9/24/14 Tech Talk - Nearing The Finish Line

[Ray O]

Elio Motors Tech Talk v35
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Focused on the Finish Line…What Drives us Every Day?

Everyone knows that Henry Ford had a monumental impact on the history and direction of American industry and the rise of the American middle class. His implementation of the assembly line improved mass production and made cars affordable. He paid his workers $5 per day so they could afford to buy a Ford and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

But, what people might not realize was the timeframe in which Mr. Ford perfected his manufacturing processes and built his company. He started building cars in 1896. He didn’t launch Ford Motor Co. until 1903 and didn’t implement the conveyor-belt-based assembly line until 1913.

Early Model T assembly line at Ford's Highland Park, Mich., plant.

And as for the vehicle price? In 1920, the Model T price dropped to $575. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator, that equals $6,838 in 2014 dollars. So, it took Henry Ford nearly 24 years to produce a car that was cost-competitive with the Elio today!

Given that this is year six of our development, we realize we are making significant and rapid progress. Just in the past two years, we have developed a world-class supplier network, built four generations of prototypes, utilized advanced simulation tools to make engineering changes and advancements, achieved several important legislative victories that will benefit our customers, secured a world-class manufacturing facility, purchased the facility’s existing production equipment, determined exactly how the vehicle will be built, announced the sale of our surplus equipment, named Pep Boys as our official service provider and announced the formation of our fleet sales division. Those are all important milestones that represent a solid foundation for our success.

But, there is still important work to be done, and much like Henry Ford did, our goal is to make a significant societal impact. Manufacturing is simply too important to the future of our country not to succeed. We could have cut corners and worked with foreign based suppliers, or even built the vehicle overseas. But, one of our core values is to create American jobs and stimulate our economy.

Why is this so important? The auto industry is one of the most important industries in the United States. According to the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) the auto industry historically contributes 3 – 3.5 percent to the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The industry directly employs more than 1.7 million people engaged in designing, engineering, manufacturing, and supplying parts and components to assemble, sell and service new motor vehicles.

Approximately 4.5 percent of all U.S. jobs are supported by the strong presence of the auto industry in the U.S. economy. People in these jobs collectively earn over $500 billion annually and generate more than $70 billion in tax revenues, according to CAR.

But, manufacturing jobs in the United States have been disappearing for two decades. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, approximately 16.8 million people were employed in manufacturing in 1993. By 2013, that number had dipped to below 12 million. Much of this decline has come in the auto industry. According to CAR, U.S. domestic auto manufacturing market share was 73.7 percent in 1993. But, according to the Wall Street Journal, that share dropped to 42.4 percent in 2013.

That’s why it’s so important to build the Elio with 90 percent North American content. And, that’s why it’s so important to build the vehicle in Shreveport, Louisiana. We will create 1,500 direct jobs in Shreveport and another 1,500 at our supplier partner companies. In addition, these manufacturing jobs will create another 18,000 jobs across the country.

As we continue to drive toward production, this is what gets us going every day. It’s not important to succeed for the people here at Elio Motors, or for our fans. It’s important that we succeed for everyone. This keeps us laser focused. Just like Henry Ford, we want to make a difference. We are getting closer every day.

​

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This is not only a great way to do business but can inspire other business to do the same. I also believe the quality gained by US workers will pay off in dividends. Elio Motors and staff make please this car.

 

[Mike W]

I like this piece, makes a good statement of what's been done to date. But WHERE IS THE ENGINE?

Hmmm, I think it falls under the whole concept of process. That is part of what the article is about! As was previously pointed, out every step is being taken for the best quality build first time around. Ford's motto at one point was, "Quality is job one!". Ford has been around a while so they have the luxury of maybe having quality slip to job two or three, Elio only has one shot with the public. So, all in good time, don't rush it. With that being said, we are all curious about not only the engine, but also P5 and beyond! It'll get there, patience.

 

[Elio Amazed]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissin'. I'm just stating the obvious.
With the exception of the formal submission of the loan guarantee aplication,
this month's information releases (including the announcement of the "Plant Plan") were what they were. Mostly fanfare.
Yeah, EM certainly does have every right to be proud of what they've accomplished so far. Notice that I haven't changed my signature yet.
But they are not saying, "We have ..." about producing anything tangible or about the actual physical movement of anything.
They are not even saying "We have started to ..." The only ongoing thing of note is they've said that work is continuing on the engine.
Most of what I'm hearing is more of, "We have further developed the overall plan, we will start this, and we will achieve that."
I have faith in these folks and I'm hoping this September's rah-rah is a drumroll for some shockingly positive progress reports.
I'm about ready to set my alarm for this time next month.

