While its time with the USAF was brief, the Starfighter found much more lasting success with other NATO and allied nations. In October 1958, West Germany selected the F-104 as its primary fighter aircraft. Canada soon followed, along with the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, and Italy. The European nations formed a construction consortium that was the largest international manufacturing program in history to that point, though the Starfighter's export success was marred in 1975 by the discovery of bribe payments made by Lockheed to many foreign military and political figures for securing purchase contracts. The Starfighter eventually flew with fifteen air forces, but its poor safety record, especially in Luftwaffe service, brought it substantial criticism. The Germans lost 292 of 916 aircraft and 116 pilots from 1961 to 1989, its high accident rate earning it the nickname "the Widowmaker" from the German public. The final production version, the F-104S, was an all-weather interceptor built by Aeritalia for the Italian Air Force. It was retired from active service in 2004, though several F-104s remain in civilian operation with Florida-based Starfighters Inc.
The Starfighter was marketed by Lockheed as the "missile with a man in it", and the press dubbed the F-104 the "Widowmaker" due to its high accident rate, but neither were used in service.[249] The term "Super Starfighter" was used by Lockheed to describe the F-104G in its marketing campaigns, but quickly fell into disuse.[250]
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Estimates like these suggest that the global EV market has massive growth potential. Automobiles fueled by carbon-emitting fuels will remain a big part of the market for some time, and most major global automakers are already joining the EV revolution. But pure-play EV stocks are still making a major impact in markets.
Forbes Advisor has identified 10 of the best EV stocks to buy on the market today. These stocks are seeing massive demand for their products from automakers to electric charging station companies. As an added bonus, with markets down sharply many of these stocks are trading at a 25% to 75% discount relative to their all-time highs.
Tesla is the largest electric vehicle automaker on earth by market capitalization, with more than $67 billion in revenue over the last four quarters. Analysts expect 41% growth in sales over the next 12 months. The company sold more than 935,000 cars in 2021, an increase of 87% compared with 2020 unit sales.
Founded in 2015, Chinese EV automaker XPeng targets middle-class consumers in the mid- to high-end segment of the market. The company sold 98,155 EVs in 2021, up 263% from the prior year. Revenue is expected to grow by 72.5% next year.
Proterra manufactures electric buses, as well as EV components such as drivetrains and batteries for heavy-duty vehicles. There are more than 900 Proterra transit buses on the road, and the company has arrangements for providing batteries to other EV makers.
Rivian Automotive was one of the hottest IPOs of 2021, but the newly public EV automaker remains very much in startup mode. Rivian is focused on launching electric pickup and SUV models and also will deliver electric delivery vans to Amazon.
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