Adjustable Rear Suspension-a Must On Elio

[goofyone]

That looks like recognition of Elio's acceptance of outside expertise, and that's a powerful sign of success. When you can get your creative ego out of a project in favor of experienced and expert input, you are on your way!

The relationship Elio Motors has developed with their suppliers is one of the things that makes this whole project so interesting and is also very easily overlooked by many people.

“We are fortunate to have so many of the world’s top supplier companies contributing to our success,” Elio said. “These companies and their team members provide technology, expertise and insight that is crucial to every mile per gallon and every penny we save. It was an honor to host so many of these talented individuals and I am honored and humbled by their genuine passion and enthusiasm for this product.”

Elio Motors has taken a unique approach to its supplier partner relationships. By hosting supplier summits on a regular basis, Elio Motors puts its supplier companies together for face-to-face interaction. This enhanced communication allows supplier partners to exchange ideas in real-time and helps foster decision making and teamwork. The result is that all sourcing decisions are made looking at the vehicle as a total system rather than making decisions on individual components. Ultimately, this helps maximize quality and performance while controlling costs.

The supplier summits also provide a forum to truly showcase their vast depth of industry knowledge.

“The other major benefit of bringing these great supplier partners in early like we have is the knowledge of existing parts in their individual product lines,” said Steve Semansky, Vice President of Supply Chain Management for Elio Motors. “No one knows the lines like these guys which allows us to get proven quality and a great value for these parts, using existing technology.”

http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=24b371802c83d81776b06aa68&id=b408895255&e=943b0b2e7c

 

[Snick]

The relationship Elio Motors has developed with their suppliers is one of the things that makes this whole project so interesting and is also very easily overlooked by many people.

Really, it's not that novel, new, or special. All car manufacturers try to do this. This is mostly PR hype from EM.

 

[goofyone]

Really, it's not that novel, new, or special. All car manufacturers try to do this. This is mostly PR hype from EM.

I disagree. While theoretically working with suppliers to improve efficiency and cost is the way all manufactures operate the fact of the matter is that traditional large auto automakers do not go nearly as far as EM has with their suppliers. Large car manufacturers don't design individual models from scratch anymore, especially not their inexpensive models, but instead they use 'platforms' on which individual models are made. While this way of doing things can lead to savings across a range of vehicle models sold around the globe it also means that many details are set in stone before the automaker and supplier partners actually sit down to work on an individual model.

What Elio Motors has done is include the majority of its suppliers from very early on in the design process which allows EM to work closely with their suppliers, and their suppliers to work with each other, to ensure every aspect of this vehicle is optimized to meet or exceed EM requirements. This is not necessarily the first time this has been done however it is definitely not the way most auto manufacturers operate today.

 

[JEBar]

put me in the vehicle and I can see how it could influence the balance of a lightweight vehicle like an Elio .... OK, my weight could influence the balance of a vehicle a good bit heavier than an Elio .... fortunately, my wife's weight shouldn't have any influence whatsoever .... if the suspension provides a ride when I'm alone in an Elio that my back is happy with, having her in the back seat shouldn't make any difference ..

Jim

 

[lkptpete]

You can also reroute where you add air for air shocks or airbags. In my beetle I hid a set inside the fuel filler door so I don't have to crawl under the car everytime I hook up my car hauler. It also make it much simpler to adjust air pressure without the need for an onboard compressor.


Similar to this-

Did anyone else catch that this post says "when I hook up my car hauler... To my beetle ?!?!?!

 

[RKing]

Snick said: ↑
Really, it's not that novel, new, or special. All car manufacturers try to do this. This is mostly PR hype from EM.

I also disagree with this. I am an engineer with a large auto manufacturer and am here to tell you they think they know it all and dictate to the supplier what is to be supplied. All the while claiming to "leverage" the suppliers experience...BS pure and simple. Elio is avoiding the overhead and "not my idea" issues that the BIG guys have. Go to the proven experts with a well defined scope of work and let them do their thing, happiness will ensue. Note that well defined scope of work, that and selecting a partner with a proven track record make for a success. Skimp on either and bad things happen. GO Paul Elio , doing it right!

 

[2.ooohhh]

Did anyone else catch that this post says "when I hook up my car hauler... To my beetle ?!?!?!

The car hauler is across town from where I keep the truck. Rather than drive across town and back in the truck with an empty trailer I'll often go grab the trailer(empty) with my beetle. The beetle has an electronic brake controller for my trailer brakes so it does fine with the empty hauler. It wouldn't if I had a car on the trailer, but that's why we have the truck.


More commonly the beetle tows a much smaller utility trailer so I don't have to keep a truck at the house.
Untitled by systemdelete, on Flickr


The real truck tows the larger loads.
Untitled by systemdelete, on Flickr

 

[Jim H]

The car hauler is across town from where I keep the truck. Rather than drive across town and back in the truck with an empty trailer I'll often go grab the trailer(empty) with my beetle. The beetle has an electronic brake controller for my trailer brakes so it does fine with the empty hauler. It wouldn't if I had a car on the trailer, but that's why we have the truck.


More commonly the beetle tows a much smaller utility trailer so I don't have to keep a truck at the house.
Untitled by systemdelete, on Flickr


The real truck tows the larger loads.
Untitled by systemdelete, on Flickr

Well done.

 

[AriLea]

I disagree. .. .globe it also means that many details are(were) set in stone.

This is the true difference. An 'agile' process of decision making. Elio thru open the doors to take input from suppliers. And especially set the precedent that it was OK to put more profit in the supplier's pocket so long as the overall vehicle cost was lower. BIG motivator I'd say.

 

[goofyone]

This is the true difference. An 'agile' process of decision making. Elio thru open the doors to take input from suppliers. And especially set the precedent that it was OK to put more profit in the supplier's pocket so long as the overall vehicle cost was lower. BIG motivator I'd say.

Elio Motors Facebook page just linked to an article from February, which I do not believe I had seen before, which talks about the relationship Elio Motors has with their suppliers. I liked this paragraph:

“One of the unique parts of the Elio project is that Paul (Elio) is empowering the suppliers to be responsible for each one of their systems,” Boggs says. “In a typical vehicle program, the OEM dictates the requirements. In our program, we’re asking the supplier to tell us what the right requirements are. So this optimizes the cost model — we aren't spending money that we might if we dictated an overly aggressive requirement.”

http://www.dbusiness.com/daily-news/Annual-2014/Local-Suppliers-to-Power-Elio-Motors-84-mpg-Vehicle/