Electric car casualty: Coda files for bankruptcy

Boy, that was a disaster. The L.A.-based electric automaker, which sold just 100 vehicles, is getting out of the car business and focusing on energy storage for utilities and building operators. Coda, which at one time was looking to sell 10,000 electric cars a year, has received debtor-in-possession financing from Fortress Investment Group. Fortress plans to buy the company through the bankruptcy process. (Fisker Automotive, a struggling electric car maker based in OC, is close to bankruptcy.) Coda went through lots of growing pains, including management changes and roll-out delays, but like other electric car makers its biggest problem was convincing consumers that the new technology was worth a look. Here's what I wrote about Coda in 2011 in Los Angeles magazine:

Start-ups are always supposed to be ambitious and aim for the new and different (intoxicating words for deep-pocket investors). But breakthrough success requires more--namely a product that offers some added value compared with what's already on the market. Think digital cameras. Think iPhone. Electric vehicles don't do that, at least not now. If anything, they create hassles, starting with the high price (Codas cost $44,900, although federal tax credits are worth up to $7,500), limited driving range (90 to 120 miles), lengthy recharging times (up to six hours), and the dearth of public recharging stations. Plus the Coda isn't exactly stylish, with a generic chassis that resembles Mitsubishi's midsize models. Given all these drawbacks, Coda has plenty of explaining to do--never a great way to sell a product.