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Fisker asset sale may not include name, logo

Always read the fine print before you sign the contract. That platitude is taking on new life as word comes that the winning bidder for bankrupt plug-in hybrid manufacturer Fisker may not actually earn the rights to use the company's name and logo. According to Delaware Online, that's because Fisker Automotive doesn't actually own either – they're the property of a different company called Fisker Coachbuild, LLC, and they have been used under license by the carmaker since 2008. This interesting bifurcation of assets brings to mind a previous bit of auto history - Rolls-Royce and Vickers. As it turns out, Fisker Coachbuild not only designs cars and components, it also has the merchandising rights to the Fisker name and logo for things like apparel and branded tchotchkes. How did this happen? According to the report, Coachbuild is a Fisker stockholder, and in 2008, a contract was signed by Bernhard Koehler (co-founder of Fisker and then-chief operating officer of Coachbuild) and designer and company namesake Henrik Fisker. Koehler and Fisker are actually in the logo, in a fashion, since it is supposed to represent the two men (the vertical lines) looking at the sunset (the red half circle) over the ocean (blue). Fisker Coachbuild attorneys have now put the bankruptcy court on official notice about their ownership of these key assets, and it's unclear if this news will affect the actions of leading bidders Wanxiang America, Inc. and Hybrid Tech Holdings. Coachbuild does sound somewhat conciliatory, saying "...it is likely that Coachbuild will consent to the assignment of the rights provided for under the Trademark Agreement as part of the proposed sale" while simultaneously "reserving its rights under applicable law to bar the assumption and assignment of Trademark Agreement without its prior written consent." This interesting bifurcation of assets brings to mind a previous bit of auto history. Back in 1998, British industrial conglomerate Vickers executed a now-legendary bit of wheeling-and-dealing that saw it sell the physical assets of luxury automaker Rolls-Royce to the Volkswagen Group. We say 'legendary' because it only sold the physical assets to VW – not the trademarks associated with them. Those trademarks included the Rolls-Royce name, famed double-R iconography and other assets – assets Vickers subsequently sold to BMW.

Police ice cream truck to patrol Boston's mean streets

The Boston Police Department unveiled a new patrol vehicle that will help officers both fight crime and the summer heat–an ice cream truck. According to WHDH, the new $89,000 truck, which is a refitted Ford Transit, is part of a community policing initiative called Operation Hoodsie Cup. Started in 2010, the program has distributed around 120,000 free Hoodsie Cups, an iconic New England ice cream treat made by the Hood company since 1947, to citizens throughout the city. "If you had told me 30 years ago that the Boston Police Department would have an ice cream truck as part of its patrol force and my officers would be handing out Hoodsie Cups...I would've said you were crazy," PBD Commissioner William Evans told WHDH. "But, I absolutely love the new truck and everything this program represents. The goodwill it generates between my officers and our city's young people is undeniable and nothing short of remarkable. My only regret is that I wish we had started doing this 30 years ago." Operation Hoodsie Cup is part of a growing trend of community based policing among the nation's police forces. They're not even the first to use ice cream. Police in Halifax, VA, recently began pulling people over for violating code 1.7.3.9, which makes it illegal to drive without an ice cream cone on a hot day. Introduced in 1994 as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, community based policing is promoted by the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). Community based policing relies on more personal relationship between police and citizens to reduce crime and increase safety, and emphasizes proactive policing such as foot patrols, citizen involvement, increased officer accountability, and a decentralizing of police authority. Related Video:

Fisker trying to secure Volkswagen's MEB platform for the Ocean

Henrik Fisker took his beating, stayed in the ring, and appears to be getting on top of the fight to be an electric vehicle automaker. At the beginning of the week, Fisker Inc. announced a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp, backed by private equity firm Apollo Global Management. The merger would value Fisker at $2.9 billion in preparation for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. This is the same maneuver Nikola Motors recently employed in order to go public. Spartan filed a trove of documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission in advance of the filing, one of them an investor presentation that explained some backstory and hoped-for production path for Fisker's Ocean electric crossover. One key piece of info is that Fisker is in talks with Volkswagen about using VW's MEB modular electric platform and ancillary components for the Ocean. The agreement would include battery packs as well. One slide asserted that "anticipated access to Volkswagen’s industry-leading EV component quality, pricing, and supply chain ... accelerates time to market and dramatically reduces vehicle development costs." Furthermore, this attempt at deeper collaboration with VW is part of a two-year growing partnership. The Verge went through the presentation, noting that Fisker and VW entered a memorandum of understanding in 2017, upgrading that to a "collaboration agreement" in 2018. Audi subsidiary Italdesign built the Ocean crossover Fisker debuted at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, the prototype described as a "near-series prototype" and sitting an MEB platform. This month, the two companies could sign a "cornerstone agreement" to formalize "costs, production capacity, and a timeline." If that happens, a contract covering supply and manufacturing would be consummated before the end of 2020. The timeline in the presentation notes earnest prototype testing next year, with production planned for late 2022. Separately, however, Fisker has said, "Prototype vehicles are expected to start durability testing by the end of this year, and we continue to make significant progress on the development of our sales and service proposition." If the IPO clears all hurdles, Fisker Inc. could receive $1 billion to put toward Ocean development and production. Meanwhile, a recent funding round secured $50 million from Moore Strategic Ventures.