I Have Given Up On Elio, Have You?

[RSchneider]

My guess is that they were waiting for Elio to produce, to see if there was a demand. Elio's guess of 250,000 units a year was totally unrealistic, I am not sure how much of a demand there is. Without someone making one, we will never know.

I was thinking some could have done it for the non US market. Test it out there and then when see it on the internet, we bug them to bring them here. Greeley and Mahandra could have done it for their home markets and even make a KISS version. The poor in those countries need cheap and efficient as opposed to us here. Then they could judge the market here by a “Bring the Elio copy to America” campaign. If a few hundred thousand sign up in a month, then it shows market acceptance. These companies have had 10 years to do this and have not. There must be a reason. Greed would make it happen as long as the market is there.

 

[84mpg]

I just don’t see a bike manufacturer building an Elio.... it’s seems to be too big of a reach. The Elio is a car with three wheels. It’s not a bike with a 3rd wheel. Let that soak in for a sec.

Looks like a car manufacturer would have an easier time with it. It’s up their alley. They have no interest though, in building a truly economical vehicle - at least at the current time. They want the fluff and stuff to get more bucks. Folks are enamored with all forms of gadgets. Dealers obviously love to sell it. The dealers are addicted to the profits the tech (gadgets) generate.

Hey.... the new GMC truck tailgate is pretty cool. Anyone know how much they get for it?
There’s no stopping of the parade of new gadgets..... this means no end in sight of rising sticker prices.

 

[RSchneider]

I just don’t see a bike manufacturer building an Elio.... it’s seems to be too big of a reach. The Elio is a car with three wheels. It’s not a bike with a 3rd wheel. Let that soak in for a sec.

Then just leave out Harley then. The rest make three or 4 wheelers. I'd think that since Harley has been making actual product for a long time with also having plants and engineers that have been designing lots of items for a long time, adding one extra wheel would not be a stretch. It wasn't a problem for Polaris. Vanderhall never built a thing, yet started off with a three wheeler. That company has dealers and service centers. It's almost an Elio but just needs a complete roof. Yes they are not the $7450 or 84 mpg but maybe those numbers are not attainable in the real world. So far, the real world is winning.

As for the fluff and stuff, that's the result of capitalism. If you want basics, then the Soviet Union would be what you want. They has KISS cars that were based on 30-40 year old designs. That's because the government said, "This is all you need". In American, we have the probably where we say, "What do you want?" Thus people want more and manufactured just answer the request.

One thing you have to not do. Mistake the old times as to what we really wanted. If that was the case, you would not be using that computer you are using right now. Instead, a quill, ink and parchment is all that's necessary.

 

[84mpg]

Ok.... $7.450 maybe be unrealistic. But $29,050 is a little heavy for a base Vanderhall.... don’t you think?maybe $30k is fair for the Vanderhall. I’m sure it’s a quality ride - but that machine doesn’t fit Elio’s goals. I wonder how many units they put out a year. (More than Elio lol). But it’s not massed produced. Nothing is going to be priced economically unless it can be sold in mass. Right?

Vanderhall as it is now- is cool, but would never sell by the hundreds of thousands. Folks as a whole don’t like to get wet - or tack on another $3k for a roof as an option.

Why isn’t there something in the middle - between the unrealistic Elio price and the $30k Vanderhall?

 

[Rickb]

Ok.... $7.450 maybe be unrealistic. But $29,050 is a little heavy for a base Vanderhall.... don’t you think?maybe $30k is fair for the Vanderhall. I’m sure it’s a quality ride - but that machine doesn’t fit Elio’s goals. I wonder how many units they put out a year. (More than Elio lol). But it’s not massed produced. Nothing is going to be priced economically unless it can be sold in mass. Right?

Vanderhall as it is now- is cool, but would never sell by the hundreds of thousands. Folks as a whole don’t like to get wet - or tack on another $3k for a roof as an option.

Why isn’t there something in the middle - between the unrealistic Elio price and the $30k Vanderhall?

There are several available 4 wheelers and soon to be available 3 wheeler ($10-20K) vehicle options in the middle to serve as primary vehicles (4 wheelers) or “&”/supplements (3 wheelers) to the primary vehicle. They apparently don’t meet your individual needs.

 

[84mpg]

There are several available 4 wheelers and soon to be available 3 wheeler ($10-20K) vehicle options in the middle to serve as primary vehicles (4 wheelers) or “&”/supplements (3 wheelers) to the primary vehicle. They apparently don’t meet your individual needs.

That’s true Rick - there are several vehicles in that middle range price wise - but they don’t have the capabilities/features/value of the Elio design.

Which other vehicle do you think equals the value of the Elio - if the Elio were built at say $12k?

 

[RSchneider]

The Nissan Versa is your only option right now. It offers way more than the Elio except for one department. It's fuel mileage. Other than that not a single three wheeler or 4 wheeler out there can match it. For this soon to be released three wheeler that can, I have never heard of it, so that sounds like something we'd all like to hear about. As for a fun toy there are three wheelers. As we all know, those are boutique or just a niche. Not an item that's for the masses. Even for the Versa, America is deciding that they are too sure of is as the sales have dropped from 144K in 2015 to 77K in 2018. At least it's the cheapest car in the US at $12,460 MSRP.

