Common problem with service businesses that have a ton of demand but low margins. The owner wants the growth so he sells a huge backlog. But growth takes cash and he can’t get the cash to fund the growth and the whole thing collapses.
@@galencaudill6462 Imagine people doing these conversations for the sole reason to flip it saying it's a manual from the factory. They only want to do it to make money.
At this rate there will be no original Ferraris left that originally had paddle shifters. Just so people can make money scamming people saying they are original from Ferrari. I really hope Ferrari steps in and does something about this. I really hope they can.
The character of both men in this video is clear, compelling and unequivocal. Despite their conflicted feelings about what happened and wishing each could have known sooner to have protected those they advise, each man speaks without obfuscation or hesitation. Bravo gentlemen.
The nature of exotics attracts douche bag narcissists with limited moral fiber. Add car salesman type attitudes to that and you get… 😅 Dan is too wholesome for this industry. 😅
Good insight Dan, the minute you saw that new building space and office space remodeling was a priority (rather than collecting money and getting cars finished) , it was doomed. Art fell in love with the entire process (1/2 million dollar mill machine ..... for some shifter bases!) but unfortunately he lost site of the reason he was there in the first place - the Product. He didn't have any cash because he was making payments on equipment he didn't need! He's clearly a very passionate fellow who simply became over whelmed. As you stated Dan, he could not focus.
@@normalguysupercarI’ve seen this many times in the business world over the years (I own an electronic module production company). Guys are more worried about their big fancy production facility or renting an office in a high rise corner office. It’s about the product, plain and simple.
That is my impression after listening to this. Evan, I don't know you, but I'm sorry you got screwed in this. Dan, I can see 100% why you and Josh bailed on EAG.
I know Evan, good guy. I had no idea this happened to him. The client he is talking about that introduced HBI to the EAG conversion is the former President of FCA in NC.
As a mechanical engineer, I was immediately skeptical when I saw that Art was basically making all billet parts instead of casting and post machined like they would be done in the factory. Pretty classic example of an “engineer” too obsessed with making the perfect thing and ignoring what will sell. IMO it seemed over when the Dr. S kit hit the market.
Conversly, as someone who's been running CNC machines for a while, I think casting would add a lot of unneeded complexity to the process. When it comes to machining it will almost always be easier to make a part from a blank billet than a rough casting or forging. Unless it's something large like an engine block, or you're making a lot of them, the cost and time to remove the extra material will be negligable. Casting is a much harder process to get right than machining, and defects are more difficult to catch. Plus it's a well known fact that each billet part you install adds 10 horepower no matter where it is on the car.
@@TheTimeFarm agreed for smaller parts, but if you look at the components these kits include, it's things like pedals and the actual shift box. None of these are small parts and with post-machining could be easily scaled given they actually design good jigs/fixtures for them.
@@normalguysupercar Definitely not as big, but it has a similar taste. In the other video, Art did what Clay did. He portray himself as a victim, just like Clay. In that video, thrre was no sympathy for those left in a bind because of him.
@@normalguysupercar I'm glad Dave with DDE got his 599 done before any of this crap happened. I was one of many who recommended EAG to him when he first wanted to do a manual conversion.
Hoping both of you guys will have long-term, consistent supplies of the kits and can crank out these conversions. Nothing would be better than 100% of all F430s on the road having 3 pedals :)
Looking back at some of your older videos with Art, mannnn he reminds me of some of my old bosses who wanted to control everything and were terrible to work with, like anything you said they had to have the last word, or some corrective statement no matter how trivial, control control control, and how no one else can do anything right... *glad you parted with art*
Sounds just like from a few years ago of many viper owners who sent their cars to Hennessey for upgrades. Many years of BS stories and nothing happening on customer cars.
This sounds soooo familiar. I went through something similar with BRP when they were building Miata superchargers back in the early 2000’s. The owner made an amazing kit but the company went under because they got distracted developing multiple new kits at once. Cash flow dried up and none of the new products were market ready yet. That and Moss stole the design and started selling their own MP62 kits at a lower price.
I learned that with these small time companies that you have to use an escrow service that pays when you receive the correct material. Let the small business get a loan and then pay the loan back when the escrow is released. If they refuse to do that then you know they are scammers.
