This Is Not What I Expected My First Post To Be...

raptor213 said:

View attachment 21802 I plan on trekking up to Livonia after I drop my boy off at daycare tomorrow morning. I figure I can go 9 miles out of my way to see for myself what's going on outside the Pilot Operations Center. I'll report back.

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Smitty901 said:

Nothing to this. Everyone knows when you relocate the command post you move the flag. They are just getting a head start moving to LA for a 2019 4th quarter production date.
Question of the day, what do PE and Eric Buell have in common?

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Crazy Jake said:

I've been following these forums since early '14 and signed up shortly after my All In reservation in November of '14. I'm not very talkative, even from behind my keyboard. I've remained extremely optimistic about Pauls' vision, but I feel that I need to share what I saw today, as disappointing as it may be.

So here I sit, in the middle of the action. I've always known where the Pilot Operations Center is, because I recognized a building in the video where they raised the Elio flag there (It is not the Autry address). I've made it a habit to occasionally drive by to see if there is any activity and there is generally nothing happening. There are always a few cars in the lot, but I'm sure that they are Creative Technosport employees, as that building is shared by both companies.

Anyway, I drove by today and my heart sunk as first, I realized that they removed the Elio Motors Receiving sign next to the overhead door on the side of the building and then as I drove back to the front of the building only to see that they also removed the Elio flag.

I don't know what this really means and I'm trying to grasp for something positive, but I'm losing grip. What I do know is that a sign of Elios' existence has vanished, at least from this location.

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raptor213 said:

Performed some quick drive-by sleuthing this morning. The building is on the SE corner lot at the intersection of Farmington Rd & Industrial Rd in Livonia, MI. As previously posted from historical Google Street View imagery, this building previously had been documented sporting a green "Elio Motors" flag raised atop a flag pole, a green "Elio Motors" banner strung above the office windows on the concrete exterior of the building, and signs clearly indicating that Technosports Creative occupied at least a portion of the site.

I can verify and substantiate the OP's observations. The flag has been removed, leaving one empty flag pole, one USA flag, and one TransGlobal, LLC flag (who appears to be the primary lessee of the site). The banner is no longer visible on the front of the building facing the parking lot. The only identifiable signs on the building itself are a stock "TransGlobal, LLC" sign mounted above the front entrance awning and a similar sign occupying most of the advertising sign posted in the grass at the corner. Interestingly, that sign features Technosports Creative's banner on the south-facing side but not on the north-facing side. Around 9:30-10:00am EST on a weekday, there were just three vehicles parked in the front lot and a few trucks parked in the gated rear lot. I did step inside to a tight entranceway 'lobby', but there was nobody inside; the building is decent sized and I imagine whoever was there was/were in the back in the shop/garage areas.

I checked Elio's Supplier list online and TransGlobal, LLC does not appear to have any affiliation with Elio Motors. My educated guess is that, like many similar machine shops and build garages in the Metro Detroit area, it's leased office/shop space, and Elio likely never had their name on anything formally. It seems as though Technosports Creative expanded in anticipation of the impending 23 E-Series builds and leased space in the building or briefly partnered with TransGlobal, LLC to share the space, while Elio Motors casually branded it to future customers as if it was their own Pilot Operations Center.

But that is all just speculation on my part based upon knowledge of how real eatate transactions for automotive suppliers typically take place around the Motor City. Machine shops and prototyping centers each have their own niche specializations and no two are the same.

Given the significant changes made to the design of the Elio vehicle (thanks to Roush Motorsports), it could be that previous posters are on to something in the right direction by suggesting the remaining E-Series builds might be performed at 'ECO' (Elio Motors Caddo Operations, or the "Plant"), especially given the manufacturability of the prototypes transitioning from something catered to hand-building towards more automated manufacturability with the use of stamping, dies, molds, presses, soft-tooling, etc. Wasn't the latest E1c touted as being something like 90% comprised of soft-tooled components and assembly techniques?

Or, it could be that a different machine shop was necessary for any number of reasons: leasing contract expiration/renewal terms, monthly rent/utilities costs, convenience to nearby supplier partners, added security or privacy given heightened public scrutiny and media attention on the project, etc. For all we know, Elio Motors might be moving or has already relocated to another facility nearby. This area is awash in machine shops and tooling providers.

Or, this is the first visible, tangible, public sign of the fat lady singing. We don't know.

Personally, I hold out hope that this endeavor isn't finished yet, and not merely on blind faith. After all, the few remaining folks on the payroll were out at the Annual Shareholders Meeting in Phoenix, AZ on Monday, May 15, and then were in Kendallville, IN on Tuesday, May 16 meeting with a key supplier for potentially upgrading the paint lines at the Shreveport plant. Those events were just four weeks ago. I struggle to succumb to the notion that this is the precursor to a fat lady singing.

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Elio Amazed said:

Honestly folks. Zero money = No building space. Pretty simple.
Also simple... Zero money = No way to access new building space somewhere else...
And... Zero money = No way to gear Shreveport up to even have the capacity to build a few more prototypes

And no way or labor to even continue to physically refine the existing prototypes.

It's not the new math. It's the simple laws of economics and nature.
They've ceased to be gods and now have to deal with the same world we do.

Paul's garage at his home? Now there's a possibility.
That and borrowed hand tools at this point.

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