in post 24
in this thread, WilliamH provided
a link that included a Q&A with Paul in which he was directly asked about his decision to build his own motor .... agree or disagree with his line of thinking, he has provided a rational for his decision .... now that the engine exist, time will tell if it will live up to its expectations .... not having all of the engineering data that he has at his disposal and probably not being able to understand it if I did, I'm comfortable with his decision
"Q5. Why go to the trouble of building your own engine? Why not make a deal with Honda or Suzuki or Polaris to get some Kei car or CARB-approved ATV engines?
The main technical reason for not using an off-the-shelf engine is that the Elio vehicle is much lighter than a standard vehicle. Meaning, the off-the-shelf OEM engine was designed to optimally operate at a different speed and load point than if it were placed into a lighter vehicle. Also, when a large carmaker designs a new engine, it is targeting multiple platforms. That often makes the engine good for all, but best for none. By having IAV design a power plant specifically for our vehicle, we can achieve our goal of 84 mpg. This is going to be a very slick engine."