@@normalguysupercar No large company would do it, buta large company also would have a credit rating on D&B saying they have a history of being trusted. A small business like this will have no credit history to back up this kind of project. You either have to gamble like its vegas or use some kind of escrow service. The other option is you pay the vendors directly instead of through the small business, but that cant stop them from stealing the material once they possess it. Either way it makes no sense to pay them as a go between to pay vendors. If they refuse escrow, then write up a contract to where you pay the vendors directly and what $X dollar amount milestone payments they received based on verifiable work/deliveries. But to just give someone, with no credit history, $100K with no oversight means you will lose your money.
Just to clarify, according to what I know, the SCUD conversion either never worked all the way, or did not work for many many months after the public with that build. It had to do with either the stability control or traction control of both.
Tech, design, quality, demand from the market, people willing to collaborate and you still manage to stand on your own nuts... this takes some serious levels of trying to mess up. Hey Art? If you're reading, I know you or your lawyers are... congratulations.
Sounds like Hennessy back in the day but John made it right and and came out and said he screwed up and hired people to run the day to day stuff it seems like Art is making the same mistakes but hopefully he can learn but it seems like EAG is done for no one is going to trust them anymore
A lot of the newer Ferrari's have automatic transmission (known as the F1 transmission) which some owners would like changed over to a manual transmission. To my knowledge that is not something that Ferrari as a manufacturer offers so that opened up the opportunity for third parties to design a conversion kit and offer an installation service.
The more I hear the more I’ve come to the conclusion that Art was in over his head, it seems he lacked the organizational skills and manpower to met the demand for the product.
The history of the automotive industry is littered with stories of engineers who had a brilliant idea but failed because of a lack of business acumen. It seems that Art and EAG are sadly the latest.
Hi Dan do you think misappropriation of funds/fraud is involved or is it purely incompetence? What was the estimated total addressable market for conversions? Are kits still being delivered to customers?
@@normalguysupercar Did I hear that he bought himself a plane?????? Yeah. Last time I checked, aircrafts aren't 'cheap'. He's a thief. Plain and simple.
That could have been a win win situation for everyone involved, hate to see this pan out the way it is. Sometimes we put the hand in the cookie jar and we cannot get it out! LOL
Also, don't know the whole story obviously, but it sounds like Art originally tried to get the kits manufactured in China? Wasn't there a US based company (near EAG) that could have produced parts? (Sure it might have cost more, but might have had better quality and quicker turnaround) Seems like he could have got a lot of parts made instead of spending $500K on a 5-axis CNC machine!
At this rate there will be no original Ferraris left that originally had paddle shifters. Just so people can make money scamming people saying they are original from Ferrari. I really hope Ferrari steps in and does something about this. I really hope they can.
I don't think EAG was representing their converted cars as OEM. Years ago, EAG was able to acquire OEM parts to complete conversions, but that was pre-pandemic I think.
@@MEGLITatUT I should have been more clear. The people getting the conversions done by EAG wanted it done for this purpose. It doesn't matter if it is all OEM. It's not from factory. If Ferrari had a works program like Aston Martin who will do it and recertify the car from factory so be it. But this is completely different!
Hopefully, driving your GT40... or standing beside it... or just looking at it sipping your morning coffee, helps to ease your pain of all this. Go for a drive and let us know if it takes your mind off this ugly stress.
Sad story! Product sounded like it had the chance to be a real money maker, but Art couldn't manage the business. I know it probably won't, but I hope you and HBI Auto get some/all your $$ back (or that you are owed). Good luck!
Programming is easy, but it is also easy to crash a 5 axis mill. When you make a new program you have to test it very very very slow watching it to make sure nothing crashes. I have had situations where we had no crash in vericut and we crashed in the machine because there was a difference in config file that the manufacture also missed. The machines go fast and hard, they are not forgiving for mistakes.
I ran a large 2 headed Ingersall CNC years ago at a Caterpillar plant. Everyone said it's just a matter of time and you will wreck it and I did once, the whole plant shook when it happened. My coworker inertia welded a tool into a part because he never payed attention to the program when he hit cycle start.
