Having been at ER last week I can assure you there is some ENERGY at EarthRoamer! Positive and upbeat, the crew is motivated and enthusiastic. The excitement of a new model in production is contagious too - like a kid in a candy store, I found it difficult to resist the lure of the variety in breadth and depth of continued "sweets" from engineering and mechanical developments.
I have been described as a "fan-boy" of ER before to be certain - and in full disclosure I do own an ER too - but I can not say enough good things about the PEOPLE who really are ER. It is easy to have a customer-manufacturer relationship defined by cost of materials and labor for ordinary (or not-so-ordinary) maintenance (both preventative and for repair/replacement) of components and parts that are "stressed" by their usage in demanding off-highway, off-track, off-trail exploration and adventure. Development of a genuine personal relationship with the PEOPLE at ER has been one of the best experiences for me. I am made genuinely happy to see Bill and the many great Americans he employs because they have optimism and energy to both live right as equally as work hard. Bill's vision-made-reality is not the truck or Jeep or stretch or next-thing-on-the-drawing-board in my opinion; it is the close and personal relationship he has with his "build team" other ER owners in general and my family in particular.
ER certainly is a professional company with people of character. It is the intangible personal relationship though between the "build team" members (and I would like to think to some extent with myself although perhaps not as poignantly) that really makes me comfortable with ER as a company. From the care and attention to electrical wiring looms, to the demanding tolerance in testing fittings/fixtures/components, to the pride in delivery on-time of a sparklingly clean ER jewel, the "build team" are artisans as much as craftsmen. It is a pleasure to watch them in action striving to get things "just right" every time. Even so, each and every one of these great folks took time to say hello and shake my hand and share a story (or two...I've been known to be gregarious at times...). Seeing the XV-LTS take shape over the course of a week was time-lapse photography in action without the need to speed up the film - what ENERGY as I said! Just as important, the attention to safety and proper fit-and-finish (neatness counts even where you can't see it) is apparent. Truly remarkable too is the synchronization between the crew members who know where to be with each element along the build path.
As with others, I can hardly wait to see the finished version of the new XV-LTS...also hope to see it on the road and in action too!
Congratulations - and thanks ER! You are great friends.
Your friend,
Jonathan
P.S. Despite this sounding like a paid announcement, I actually owe money to ER at the moment...er..."The check is in the mail!" Ha ha...no, really...