Chasing a dream on 3 wheels

CULPEPER, Va. - Sandy Hall's white trike is screaming down a suburban Virginia road.

It can hit 160 m.p.h. But with no doors, two seats inches above the asphalt, and a high-performance engine howling above 10,000 r.p.m., accelerating to even half that is a neck-whipping catapult ride. "You wouldn't feel this in your regular family car," Hall said after slowing down enough to be heard over the din of his new fusion motorcycle-car.

A new class of vehicle, dubbed the "autocycle" by an increasing number of state legislatures, has driven through a gray area of federal law and onto U.S. roads, with manufacturers hoping to sell tens of thousands of them in coming years. They are being marketed to gear heads and green-leaners, the well-to-do and discount shoppers.

The vehicles have steering wheels and gas pedals, but only three wheels, so the federal government classifies them as motorcycles, which have fewer regulations. That has allowed a burst of innovation. It has also left drivers and passengers traveling in mash-ups that may feel like cars but which aren't required to meet automobile safety standards.

As America ages, Hall and his partner Dave Young, a former defense contractor who helped build biometric databases for troops in Iraq, have made a $10 million bet that their new Tanom Motors Invader can appeal to a pair of disparate demographics: adrenaline junkies hooked on terrifyingly fast sport bikes, and baby boomers and others hunting for some of the thrills with fewer of the risks.

With a pair of wheels up front and a single fat racing tire in the back, the entrepreneurs' low-slung "high performance reverse trike" was designed to hug curves that might defeat less-experienced (or more arthritic) motorcycle riders. Fuel economy is in the "upper 20s," the company says. The vehicle comes with cup holders.

Starting at $54,899, the Invader is among the priciest autocycles on the market.

The vision started small.

Hall thought he might design a sharp new body to bolt around the innards of another trike. But then, he started to wonder, why not try to build an even better machine, and a motor-sports company?

Hall, an off-road racing champion and construction company chief, and Young, who was working in real estate after selling his defense firm, initially based Tanom in Detroit to tap into the area's well of experienced auto workers and suppliers. But trying to manage the operation remotely proved unworkable, they said. So they came home to Culpeper.

Beyond design, engineering, and development, they had to persuade state legislators to allow their manufacturing process and then pass federal safety and emissions tests.

"It's exciting," said Young, but "it's a tough business when you spend six years getting ready before you sell."

Minnesota-based Polaris Industries, which sold $4.5 billion in snowmobiles and other recreational vehicles last year, sees an opportunity. "It's starting out as a niche, but we're looking for it to go more mainstream over time," said Craig Scanlon, vice president for the firm's Slingshot division.