Very sad end story for EAG. Sounds like everyone was very passionate about the conversion. It failed by pursuing grandiose ideas and many other things.
Am a little confused. Did he actually pay 100 grand for 100 shifter kits and only missing one? If so that’s not so bad. But didn’t really explain it fully
He never got any of the 100 he bought for $100k. He got 9/10 from the first batch he bought. Of note, it wasn't $100k total, it was $100k up front, then $3k more per install.
What was the life cycle of EAG or others?🤔. Ferrari is not making more 360’s, 430’s, 599’s, etc. the pool of owners wanting conversions was or is dwindling fast. The model is not sustainable at a large volume after some point in time.
@@normalguysupercar I agree with you Dan. There's a MASSIVE market to convert these cars. Everything sold new is basically an automatic transmission. Enthusiasts want the stick shift to be 'involved', and with more and more electric cars being produced, that adds fuel to the stick shift fire. Hell, I'd LOVE to convert a Scud. How difficult would that be to accomplish? Are you up for the challenge? :)
@@dwighteickmeier4961 the problem with the Scud is the programming. The hardware is basically the same, not 100% though so it does require a few unique parts. But the programming is completely different. Sadly I'm not sure I want to play with that stuff right now as it's more limited.
I feel bad for these two and the many others listening as they realize how many channels of investment there were without any results. If they all knew they could have made different choices.
I've no idea if you have any ownership of Gated 6, but if you can get nothing else from this mess; hopefully, you can at least get the company you first started back. Personally meeting you, you're a very down-to-earth trustworthy guy. I firmly believe none of this nonsense would have happened if you were at the helm. I hope things work out for you in some way! Stay safe and god bless y'all
Sounds like a great place to start 🥂 ... then umbrella all of the manual conversion companies under one company; even if that means you only have sales right ✌️ The majority of the population will correlate more with Gated 6/Gated Six than with letters strewn together to form a company name. I have faith that you can do this. It's a smart move for everyone, even collaborations with other conversion companies. Defining the brand is important, and you already know that it was never utilized to its potential. We'll see, I hope you can get it back!!
I had a horrible experience with Art and my car. The man might be very smart at design but he does not know how run a business or how to speak to customers. I always thought he was on the Spectrum.
Same here, I do think he's on the Spectrum and it's why I cut him so much slack because I have a son that is on the spectrum, but much lower end of the spectrum than Art.
The cost to hire a lawyer is very expensive and it was cheaper for me to fix my car with my mechanic when it was returned. My car now works great after my mechanic fixed my car. First off you have to pay a lawyer a high retainer. If I lived in Texas I would had taken him to small claims court but I do not live in that state.
What a shit-show. I was a bystander, but followed along with Arts ride the last few years, and when I saw the Murci conversion coming....man, i thought this is going to be a real legit company! What a shame. I hope someone picks up the manual murcie mantle - the delta between stick and e-gear just screams there's a business in there.
Stop. They were selling a kit that kinda worked that doubled the price of the used car? I couldn't imagine anyone in the automotive industry considering this conversion a valid option. The entire scene sounds like fraud in the luxury industry.
Maybe you're referring to the Scud conversions in particular? The 360s, 430s, 599s and 575s didn't seem to have programming problems. Further, while these are used cars, they are very expensive used cars and the people asking for conversions and buying converted cars specifically want conversions and converted cars. Many of the buyers ended up later selling those cars for a profit (still occurring in the market daily though not at Pandemic level prices) to other buyers who specifically wanted converted cars. The kits were/are a desired technology by consumers and by and large consumers liked and still like the conversions. They did NOT like EAG customer service. At this point there are new suppliers of conversion kits in the market place and they continue to sell those kits at a rapid pace.
Dan... I've known Art for a long time, long enough to know his character. We play hockey together. He's certainly not ripping anyone off. You need to know his side of what is going on.. BTW you used to be in the same reef club as me.. I know you as well.
So after exposing the consignment scam… You ended up in one yourself???? BROH… LET MEG RUN YOUR BUSINESS. I ASSURE YOU… she NEVER WOULD HAVE FALLEN FOR THESE SHENANIGANS. this is insane.
Imagine having investors, a product that you already developed, customers , people willing to do the labor and you still f it up.