Didn't someone recently quote the VP as saying that there probably won't be another prototyp (P5?) and that they'll probably proceed directly to testing? If that's an accurate quote, I'd like to know exactly what it meant, and I'd like to know how the heck it's going to work without a P5, considering all the refinements (including some major projected body and upper frame changes) that EM's been talking about.
Again, no dissin', just amazed as usual.

Was it Conway Twitty that sang, "Oh, no-one knows what goes on behind closed doors..."?

 

[Mike W]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissin'. I'm just stating the obvious.
With the exception of the formal submission of the loan guarantee aplication,
this month's information releases (including the announcement of the "Plant Plan") were what they were. Mostly fanfare.
Yeah, EM certainly does have every right to be proud of what they've accomplished so far. Notice that I haven't changed my signature yet.
But they are not saying, "We have ..." about producing anything tangible or about the actual physical movement of anything.
They are not even saying "We have started to ..." The only ongoing thing of note is they've said that work is continuing on the engine.
Most of what I'm hearing is more of, "We have further developed the overall plan, we will start this, and we will achieve that."
I have faith in these folks and I'm hoping this September's rah-rah is a drumroll for some shockingly positive progress reports.
I'm about ready to set my alarm for this time next month.

Didn't someone recently quote the VP as saying that there probably won't be another prototyp (P5?) and that they'll probably proceed directly to testing? If that's an accurate quote, I'd like to know exactly what it meant, and I'd like to know how the heck it's going to work without a P5, considering all the refinements (including some major projected body and upper frame changes) that EM's been talking about.
Again, no dissin', just amazed as usual.

Was it Conway Twitty that sang, "Oh, no-one knows what goes on behind closed doors..."?

Well, I suppose it would be nice to have a working motor on hand, several as a matter of fact. Is that how manufacturing works now? They have computer generated models that they work on and develop long before they start melting metal and milling parts. This gives them opportunity to get it as close to optimal from the get go. The need is to get it right the first time, getting it right the second time is just correcting mistakes. The time should be coming soon though when these major components will make their debut. Of course, that is just my observations on the process of product development without any claims of what's going on behind the doors of EM central. The wait is tough, we've got all sorts of plans for what we want to do and where we want to go with ours and more concrete evidence would certainly make the wait tolerable. Until then, I'll tap my foot and keep glancing at my watch. Let's let them take what time they need to get it done right.

As far as any questions about the P5, I don't even know or want to venture a comment on that.

 

[AriLea]

Didn't someone recently quote the VP as saying that there probably won't be another prototyp (P5?) and that they'll probably proceed directly to testing? If that's an accurate quote, I'd like to know exactly what it meant, and I'd like to know how the heck it's going to work without a P5, considering all the refinements (including some major projected body and upper frame changes) that EM's been talking about.
Again, no dissin', just amazed as usual. Was it Conway Twitty that sang, "Oh, no-one knows what goes on behind closed doors..."?

Yep, hard to know the details when you can't see even the larger activity. We do have the overview, but that isn't showing much external motion.
As for the P5, what this means is the external form. That requires 3d graphics and tooling to reshape. So going with the P4 is the intention to keep that body shape, but still could have some minor details change. I think the chassis major structure is now likely set in stone.

But for the components and how these fit together, that doesn't have any versioning. It's just dependent on each decision each supplier makes and by what is available. The last hard-fought component seems to be the AC pump. And yes those are difficult at the low capacity Elio needs. So my guess that is the last one to add to the manifest. From now on it's at the micro level of process decision making. How things are attached and how that will work in fabrication and assembly. Maybe they continue to finalize the Electrical and wiring. But I'll guess that's about done too. They are likely working on manufacturing and tooling design at this point.

Since that's all built on sand, they will not want to publicize it much until all of it is also set in concrete. Just my opinion.

 

[JEBar]

Since that's all built on sand, they will not want to publicize it much until all of it is also set in concrete. Just my opinion.

makes sense .... the reality is, put up or shut up time is rapidly approaching .... about all we can do is to hope things are going well

Jim

 

[zelio]

Yep, hard to know the details when you can't see even the larger activity. We do have the overview, but that isn't showing much external motion.
As for the P5, what this means is the external form. That requires 3d graphics and tooling to reshape. So going with the P4 is the intention to keep that body shape, but still could have some minor details change. I think the chassis major structure is now likely set in stone.

But for the components and how these fit together, that doesn't have any versioning. It's just dependent on each decision each supplier makes and by what is available. The last hard-fought component seems to be the AC pump. And yes those are difficult at the low capacity Elio needs. So my guess that is the last one to add to the manifest. From now on it's at the micro level of process decision making. How things are attached and how that will work in fabrication and assembly. Maybe they continue to finalize the Electrical and wiring. But I'll guess that's about done too. They are likely working on manufacturing and tooling design at this point.

