12 Oct Ultra Cool WaterCar runs Mendeola by Rancho
To call these amphibious machines from WaterCar Inc., unique is an understatement. And to actually make them a viable, reliable sourse of transportation and endless fun means using only the very finest components and state-of-the-art design and manufacturing techniques. So when it came time to choose a transmission WaterCar came to Rancho Performance Transaxles. We studied the vehicle requirements and now produce application specific Mendeola 2D transaxles for use in all WaterCar vehicles. But, enough about Rancho, where did these awesome rides originate?
Dave March, founder of WaterCar Inc., has been building unique cars and boats since 1976 when he opened his collision repair facility in Fountain Valley, California. Since then he has repaired and re-built literally thousands of vehicles at his shop, Fountain Valley Body Works, which is now one of the largest and most highly respected collision facilities in the industry.
In the late 1990’s, Dave noticed that a number of design specifications were being shared between cars and boats. Boat manufacturers were using light weight, high performance automotive type engines and car manufacturers were incorporating light-weight marine-type composit and alloy bodies and chassis. Additionally, automotive manufacturers were using materials specifically manufactured to be extremely resistant to collision damage. This gave Dave the idea of developing high performance cars that could be driven on the water, and WaterCar Inc.was born.
Dave’s vision was to see high performance cars that double as high performance boats. But, he was not interested in previous style amphibious vehicles that simply float around. He was interested in designing a high-performance amphibious automobile capable of getting to “plane” on top of the water not just push through it. His expectation was to reach freeway speeds in the water. The task was to incorporate the very latest materials, components and technology into the optimum design for an amphibious vehicle the likes of which the world had never seen before.
Looks to us like March succedded and Rancho is proud to have been asked to provide our services and Mendeola transaxles. Make sure you visit www.WaterCar.com and check out all the unbelievable rides and way cool videos. 