Common problem with service businesses that have a ton of demand but low margins. The owner wants the growth so he sells a huge backlog. But growth takes cash and he can’t get the cash to fund the growth and the whole thing collapses.
Yeah
@@galencaudill6462 Imagine people doing these conversations for the sole reason to flip it saying it's a manual from the factory. They only want to do it to make money.
At this rate there will be no original Ferraris left that originally had paddle shifters. Just so people can make money scamming people saying they are original from Ferrari. I really hope Ferrari steps in and does something about this. I really hope they can.
@@galencaudill6462it's all relative to some of these people 250k is chump change. No different than doing a swap on a 10k dollar car.
The character of both men in this video is clear, compelling and unequivocal. Despite their conflicted feelings about what happened and wishing each could have known sooner to have protected those they advise, each man speaks without obfuscation or hesitation. Bravo gentlemen.
Thank you very much. Just trying our best here
The exotic car scene is so scummy that it's almost dangerous for a novice to enter. It is best to do research before treading these waters.
Unfortunately
The nature of exotics attracts douche bag narcissists with limited moral fiber. Add car salesman type attitudes to that and you get… 😅 Dan is too wholesome for this industry. 😅
Good insight Dan, the minute you saw that new building space and office space remodeling was a priority (rather than collecting money and getting cars finished) , it was doomed. Art fell in love with the entire process (1/2 million dollar mill machine ..... for some shifter bases!) but unfortunately he lost site of the reason he was there in the first place - the Product.
He didn't have any cash because he was making payments on equipment he didn't need! He's clearly a very passionate fellow who simply became over whelmed. As you stated Dan, he could not focus.
Yes indeed
@@normalguysupercarI’ve seen this many times in the business world over the years (I own an electronic module production company). Guys are more worried about their big fancy production facility or renting an office in a high rise corner office. It’s about the product, plain and simple.
Sounds like Art is taking a page from the Clay playbook.
Possibly so.
That is my impression after listening to this. Evan, I don't know you, but I'm sorry you got screwed in this. Dan, I can see 100% why you and Josh bailed on EAG.
I know Evan, good guy. I had no idea this happened to him. The client he is talking about that introduced HBI to the EAG conversion is the former President of FCA in NC.
Yeah, Evan is one of the good guys in this industry.
As a mechanical engineer, I was immediately skeptical when I saw that Art was basically making all billet parts instead of casting and post machined like they would be done in the factory. Pretty classic example of an “engineer” too obsessed with making the perfect thing and ignoring what will sell.
IMO it seemed over when the Dr. S kit hit the market.
Yup
Conversly, as someone who's been running CNC machines for a while, I think casting would add a lot of unneeded complexity to the process. When it comes to machining it will almost always be easier to make a part from a blank billet than a rough casting or forging. Unless it's something large like an engine block, or you're making a lot of them, the cost and time to remove the extra material will be negligable. Casting is a much harder process to get right than machining, and defects are more difficult to catch. Plus it's a well known fact that each billet part you install adds 10 horepower no matter where it is on the car.
@@TheTimeFarm agreed for smaller parts, but if you look at the components these kits include, it's things like pedals and the actual shift box. None of these are small parts and with post-machining could be easily scaled given they actually design good jigs/fixtures for them.
This is turning into a CNC motors story. Incredible.
Eh not quite as big... That was sheer insanity
I was just mentioning as a figure of speech.
@@normalguysupercar
Definitely not as big, but it has a similar taste.
In the other video, Art did what Clay did. He portray himself as a victim, just like Clay. In that video, thrre was no sympathy for those left in a bind because of him.
@@AB-80X that part is scarily accurate.
This is what happens when the "Idea Guy" runneth amok. Art needed to be second or third in line, not the one in charge of everything.
Yup
@@normalguysupercar I'm glad Dave with DDE got his 599 done before any of this crap happened. I was one of many who recommended EAG to him when he first wanted to do a manual conversion.
They just ordered a 2nd kit too for Damon’s 499 too
@@djwilliams4714 They might have a long wait on that one.
