Elio..... The new Aptera???

[StudEbiker]

Can't say I like their color choices too much but if they can really bring this to market for $6500 I think they will certainly have a winner on their hands.

https://www.eliomotors.com/

 

[amberwolf]

plus
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/search.php?keywords=eliomotors.com&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

 

[Hillhater]

Not a lot of info available ?... its actually a "fundraiser" promo.
Motor type, manufacturer. ?.. maybe they should put that 3cyl Kabota diesel in it !
..but would be cool if its a big Harley !
transmission, shaft, chain, belt ?
$6800 ? really ?

Our production plan shows the delivery of the first Elio in July 2014.

 

[TylerDurden]

January 3, 2013 at 1:25 pm
Report: Former GM plant in Louisiana to be sold to Elio Motors

By Melissa Burden
The Detroit News

The former General Motors Shreveport Assembly and Stamping Plant in Louisiana will be sold to Elio Motors Inc., which plans to produce high-mileage, three-wheeled vehicles in the facility, RACER (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response) Trust said Thursday.

The company, founded in 2008 by car enthusiast Paul Eilo, plans to employ 1,500 workers by the end of 2015 and expects to begin producing vehicles in the facility in mid-2014.

Terms of the sales agreement were not disclosed. A closing is expected in the spring.

In August 2012, GM stopped producing the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon at the plant, which had been in operation for three decades.

RACER Trust said the Shreveport facility would be the 25th former GM property it has sold since it was established in March 2011 by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to liquidate and clean up "old" GM properties that were not transferred to the new GM after its bankruptcy.

mburden@detnews.com

(313) 222-2319



From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130103/AUTO0103/301030443#ixzz2HR0FbiE7

 

[Hillhater]

I am mentally trying to grasp how many Elio's , at $6800, he has to sell to even begin to cover the cost of 1500 employees
And i shudder at the initial production installation, stock, and start up costs !
Either this guy is really smart,...or it will never happen !

 

[melodious]

@ $7000ish I'd hop aboard and buy one. I like the 1 man machine personally. Basically a 3 wheeled encapsulated trike motorcycle using a fuel efficient engine. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it has any kind of sporty performance features other than it sits low to the ground. Looks like you'd feel every bump.

 

[sendler2112]

I'd buy one. But there is no way he will make that price. Even on a stripped version with no airbags and a non moveable window. A CBR250R is made in Thailand by the 100,000"s and still costs $4300.

 

[Chalo]

I am mentally trying to grasp how many Elio's , at $6800, he has to sell to even begin to cover the cost of 1500 employees
And i shudder at the initial production installation, stock, and start up costs !
Either this guy is really smart,...or it will never happen !

He's not going to have anything like 1500 employees. He's not building Chevy tanks for a Chevy-sized market, after all. He'll have enough room left over in there for a weird little commuter vehicle test track.

 

[salty9]

That's a lot of ugly for only $6800. Looks like a fish I would call a sucker.

 

[StudEbiker]

I actually think it looks pretty decent for the price. A whole helluva lot better than a Corbin Sparrow. And besides that, if they can deliver everything they say they can @ $6,800 I can put up with a lot of ugly. :wink:

 

[John in CR]

Make the price $9,999 and make it electric with all wheel drive instead of front wheel drive. Hubmotors free up enough space for a front trunk. As an electric and a bit more work on the aero and it should easily get to a 200mpg equivalency rating. Then offer a high performance version that's a real screamer for $14,999 that has a bit pricier batteries and controllers along with some carbon fiber touches.

 

[Hillhater]

He's not going to have anything like 1500 employees. He's not building Chevy tanks for a Chevy-sized market, after all. He'll have enough room left over in there for a weird little commuter vehicle test track.

Well the 1500 employees is all part of his "business plan" along with the $6800 price point, July '14 delivery , etc etc
So which parts of the plan are we to believe ??
Very little of this is believable !

I still prefer the "Duo" replacement of the Corbin Sparrow from Myers motors.
More believable at $23k and we know Myers can actually make things happen.

