheel.  It's made in Germany and street legal in the EU, but not homologated for the USA.  It is possible that this Carver is the only one in the US.

This Carver was imported for engineering evaluation and now that is complete so the vehicle is for sale.  It comes with a bill of sale and documentation of the original sale in Germany and the importation.  There is no US title.  Depending on the laws where you live you may not be able to register it for road use.  This is a 2021 model and is very similar to the 2022 Carver R which you can see on the site  https://carver.earth/en/discover-the-carver/  This is the low speed model, limited by software to about 45kph.

This Carver has 84 kilometers on the odometer, it is complete and fully functional but has a surprising amount of shipping damage, all of which is documented in the photos below.  There are various rub marks on the body, the rear fenders are broken and covered with gaffers tape, the R is missing from the rear badge and some idiot wrote on the back of it with a paint pen. 

https://eriknjacob.smugmug.com/Carver

Walkaround and driving videos are here:

https://youtu.be/fJw0Urx55H0

https://youtu.be/hfOk8Zd9pF4

https://youtu.be/DcZYq3ISNvg

I really don't know what it is worth here and now.  $9000?  That's less than what a new one costs in Germany, before shipping and importing.  Or make an offer...?

 

hobiercr
hobiercr GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
10/19/22 9:57 p.m.

Where are you located?

ekauppi7
ekauppi7 New Reader
10/19/22 10:02 p.m.

Ann Arbor MI. 

And really I could use advice -- where and how would you (should I) find customers for this thing?

It almost seems like some museum making an exhibit about micromobility or city cars or something would be interested... but I have no idea how to reach those folks.  Or who else would want it?  I tried BaT and they declined to list it, it's too far from the center of their enthusiast automobile market.

MyMiatas
MyMiatas Reader
10/19/22 10:10 p.m.

IMO. You should take the Carver to the DMV . Have it vin inspected and titled as a motorcycle. That should solve the title problem. Then do the few repairs to it. Drive it around to let it be seen.  Then selling it should be alot easier.  :0)

motobill
motobill New Reader
10/19/22 10:24 p.m.

This is a long shot, but the Petersen Museum in LA might be interested. They have all sorts of interesting stuff in the basement there. I was there once and they had a brand new ~2000 Camry completely disassembled and laid out neatly on the floor. They were selling it for cheap, like $500, but you had to put it all back together. 

Anywhoozles...I doubt they would pay much for it. They get all kinds of cool stuff donated.

BTW, what's the range?

--bb

ekauppi7
ekauppi7 New Reader
10/20/22 10:36 a.m.

Carver claims 130km range. As we have only put 84km on it, we have not verified this. smiley

dculberson
dculberson MegaDork
10/20/22 11:22 a.m.

That thing is simultaneously super cool and a total dorkmobile. I love it. The 45kmh really kills it - 27mph just isn't fast enough to be safe even on side streets around here. I wonder if there's any way to upgrade it to the faster speed.

ekauppi7
ekauppi7 New Reader
10/21/22 2:15 p.m.

They do make a faster version.  I have no idea what the differences are.  The speed limit is clearly set in software, it has the power to go faster.  I have not attempted to hack it.

 

ekauppi7
ekauppi7 New Reader
11/6/22 8:39 p.m.

The Carver is now listed on fleabay.   We'll see what happens.

 

blue92stu
blue92stu New Reader
11/6/22 11:34 p.m.

Reach out to Jeff Lane at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville. 
they've got all sorts of weird Euro micro cars on display. 

https://www.lanemotormuseum.org/

procainestart
procainestart SuperDork
11/7/22 10:46 a.m.

In the Netherlands, and probably elsewhere in Europe, you can drive this type of vehicle on bike paths, which, I'm guessing, is why the low top speed (regulations stipulate max speed to be eligible for the paths -- the color of your license plate indicates compliance). Being able to ride on a bike path is compelling there. 

Assuming I'm correct about the top speed, the vehicle seems to be really quite specialized, use-wise. I'm not up on bike regs around the US, but I live in a city that has some of the most extensive bike infrastructure in the country, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be able to ride it on bike-only paths. 

TL;DR

IMO, its appeal is probably greater to e-bike enthusiasts and Americans who wish we had a more European cycling culture, not motorcyclists. 

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
11/7/22 10:58 a.m.

So someone finally created the GM Lean Machine.

https://www.carstyling.ru/en/car/1982_gm_lean_machine/

 

seriphussr
seriphussr New Reader
2/18/24 3:44 p.m.

Did you ever sell this vehicle?

(My ex-Father-in-law worked in Reseach and Development at the GM Tech Center in the 80s. He helped develop the Lean Machine. I got to see it when he was working on it. The Carver looks like a modern version of that concept vehicle.)

914Driver
914Driver MegaDork
2/19/24 8:40 a.m.

They approved 5 Ecomobiles into the US and then stopped.  A guy had one in LA in a crate and they turned it around.  Remember folks, you're dealing with the Government.

I have a 5 gallon jug of coins waiting for one.

 

ekauppi7
ekauppi7 Reader
3/21/24 8:47 p.m.

In reply to seriphussr :

Not sold yet, still available.  Got busy with other things.

pstryder
pstryder New Reader
3/25/24 10:38 a.m.

In reply to ekauppi7 :

I'm interested. PM me please.

Mgeier
Mgeier New Reader
4/13/24 3:49 p.m.

In reply to ekauppi7 :

 Also interested. Please PM me if it's still available. 

lanceva007
lanceva007 New Reader
4/26/24 11:12 a.m.

PM me too if still available 

ekauppi7
ekauppi7 Reader
5/6/24 7:42 p.m.

It's still sitting in storage.  I'll ask my boss what he would take for it.  Or make me an offer and I'll dangle it in front of him.

ekauppi7
ekauppi7 Reader
5/12/24 5:07 p.m.

Here are links to photos and videos of my Carver:

I re-listed it on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1536468486979310

 

You can see a walkaround video and test drive videos here: 

https://youtu.be/fJw0Urx55H0 

https://youtu.be/hfOk8Zd9pF4

https://youtu.be/DcZYq3ISNvg

There are many more detailed photos, including close-ups of various defects, here: 

https://eriknjacob.smugmug.com/Carver

 

The photos and videos were taken fall of 2022, nothing has changed since then except a layer of dust and maybe 3km more on the odometer.

 

ekauppi7
ekauppi7 Reader
6/7/24 7:38 p.m.

The Carver is definitely for sale, the boss is motivated to sell it.

$8k would get it.  It's in Ann Arbor MI. 

ekauppi7
ekauppi7 Reader
9/29/24 7:09 p.m.

I sold it to Jeff Lane at the Lane Motor Museum.

Blue92stu, thanks very much for the suggestion!

 

dculberson
dculberson MegaDork
10/1/24 8:01 a.m.

Hell yes!

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