Hoping both of you guys will have long-term, consistent supplies of the kits and can crank out these conversions. Nothing would be better than 100% of all F430s on the road having 3 pedals :)
We're trying to
@@normalguysupercarI’m sticking with my F1 vs dealing with all this type of crap. 😂
Looking back at some of your older videos with Art, mannnn he reminds me of some of my old bosses who wanted to control everything and were terrible to work with, like anything you said they had to have the last word, or some corrective statement no matter how trivial, control control control, and how no one else can do anything right... *glad you parted with art*
Yeah, I can't stand that sort of thing. A good manager knows how to delegate tasks.
Sounds just like from a few years ago of many viper owners who sent their cars to Hennessey for upgrades. Many years of BS stories and nothing happening on customer cars.
Ahhh yeah, I remember something about that.
Art paid his dad 6 figures for the office reno? Thats insane lol
Pocketing some money to the family that can't be taken away
Something like that
I don’t feel as bad getting scammed by art after seeing all these videos definitely taught me if something sounds too good to be true it probably is.
Yeah unfortunately
EAG and CNC sound like friends
Lol
This sounds soooo familiar. I went through something similar with BRP when they were building Miata superchargers back in the early 2000’s.
The owner made an amazing kit but the company went under because they got distracted developing multiple new kits at once. Cash flow dried up and none of the new products were market ready yet. That and Moss stole the design and started selling their own MP62 kits at a lower price.
I think this sorta thing seems to happen frequently in the car business
I learned that with these small time companies that you have to use an escrow service that pays when you receive the correct material.
Let the small business get a loan and then pay the loan back when the escrow is released. If they refuse to do that then you know they are scammers.
There's almost no companies I know willing to do that. Just saying. Ideally, yes, in reality, no.
@@normalguysupercar
No large company would do it, buta large company also would have a credit rating on D&B saying they have a history of being trusted. A small business like this will have no credit history to back up this kind of project. You either have to gamble like its vegas or use some kind of escrow service.
The other option is you pay the vendors directly instead of through the small business, but that cant stop them from stealing the material once they possess it.
Either way it makes no sense to pay them as a go between to pay vendors.
If they refuse escrow, then write up a contract to where you pay the vendors directly and what $X dollar amount milestone payments they received based on verifiable work/deliveries.
But to just give someone, with no credit history, $100K with no oversight means you will lose your money.
Just to clarify, according to what I know, the SCUD conversion either never worked all the way, or did not work for many many months after the public with that build. It had to do with either the stability control or traction control of both.
Yeah for sure it didn't work at first but I think I saw it finally working many many months later.
100k for 100 kits? Come on man ...
Aren't they 25 grand each?
It was $4k each. $100k up front, then $3k per install. But still, yea....
Tech, design, quality, demand from the market, people willing to collaborate and you still manage to stand on your own nuts... this takes some serious levels of trying to mess up. Hey Art? If you're reading, I know you or your lawyers are... congratulations.
Pretty much!
Sounds like Hennessy back in the day but John made it right and and came out and said he screwed up and hired people to run the day to day stuff it seems like Art is making the same mistakes but hopefully he can learn but it seems like EAG is done for no one is going to trust them anymore
I think there's a reasonable probability that it's done.
Doubt it . Especially since art has been spending money on himself
New offices, files for programming, cables, etc. All sound like scams to steal money off the top.
Possibly so
Wow. This story is like peeling back an onion, more and more..is there more to come?
I hope not but I would guess yes
Can you clarify what “conversion” means in this video? Are these manual transmission swaps?
They are manual transmission conversions.
A lot of the newer Ferrari's have automatic transmission (known as the F1 transmission) which some owners would like changed over to a manual transmission. To my knowledge that is not something that Ferrari as a manufacturer offers so that opened up the opportunity for third parties to design a conversion kit and offer an installation service.
Great content and very informative Dan. Sounds like Art had one big old Ponzi 😊 scheme going on.
Yeah
This might be good for NGS doing installs at your shop. Could be a blessing in disguise for you and Josh if that's the route you go?!
Eh maybe but remains to be seen.
Good video. Bad story for everyone involved. I also noticed Art took down all of his recent videos about his ongoing troubles...
Yup
The more I hear the more I’ve come to the conclusion that Art was in over his head, it seems he lacked the organizational skills and manpower to met the demand for the product.