With the Versa, it's a hodge podge of Renault and Nissan. Plus it's made in Mexico and many other markets. So Nissan can sell a cheap car like it due to that the company sells many other cars/trucks/Vans all over the globe and thus have the purchasing power with suppliers as opposed to Elio which has none. Plus Nissan has massive margin cars/trucks that can make up for the razor thin Versa. Elio does not.

 

[Samuel Gompers]

Chevy Spark - MSRP $13,220 - after delivery & discounts $12,095
Nissan Versa- MSRP $12,460 - after delivery & discounts $13,355
Mitsu Mirage - MSRP $13,795 - after delivery & discounts $14,925
Ford Focus - MSRP $14,260 - after delivery & discounts $15,235
Hyun Accent - MSRP $14,995 - after delivery & discounts $15,925
Kia Rio - MSRP $15,390 - after delivery & discounts $16,315
Toyota Yaris - MSRP $16,600 - after delivery & discounts $16,530
Fiat 500 - MSRP $16,495 - after delivery & discounts $16,540
Honda Fit - MSRP $16,190 - after delivery & discounts $17,120

Still a fair number of inexpensive new cars out there. All the features can be compared to each other, but not to the Elio, as there are no features available at any price. If you want an inexpensive new car within the foreseeable future, these are your main options (assuming U.S.A.). Lots of used options, motorcycles, a few trikes, a few EV's, etc.

Elio has proven that they cannot build one vehicle to spec for over $100M, and there is no investor who believes that they could build and sell them profitably for $8k (ignoring the promised deposits & discounts). The vehicles above offer evidence that there are companies who could build an Elio-spec-meeting vehicle for $12-18k, if they believed they could sell them in adequate volumes. The Slingshot and Vanderhall are good benchmarks for what pricing would be for lower volumes.

As Elio Amazed mentioned earlier, these are all just post-game wrap-up comments.

 

[84mpg]

Yeah.... I’m aware of the inexpensive cars. In my book, over priced for stripped down versions. The kind that has the paper thin plastic wheel covers and the plugs covering all of the holes where the options go. They scream cheap and inferior. You can spot them a mile away. Inside and out.... no wonder people try not to buy them.

Can any of them get 70-80 mpg? (I know - Elio hasn’t done it either.... but at least has a chance.).

Have you sat in any of the Elio mockups? Interior wise - they don’t look or feel like an inferior, stripped down, embarrassment of a vehicle. The room (up front), the steering wheel placement, the view out the glass is unlike anything on the road - that includes your expensive sports cars.

If a person hasn’t sat in one - They have no idea why folks like me are still holding my breath that the thing will be built. The Elio would be the poor and middle class’s F-1 for the streets.... while getting 80 mpg and staying dry....

A 100+ hp engine might even bark the tires.

Sadly, if a person hasn’t sat in one - they might not ever. Then again, if a person hasn’t sat in it or walked around it in person, they don’t know what they’re missing. The only option they have is to buy the above inferior option (IMO).

At this moment - it’s mute. Get it going Paul. You won’t be able to make them fast enough to keep up with the demand. It’ll make the sales of the Beetles look like slugs. Majority of people that sit in it - will buy it.

 

[Samuel Gompers]

Yeah.... I’m aware of the inexpensive cars. In my book, over priced for stripped down versions. The kind that has the paper thin plastic wheel covers and the plugs covering all of the holes where the options go. They scream cheap and inferior. You can spot them a mile away. Inside and out.... no wonder people try not to buy them.

Can any of them get 70-80 mpg? (I know - Elio hasn’t done it either.... but at least has a chance.).

Have you sat in any of the Elio mockups? Interior wise - they don’t look or feel like an inferior, stripped down, embarrassment of a vehicle. The room (up front), the steering wheel placement, the view out the glass is unlike anything on the road - that includes your expensive sports cars.

If a person hasn’t sat in one - They have no idea why folks like me are still holding my breath that the thing will be built. The Elio would be the poor and middle class’s F-1 for the streets.... while getting 80 mpg and staying dry....

A 100+ hp engine might even bark the tires.

Sadly, if a person hasn’t sat in one - they might not ever. Then again, if a person hasn’t sat in it or walked around it in person, they don’t know what they’re missing. The only option they have is to buy the above inferior option (IMO).

At this moment - it’s mute. Get it going Paul. You won’t be able to make them fast enough to keep up with the demand. It’ll make the sales of the Beetles look like slugs. Majority of people that sit in it - will buy it.

I've sat in both the grey and the orange Elio show cars. And walked around them. And looked under the hoods. And laid on the ground and examined the undersides. Also have sat in or driven about half the cars on the list. Shall we say that you and I came to different conclusions? I would agree that a fair number of the people who sat in the prototypes made reservations, and that Elio did not build them fast enough to keep up with the demand.