Since that's all built on sand, they will not want to publicize it much until all of it is also set in concrete. Just my opinion.

I trust your experience in these matters. But then, I am not one of the ones who needs to see concrete progress every step of the way. I trust that Paul Elio and his teams and supporters know a whole lot more than I do and when things are in concrete they will let us know. I have noticed the angst demonstrated on this site is cyclical - sort of a male version of PMS. Z

 

[Jeff Porter]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissin'. I'm just stating the obvious.
With the exception of the formal submission of the loan guarantee aplication,
this month's information releases (including the announcement of the "Plant Plan") were what they were. Mostly fanfare.
Yeah, EM certainly does have every right to be proud of what they've accomplished so far. Notice that I haven't changed my signature yet.
But they are not saying, "We have ..." about producing anything tangible or about the actual physical movement of anything.
They are not even saying "We have started to ..." The only ongoing thing of note is they've said that work is continuing on the engine.
Most of what I'm hearing is more of, "We have further developed the overall plan, we will start this, and we will achieve that."
I have faith in these folks and I'm hoping this September's rah-rah is a drumroll for some shockingly positive progress reports.
I'm about ready to set my alarm for this time next month.

Didn't someone recently quote the VP as saying that there probably won't be another prototyp (P5?) and that they'll probably proceed directly to testing? If that's an accurate quote, I'd like to know exactly what it meant, and I'd like to know how the heck it's going to work without a P5, considering all the refinements (including some major projected body and upper frame changes) that EM's been talking about.
Again, no dissin', just amazed as usual.

Was it Conway Twitty that sang, "Oh, no-one knows what goes on behind closed doors..."?

For the music lyric, without looking it up... Charlie Rich?

 

[Mike W]

I trust your experience in these matters. But then, I am not one of the ones who needs to see concrete progress every step of the way. I trust that Paul Elio and his teams and supporters know a whole lot more than I do and when things are in concrete they will let us know. I have noticed the angst demonstrated on this site is cyclical - sort of a male version of PMS. Z

I'm not sure why Elio is expected to give out information on demand to a relatively small forum (sorry, but a bit over 2k members does not make us a major demographic) about information that may still be in flux and that we really have no real need to know about. Granted, it would be nice to know, I would like to know but the demands to know baffles me. We all know the general timeline, we all know that things are coming together, we all know it is taking time due to multiple factors (time, supply chain, money/funding, the complexity of the project). It's a startup with a leader that is learning on the job (and so far as I can tell, doing well, completing each step before proceeding to the next), so living with uncertainty should be a given rather than be taken by surprise. I entered into the whole process with the idea that "Failure is an option" and enjoying the ride with each successful step providing a sense of excitement. It seems that others have entered with "Failure is not an option" and live lives with more angst than a teenager discovering a zit the day of the prom. It's all in how you approach this whole project. I say, lean back,enjoy the ride, the scenery and the people you meet along the way. That way if for some sad reason Elio doesn't come to fruition you still will profit from the whole adventure. By the way, mine will be James Bond Black. That sounds like more adventure than Licorice would provide.

 

[Neal]

I'm not sure why Elio is expected to give out information on demand to a relatively small forum (sorry, but a bit over 2k members does not make us a major demographic) about information that may still be in flux and that we really have no real need to know about. Granted, it would be nice to know, I would like to know but the demands to know baffles me. We all know the general timeline, we all know that things are coming together, we all know it is taking time due to multiple factors (time, supply chain, money/funding, the complexity of the project). It's a startup with a leader that is learning on the job (and so far as I can tell, doing well, completing each step before proceeding to the next), so living with uncertainty should be a given rather than be taken by surprise. I entered into the whole process with the idea that "Failure is an option" and enjoying the ride with each successful step providing a sense of excitement. It seems that others have entered with "Failure is not an option" and live lives with more angst than a teenager discovering a zit the day of the prom. It's all in how you approach this whole project. I say, lean back,enjoy the ride, the scenery and the people you meet along the way. That way if for some sad reason Elio doesn't come to fruition you still will profit from the whole adventure. By the way, mine will be James Bond Black. That sounds like more adventure than Licorice would provide.

I agree. Elio has been more transparent than any company I have ever dealt with. They release some behind the scenes stuff, but they aren't obligated to do any of that. They have gotten some things wrong because of delays beyond their control. I think that leads to them not announcing things as much as before simply because they are trying to avoid giving information that might change.