I think it's worse than that but that's certainly a part of the equation.
Superman complex; worked with several, would never share knowledge or process, always had to come and “save the day”
Very true
Sometimes intelligent talented people have a serious lack of common sense.
It's easy to think that in hindsight.
I feel very lucky that I received my kit.
Most of the "regular" customers did as far as I'm aware
Have you seen Tavarish's latest video? EAG was in his video for the conversion on a 430 Scuderia.
Yeah they did that conversion like a year ago.
@@normalguysupercarI thought that video was old but damn Freddy is way behind with uploading
He was in the DDE video today.
What is that pounding sound?
I'm not sure what sound you're referring to
The history of the automotive industry is littered with stories of engineers who had a brilliant idea but failed because of a lack of business acumen. It seems that Art and EAG are sadly the latest.
That's very true.
lol spent forever converting Supras then Toyota released a manual the following year.
That was kinda funny.
Has anyone of the investors end up with the rights of production for the kits?
Yes
Hi Dan do you think misappropriation of funds/fraud is involved or is it purely incompetence? What was the estimated total addressable market for conversions? Are kits still being delivered to customers?
I have opinions on this but little to no evidence so I'm not going to publicly state anything at this time.
@@normalguysupercar Did I hear that he bought himself a plane?????? Yeah. Last time I checked, aircrafts aren't 'cheap'. He's a thief. Plain and simple.
That could have been a win win situation for everyone involved, hate to see this pan out the way it is. Sometimes we put the hand in the cookie jar and we cannot get it out! LOL
Eh I'm not sure Evan or I are winning in the traditional sense but I'm all for hoping we do lol
Is there a patent on these kits?
No
Also, don't know the whole story obviously, but it sounds like Art originally tried to get the kits manufactured in China? Wasn't there a US based company (near EAG) that could have produced parts? (Sure it might have cost more, but might have had better quality and quicker turnaround) Seems like he could have got a lot of parts made instead of spending $500K on a 5-axis CNC machine!
Correct
At this rate there will be no original Ferraris left that originally had paddle shifters. Just so people can make money scamming people saying they are original from Ferrari. I really hope Ferrari steps in and does something about this. I really hope they can.
I don't think EAG was representing their converted cars as OEM. Years ago, EAG was able to acquire OEM parts to complete conversions, but that was pre-pandemic I think.
@@MEGLITatUT I should have been more clear. The people getting the conversions done by EAG wanted it done for this purpose. It doesn't matter if it is all OEM. It's not from factory. If Ferrari had a works program like Aston Martin who will do it and recertify the car from factory so be it. But this is completely different!
They made almost 20k 430s, of which only 1500 were manual. I think there's quite a ways to go...
Hopefully, driving your GT40... or standing beside it... or just looking at it sipping your morning coffee, helps to ease your pain of all this. Go for a drive and let us know if it takes your mind off this ugly stress.
Haha I do love that car
Sad story! Product sounded like it had the chance to be a real money maker, but Art couldn't manage the business. I know it probably won't, but I hope you and HBI Auto get some/all your $$ back (or that you are owed). Good luck!
There's a pretty low probability we will get the money.
How do you spell rip-off artist? ART
Nice.
Programming is easy, but it is also easy to crash a 5 axis mill. When you make a new program you have to test it very very very slow watching it to make sure nothing crashes.
I have had situations where we had no crash in vericut and we crashed in the machine because there was a difference in config file that the manufacture also missed. The machines go fast and hard, they are not forgiving for mistakes.
I ran a large 2 headed Ingersall CNC years ago at a Caterpillar plant. Everyone said it's just a matter of time and you will wreck it and I did once, the whole plant shook when it happened. My coworker inertia welded a tool into a part because he never payed attention to the program when he hit cycle start.
Yeah those things are scary when running full speed. That's a whole lot of physics going on. Lol
What track is that in the background photo? Driveway Austin?
Yes.
Very sad end story for EAG. Sounds like everyone was very passionate about the conversion. It failed by pursuing grandiose ideas and many other things.