 

[Chalo]

He's not going to have anything like 1500 employees. He's not building Chevy tanks for a Chevy-sized market, after all. He'll have enough room left over in there for a weird little commuter vehicle test track.

Well the 1500 employees is all part of his "business plan" along with the $6800 price point, July '14 delivery , etc etc
So which parts of the plan are we to believe ??
Very little of this is believable !

I still prefer the "Duo" replacement of the Corbin Sparrow from Myers motors.
More believable at $23k and we know Myers can actually make things happen.

I'm reminded of the unlamented Zap Xebra three-wheeler. That listed at something like $12-13k for a steaming heap o' Chinese poo-poo. I think as time went by, the actual purchase price broke down below $10k before the wheels came off (so to speak). I reckon at least someone turned a profit on it somewhere along the line.

My sister bought one used for $6500, didn't have the stones to replace the battery when she needed to, and let it sit for a few years. Her husband hassled her about it until she sold it for $100 on a salvage title. I would have paid her much more than that for it (even though I don't want one), but she didn't keep me in the loop.

 

[swbluto]

Holy shit, this car is awesome! Imagine improving the aero on this by reworking the lights and removing the mirrors(Installing cameras), and then converting it into an EV: Easily would beat the wh/mi consumption of a typical gas-converted EV by at least a factor of 4 on the highway, reducing the battery costs by a similar amount.

I'm hoping they hit their 2014 production target. I would buy this in a heartbeat!

Looks like they already lined up 50 mil in investment and negotiated a lease for a plant, and they already have 6000+ reservations, so if they have the willpower to make this happen and get lucky w/o significant legal roadblocks, I'd say they have a chance of making it. Maybe not 2014, but here's hoping!

I wouldn't mind paying a LOT more then the $6800 launch price for it, either. Cheapness isn't the point - this is pretty much the ideal highway-capable, energy-efficiency-to-the-max mass-produced vehicle and nothing else like this commercially exists.

And, what makes it different THIS time? There's been a fundamental shift in the American economy! So, I'd say there's a good chance of one of these kind of ideas coming to fruition.

Looks like they're paying good money for marketing and advertisement, so there's definitely some financial muscle being flexed behind this company. This doesn't have the feel of a "shady company" trying to solicit investment capital, unlike Zap and EESTOR. The CEO is an engineer and since he has basically the same vision and drive as I, I'm pretty sure he definitely has the best of intentions seeing this through. (Might not be able to meet the projected price, but neither did Elon Musk, and that didn't stop him from making Tesla motors a reality.)

 

[wheelbender6]

I am impressed with the Elio mechanically. It uses an automotive drive train, powering the front wheels. The all weather trikes that are based on scooters or motorcycles wear out rear tire really fast.

 

[swbluto]

Going to see the Elio in San Francisco on Monday, pretty excited. Really hoping they get mass produced! (A part of me thinks it's a scam given the financial structure of the reservation options, but another part of me really wants it to be manufactured because this vehicle matches my 'vision' of what I was going to build pretty well, and it'd be a helluva cheaper/faster to buy it from someone else than to build it myself and undoubtedly higher quality.)

 

[andrew.box]

Anyone know if this Elio outfit is going anywhere or actually any closer to building a production vehicle? It seems like this thing hits the sweet spot in terms of price/performance/fuel economy but perhaps too good to be true.

 

[Hillhater]

According to the NBC report on their site ( dated October this year), they are "hoping" to be making vehicles by this theme next year !
Now stating 10,500 jobs to be created and 36,000 reservation claimed to date,

 

[andrew.box]

Ya, sort of sounds promising and the vehicle looks really good in terms of specs and in my opinion aethetics too. I'd consider getting a reservation, but have mixed feelings about having to pay to reserve something that may very well never exist. But I guess it's really just the crowd funding model before there were sites like kickstarter and $100 isn't ultimately that much money, but still. It seems like if they're really legit they could finance a 1st batch of vehicles w/out leaning on future customers.

