> was it possible to secure some venture capital
> for such an unconventional enterprise?

I've been wondering about this myself, and I think I already know the answer. The Empeg folks probably aren't ready to discuss their capital situation with the general public, but I've got speculation here for ya...

Hasn't the company been around for nearly two years now? Let's do the math... They've sold, what, about 150 of the Mark1 players so far? At, let's say, an average of $1300.00 a piece? That's optimistic, and that comes to only $195,000.00. Seems to me that a high-tech company like Empeg would need a LOT more cash than that to survive for that length of time. Plus, there's the situation of their plans to gear up production next year. I'd bet that needs a significant advance component purchase from their suppliers. Which, I'd bet, makes that 195k look like peanuts.

So, I think we can pretty confidently assume a few things:

1) Of course they're using venture capital.
2) It's a really REALLY big chunk of venture capital.
3) Empeg UK must have had an AWESOME business plan written up to attract that kind of investment.
4) Both Empeg and their investors are counting on next March's big push to really take off.

Personally, I want to know who's investing in them. They must have some real balls to invest in something so unusual and risky. Don't get me wrong, I think the Empeg Car is the best thing since sliced bread. It's just that with Sony and Matsushita tying up the consumer electronics markets, it seems like it would be really hard to get enough market share to be profitable. I definitely think that Empeg UK deserves to be successful and profitable in the long term. They are genuinely concerned about their customers, and are committed to making the Empeg Car the best it can be.

Anyone got any other comments?