Yup
Am a little confused. Did he actually pay 100 grand for 100 shifter kits and only missing one? If so that’s not so bad. But didn’t really explain it fully
He never got the kits
Doesn’t seem too cheesed if he’s out 100 grand
He never got any of the 100 he bought for $100k. He got 9/10 from the first batch he bought. Of note, it wasn't $100k total, it was $100k up front, then $3k more per install.
Effort justification at its finest.
Ok
$1K cost per kit. Insane markup on these.
They aren't $1k to make, that's what's crazy. It's a lot more than that.
@@normalguysupercarDefinitely had no intentions of sending everything and wanted quick cash
It’s like he made a deal that would’ve been impossible to fulfill upon
Ill stick to the computer nerd biz. Everyone pays, never in 20+years had an issue with a crook.
Ehhhhh... There's some sketchy stuff in the computer world too...
How could he sell the kits at a 1000 per kit. The profit for installing them would be unbelievable.
He couldn't. That's below cost. The agreement was $100k up front, then $3k per installation.
What was the life cycle of EAG or others?🤔. Ferrari is not making more 360’s, 430’s, 599’s, etc. the pool of owners wanting conversions was or is dwindling fast. The model is not sustainable at a large volume after some point in time.
I'm gonna disagree
@@normalguysupercar I agree with you Dan. There's a MASSIVE market to convert these cars. Everything sold new is basically an automatic transmission. Enthusiasts want the stick shift to be 'involved', and with more and more electric cars being produced, that adds fuel to the stick shift fire. Hell, I'd LOVE to convert a Scud. How difficult would that be to accomplish? Are you up for the challenge? :)
@@dwighteickmeier4961 the problem with the Scud is the programming. The hardware is basically the same, not 100% though so it does require a few unique parts. But the programming is completely different. Sadly I'm not sure I want to play with that stuff right now as it's more limited.
You can’t spell scam artist without “ART” 😅
LOL
Did Art delete the EAG channel/account? Looks like it doesn’t exist..
No it's still there. He did pull down the recent videos though.
@@normalguysupercar Found it - not sure if the channel was suppressed but it took a minute to get the channel and videos located..
save the f1s
LOL!
Art wrote checks that his mouth couldn’t pay
Basically
I feel bad for these two and the many others listening as they realize how many channels of investment there were without any results. If they all knew they could have made different choices.
Indeed.
I wish we could get back to cool cars and away from boring litigation crap...
99% of our content is about cool cars. This arguably is still about cool cars.
Would be cool to hear both sides of the story.
I'm fairly sure Art doesn't want to talk to me but I'm not opposed to it
Interesting. I didn't know there was stuff being made in China. Immediate issue right there.
Yup
Sooo glad i did NOT ship EAG my car. Now we should rewatch Arts crying video.
Lol yup
What about the poor SOB owners in the process of conversion whos cars are apart at Arts shop..........
From what the investors told me they are being taken care of. I can't confirm that yet.
As annoying as he can be sometimes, Matt Farah was right about Art.
Yes and no... He had somethings right and others wrong. But yeah, basically.
I've no idea if you have any ownership of Gated 6, but if you can get nothing else from this mess; hopefully, you can at least get the company you first started back. Personally meeting you, you're a very down-to-earth trustworthy guy. I firmly believe none of this nonsense would have happened if you were at the helm. I hope things work out for you in some way! Stay safe and god bless y'all
Thanks man. I don't know if the contract to acquire the company would be considered void or not since I was never paid the royalty.
Sounds like a great place to start 🥂
... then umbrella all of the manual conversion companies under one company; even if that means you only have sales right ✌️
The majority of the population will correlate more with Gated 6/Gated Six than with letters strewn together to form a company name. I have faith that you can do this. It's a smart move for everyone, even collaborations with other conversion companies. Defining the brand is important, and you already know that it was never utilized to its potential. We'll see, I hope you can get it back!!
I had a horrible experience with Art and my car. The man might be very smart at design but he does not know how run a business or how to speak to customers. I always thought he was on the Spectrum.
Your experience sounds common unfortunately.
Same here, I do think he's on the Spectrum and it's why I cut him so much slack because I have a son that is on the spectrum, but much lower end of the spectrum than Art.
Next on Real House wives of Ferrari....