I'm looking at it close b/c this type of vehicle is exactly what I'd want to replace my 1st gen insight. The FIAT 500 and smart4two are both too heavy for how small they are. Ford C-max hybrid is OK, but not cheap and not any good deals on used ones yet. Same for the prius c. The lexus ct200h is nice, but expensive and stupid heavy. A 2nd gen low miles prius is my likely choice for a potential insight replacement (one day), but damn they're boring. In all fairness I haven't driven one, maybe they're not that bad. They sure sold a lot of them.

So I hope the Elio, or a similar small LIGHT vehicle that's meant to be affordable to the masses, goes into production. The key to selling any appreciable volume of something like this is the balance of price, performance, economy and comfort. I really think a manufacturer needs to hit hard on 2/4 of these, at least.

Nobody wants to pay a premium car price for a slow, uncomfortable, vehicle that only gets marginally better economy than a civic. Until batteries get cheaper this will continue to plague the electric vehicle market. I'd settle for a gas-only vehicle if it was getting 50+ mpg.

 

[ecycler]

They are almost to 50k reservations now... definitely seems to be taking longer to rotate off the runway than promised and publicized, but if they get it right I will definitely consider getting one. First order of business would be to see how many 18650's I will be able to cram underneath or inside it! The rear wheel is just asking for a powerful hubmotor. This thing could be turned into a rocket with air conditioning in the right hands.

 

[LockH]

"You can buy one of Elio's three-wheeled 'cars' for $7,000*"!
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/you-can-buy-one-of-elios-three-wheeled-cars-for-7000/

 

[Adverse Effects]

its now $7300USD and that is with a 25% discount for a pre-order

so it will be just like all the others $10K for the base model not including all the fees and surcharges

 

[LockH]

Elio Motors pushes production back to 2018, if it survives:
http://www.ktbs.com/story/34439880/elio-motors-pushes-production-back-to-2018-that-is-if-it-survives

Ends:

Sick of unmet promises and delays, at least one Elio's buyer is taking the company to court to get their reservation money back.
A petition has also been started to file a class action lawsuit against the auto-maker.
Elio's stock price reflects problems too. As of late last week, Elio shares had dropped to 8 dollars.
One of the criticisms of Elio Motors here in Shreveport, is that Caddo Parish lost out on other potential manufacturers at the GM plant while waiting on Elio.

KTBS-3 reached out to Paul Elio, President and founder of Elio Motor's. He acknowledged that he is aware of pending litigation against his company, and says, "We are very clear that we offer both refundable and non-refundable reservations to support our project. The consumer has a choice and either picks an all in non-refundable or want in refundable reservation, depending on what benefits they want to receive as each is clear on the benefits and risk."

Tomorrow on KTBS-3 News at 6, we'll have Paul Elio's full interview and his response to critics who say his company is a fraud.

 

[swbluto]

KTBS-3 reached out to Paul Elio, President and founder of Elio Motor's. He acknowledged that he is aware of pending litigation against his company, and says, "We are very clear that we offer both refundable and non-refundable reservations to support our project. The consumer has a choice and either picks an all in non-refundable or want in refundable reservation, depending on what benefits they want to receive as each is clear on the benefits and risk."

Wow, what was I saying again?

A part of me thinks it's a scam given the financial structure of the reservation options, but another part of me really wants it to be manufactured because this vehicle matches my 'vision' of what I was going to build pretty well, and it'd be a helluva cheaper/faster to buy it from someone else than to build it myself and undoubtedly higher quality

Yep, looks like my scam sense was running high on this one for a good reason. Taking the investors along for a ride seems to be a very strong theme throughout American history... [promise them a dream; take their money; run! lol]

Seems like one achieves the American dream by selling dreams... Makes me wonder everyone who has gotten rich off selling the American dream...

 

[LockH]

"Tomorrow on KTBS-3 News at 6, we'll have Paul Elio's full interview and his response to critics who say his company is a fraud." :wink:

BTW... Had to look that up... (Wiki says

The American Dream is rooted in the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims that "all men are created equal" (just that some are more equal than others) with the right to "life, liberty and the happiness of pursuit."