Sucasas HS1 May Be Stuck at 1/5 Scale

Once upon a time we wrote about the Sucasas HS1, an ‘exciting’ new supercar being built in Tacoma.  Shortly after writing about it, we forgot about it.  Every once in awhile somebody comes across Exit133 by way of a Google search for Sucasas.  Finally, my curiosity was piqued again and I went to see if I could pre-order a Sucasas any time soon.  What I found was a bit curious. 

The first sign a problem came from the Sucasas Motor Company website which isn’t quite as feature-rich as it used to be…  The second sign of a problem was when the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions found that the company and its founder had violated securities laws.  The offense?  From the Findings of Fact report:

3. Sucasas, in a press release issued on or about June 5, 2005, offered shares in SMC with the purchase of SMC hats and t-shirts.  In that press release, Sucasas represented that the potential sales for the HS1 was $750 million in five to seven years and that SMC aims to garner 10% of the exotic car market. 

4.  On SMC’s webpage, www.sucasasmotorcompany.com, investors could purchase shares of SMC by purchasing a SMC hat.  Included with the purchase of a SMC hat was a ‘free gift’ of ten shares in SMC.  The hats were $10 a piece.  The webpage did not include any financial statements for SMC or descriptions of the risks associated with the investment. 

Unlike some legal documents, the actual judgement isn’t that difficult to decipher.  In effect, Sucasas isn’t licensed to sell securities (shares) in the State of Washington and the sale of shares by way of t-shirts and hats was therefore illegal.  Hats and t-shirts?

I guess we’ll keep the Vanagon a wee bit longer. 

Link (internal):  Car Manufacturing Comes to Tacoma?