HANK DEWALD /HERALD STAFF WRITER

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GARYSBURG - Reports that the North Carolina Center of Automotive Research is stalled and under investigation by federal authorities aren't quite accurate, according to the project's Chief Operating Officer Simon Cobb.

“We have not slowed down one bit, no state funding has been stopped; we're rolling,” said Gary Brown, president of NCCAR. Brown is also the Northampton County Economic Development Director. He said that NCCAR recently released a notice of intent to award the contract to actually begin construction of the facility to PLT of Wilson.

The recent report also noted that Lotus had pulled out of the project. “The fact is Lotus are involved. There has been no change,” said Cobb, who recently returned from a trip to Malaysia where Lotus and parent company Proton had invited him along to represent the NCCAR facility while they took part in a product demonstration.

“The TV people miss-stated the facts. Basically, the facility has to be built before the Lotus people can be executing operations there, so it's a no-brainer, really,” said Cobb Thursday.

“They (Lotus) will lease facilities from NCCAR. They will establish a business unit in North Carolina and for them to do that before a facility is constructed is at best naive and at worst, its balderdash,” said Brown.

“Justifying the cost of engineers and skilled technicians to effectively sit and watch construction underway would be an incredibly poor use of resources,” Brown said.

Dick Dell, the man credited with the original idea for the center and who later was pushed out of the project, was quoted in the reports saying, “If you build it they will come does not work. We've proven that time and time again.” Cobb responded, “I'm saying, when it's built, Lotus will come.”

Dell was initially involved in the early planning stages of the project, which was called the Advanced Vehicle Research Center at that time. He has continued his efforts with AVRC which is now based in Raleigh, as an entity of it's own, not affiliated with NCCAR.

Dell told the Daily Herald today that he has been contacted by federal investigators looking into the Northeast Partnership Inc., a regional economic development organization that seeks funding for economic development projects in 16 counties in Northeastern North Carolina including Halifax and Northampton. He would not divulge any of the questions asked by investigators.

Brown explained that NCCAR just received the first allotment of construction funding in January of this year. “That effectively started the clock on ‘value engineering.' In the past eight months, we have value engineered the entire project, secured permits, took this to bids and (we are) on the verge of awarding the contract for construction. Now what part of that is ‘stalled' or delayed?”

Brown said that the ground breaking should actually occur in early September.

In addition to the world-class, 4.6 mile test track itself, which can be broken up into five separate, smaller tracks, phase one will include the actual research and test facility that will feature privacy and a very high level of security. That building will contain six secure, double-bay garages with everything a research and development team needs on site.

There will be offices located on the level above the garage bays that will provide a “home away from home” for the visiting development teams, with connectivity available to have constant communication with home offices. “We will provide them with everything they need,” Cobb said during a March presentation to Northampton County officials.

The test course, a security kiosk entry building and the two-level engineering and garage building will make up phase one of the construction and development process. Many other features including a 6,000 square-foot chassis dynamics lab will occur in phase two.

The rapidly changing economic times, and in particular the skyrocketing fuel prices have put automakers into a frenzy as they rush to refocus from gas guzzling trucks and SUVs to more energy efficient vehicles, Cobb noted, which will have them scrambling to find testing facilities like NCCAR.

When new vehicle development can take up to $800 million for a new model, no one can afford to have people sitting around waiting for space to open up or for snow to melt Cobb said. He then reiterated - “If you build it they will come.”