XP Vehicles, the California company that sees a future in electric cars built with inflatable membranes instead of steel and plastic, loudly announce this morning that the feds had denied its application for a multi-million dollar loan under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program.

XP.jpgThe announcement came just one day after XP - often tongue-in-cheekingly called the inflatable-car company - announced it had hired a Washington lobbying firm to press its case.

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XP wants to use the same kinds of tough inflatable materials used in airbags and some small boats to build lightweight electric cars.
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That doesn't say much for XP's timing. It should have hired the lobbyist a long time ago.

We're not commenting on the viability of XP's technology - there are some pretty good boats made with inflatable parts, so perhaps it is possible to build a safe and sane car using them - but we do have some sympathy for the company's lament this morning.