SoCal Dealer change?

[moosetestbestanden]

Well, if the move was about pigs you could have just purchased a Mercedes. :-D

I'm kidding of course. Really good news Randy, all of it!

But especially the Zenos part. I've done some looking at it and find the fundamental "backbone" design to be excellent, reminiscent of, or perhaps inspired by, the (original) Elan. I've often wondered if / when someone would go there, and it's happened. The fact that Ansar Ali is behind it is all the better. While I've never had the opportunity to meet him I always thought highly of him and the way he squired Caterham through the early days of the post-Nearn era. He was always very open and communicative w/ the owners of Caterhams, and a huge enthusiast of the brand. He strikes me as a very positive person.

I'm not partial to the E10's look but the inherent flexibility in the chassis design means (to me at least) that a body can be designed relatively easily, which is what the E12 looks to be. An E12 w/ a supercharged Duratec (or whatever's put back there) and some downforce would seem to have the potential to be Very Interesting. I would be interested to know what the strategy is regarding the old bugaboo of licensing. Maybe post a response w/ a link to the BritishSpeed.com Zenos area if you will.

So, I'll be the 1st on the block to offer up my congratulations on all that you've done, and all that your doing. I dream of the Sadev when I'm in the garage fettling the car (which by the way is now Very Fast:-D), and now I know where to go when I somehow find the dough.

Cheers! :-D

[randychase]

Sorry, never saw this thread until now. Happy to share until you are bored and beg me to stop. :)

The Adrenaline Gallery, located in San Diego, still exists! I moved to just west of Tail of the Dragon, near the borders of Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina. I am in the middle of amazing mountains, lakes, streams, caves and more. What this did, was allow me to open up an east coast facility. My associate Joe Schroeter is still in San Diego and still helping to run the company. Of course as most know, I have some other business interests also, mainly ChaseCam...which relocated to an area just north of San Diego and production and repairs are run there by my son. I will continue to do engineering and CEO stuff like making the coffee and cleaning the bathroom... in Tennessee.

So The Adrenaline Gallery is a partnership with Joe, located in San Diego and Tennessee. We are the official importers of Sadev gearboxes, RST engines, Life ECUs, and some other go fast bits including planned Caterham and Zenos modifications. Most of this is still in the planning stages but we may also be involved with something like the Levante.

We also started Zenos Cars USA which is located in San Diego and Tennessee and we are the official importer and representative for Zenos Cars in North America. We are taking orders (3 sold so far!) and expect our first cars in early 2015. I am extremely pleased to be associated with Ansar Ali (previously with Caterham and Lotus) and he is the real deal and he along with his partner Mark carry the "add lightness" DNA. Combined with affordability and attainability and performance. We were very impressed with the car, company, and people when we were over there in UK in January.

We did discuss continuing on as a dealer for Caterham in the USA with Superformance. And one notes to never say never. :) But it was apparent to me that with the close ties to Hillbank just north of us in San Diego, this small niche pie was being sliced very thin. If my entire customer base was San Diego... we would not sell many cars. The southeast market could be more open. But I had some concerns. I think all in all, when the Zenos opportunity came to be, it was pretty easy to walk away.

I feel that with Zenos, the distribution network is Me/Joe and Ali. A very direct channel. A very open and direct and forthright channel, which I appreciate.

I love the Caterham cars. They are amazing and I hope to stay involved with Sevens through our crazy car builds using RST V8 engines for example. I hope Superformance can sell a lot of them and spread the gospel. Then we at The Adrenaline Gallery can upgrade then. :)

We were able to spend some time at the Caterham factory in January and drive the 160. Amazing car, it was very fun to drive. I hope they sell them here!

p.s. On a personal note, moving to Tennessee allows me to pursue my dream, which I decided I was not going to realize in San Diego. A 10 car garage (small house attached) and a small kart/Seven track on 20 acres of land. I am saving my pennies now. I can get 20 acres with a stream in Tennessee for $30-40K. My wife wants goats and pigs. I just need to keep them off the track. Also no state income tax, tons less government interference. No smog test. Easy to register. The list goes on and on. Miss a lot about SoCal though!

[Sean]

UPDATE:
It appears that Randy is now the importer/Eastern dealer for Zenos Cars, with Joe now running The Adrenaline Gallery in SoCal as the Zenos West coast dealer. Or that is my perception. The dealers for Caterham in California now appear to be Hillbank in SoCal and Kampeأ±a in NorCal. Again, my perception based on various sources. Subject to change, I suspect.

[moosetestbestanden]

Yes, Randy and Andrea are moving to the Chattanooga, Tennessee area. Saturday. I have just returned from a going away dinner for them. I'm sad to see them move away but happy for their new opportunity. I'm confident that we'll stay in touch.

Well, here's hoping them a safe and pleasant journey, and best wishes to them in their new surroundings, and success in their new ventures.

Cheers!

[escondidoron]

Yes, Randy and Andrea are moving to the Chattanooga, Tennessee area. Saturday. I have just returned from a going away dinner for them. I'm sad to see them move away but happy for their new opportunity. I'm confident that we'll stay in touch.

[JohnCh]

According to this post on USA7s.com (full thread here), he is moving to TN within the next few days.

-John

[Sean]

I have not called him for further information, but I heard he was leaving from him.

edit -- I figure he'll tell us any details he wants us to know when he's ready. A big change like that is bound to keep a guy pretty busy, as if he wasn't already.

[Doug Liedblad]

Has anyone called Randy for the straight story.

Not as much fun as rumors.

[Sean]

I heard the same about him leaving the area, and wondered the same, but have not heard anything about what is to become of Randy's SoCal Caterham dealership status, or the Adrenaline Gallery. The AG website is still functional. Also, U.S. Caterham's web pages still list AG (Randy) as the California dealer, but those pages are not kept current. Time will tell.

[moosetestbestanden]

I see where Randy has - or is about to - move back east. Anyone know if someone is taking over the business, or is it done?