Yup
oh boy
Yup
Does EAG have a lot of money and great lawyers? The people who got screwed over and lost money do not want to do anything about it.
Not that I'm aware of. But it's not something a lot of people are willing to admit.
Probably the opposite. They will spend thousands and get nothing from suing
You don’t find anything in a poor guys pocket. That’s why. Looks like there are no valuable assets left in EAG
The cost to hire a lawyer is very expensive and it was cheaper for me to fix my car with my mechanic when it was returned. My car now works great after my mechanic fixed my car. First off you have to pay a lawyer a high retainer. If I lived in Texas I would had taken him to small claims court but I do not live in that state.
@@pegcity4evaThe is very true.
getting even more juicy. hope eag gets exposed.
Well, this is exposure I would think?
@@normalguysupercar yup . I wonder how many more people will come out
Sounds like this “Art” guy is a scammer. 🤑
Sounds like it.
Maybe not quite. Quite simply he did not have the skills required to run a profitable business.
This guy can afford Ferraris but uses a $2 microphone 😂😂
It was a zoom call
977 Napoleon Meadows
Ok
Chinese parts in a Italian car 🙄
Yeah.
Ngl the whole situation sounds like a ponzi scheme
I don't think it was that, but there's certainly things coming to light that aren't good
You think Art is as shady as Clay?
No, that was on a totally different level.
@@normalguysupercar before this he sold cars to people he didn’t have a title for, isn’t that what CNC did but on a larger scale?
@@rednezz that's not what Art for arrested for.
@@normalguysupercarArt was arrested ?
@@charlie1832 many years ago.
First world problem!
I suppose.
i bet your intention right now is you want eag bankrupt? with all the exposure, you hope nobody will buy eag kit?
I have no particular agenda, but I would like to help anyone owed if I can.
What a shit-show. I was a bystander, but followed along with Arts ride the last few years, and when I saw the Murci conversion coming....man, i thought this is going to be a real legit company! What a shame. I hope someone picks up the manual murcie mantle - the delta between stick and e-gear just screams there's a business in there.
The sad part is it could have succeeded so easily if he had just let Chris run the company.
Stop. They were selling a kit that kinda worked that doubled the price of the used car? I couldn't imagine anyone in the automotive industry considering this conversion a valid option. The entire scene sounds like fraud in the luxury industry.
The kits worked great, not sure where you get "kinda worked" from?
The guy just said that they had programming problems.
Maybe you're referring to the Scud conversions in particular? The 360s, 430s, 599s and 575s didn't seem to have programming problems.
Further, while these are used cars, they are very expensive used cars and the people asking for conversions and buying converted cars specifically want conversions and converted cars. Many of the buyers ended up later selling those cars for a profit (still occurring in the market daily though not at Pandemic level prices) to other buyers who specifically wanted converted cars. The kits were/are a desired technology by consumers and by and large consumers liked and still like the conversions. They did NOT like EAG customer service.
At this point there are new suppliers of conversion kits in the market place and they continue to sell those kits at a rapid pace.
@thiosemcarbizidebensoyla2921. You're confused. Probably best to step away.
@@christschool Listen more closely. Apparently there is far more to this conversion story than a simple makeover.
Dan... I've known Art for a long time, long enough to know his character. We play hockey together. He's certainly not ripping anyone off. You need to know his side of what is going on.. BTW you used to be in the same reef club as me.. I know you as well.
He's playing you. He's a criminal. This is what he does.
hahahaha. okay, yeah right.. you're still the douche canoe you were in the Reef Club.
@@normalguysupercar hahahaha okay.. you're still the same douche canoe you were in the reef club.
Yikes
Yeah
So after exposing the consignment scam…
You ended up in one yourself????
BROH… LET MEG RUN YOUR BUSINESS. I ASSURE YOU… she NEVER WOULD HAVE FALLEN FOR THESE SHENANIGANS.
this is insane.
First off, it's not that simple. Second, this happened before CNC motors stuff.
But he is great at removing comments on his videos and I can assure it doesn't take months or weeks, we're talking about minutes or hours.
LOL yup
all hail scumbadg clay...lol
Lol most be related
1st!!!
Yup!