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Friday Blog Is Out

Samalross

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If I had kids, I certainly wouldn't buy them a car. My dad didn't buy me a car and all my money that I earned went to the one big check I wrote for my first year in college :(. I do think if a kid wants a car that they should have a lot of skin in the game for that car but frankly that is not what I see parents doing.

I remain amazed at the amount of money parents spend on kids. Back in the day, I had a number of friends whose parents did buy them new Honda Civics because they were essentially the "AND" vehicle of the day. Today, I see many parents easily blow through the cost of an Elio on all kinds of expenditures for their kids so I don't see the cost of an Elio being a significant issue for those parents. I also know quite a few parents that wouldn't hesitate to spend 2 to 3 times the cost of an Elio on a vehicle for their kids so having an option like the Elio might be a good way for them to save a bit.
I agree that kids should earn the money for the car, they appreciate the car more if they earned it. I live in an area that sixteen year olds are driving new BMW's. My son is paying for most of his tuition, but I worry that he is spending too much time working and not enough on studies. Wish I knew the correct approach.
 

Made in USA

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There are two uses for the Elio that I see. The first is as a commuter vehicle. It should be able to do that well. The second is for fun. While it may look sporty, and the prototype I sat in up in Detroit felt solid, until we actually drive it and see how it handles the fun factor may or may not be there. I want one as a commuter. I think many others will also. Now if it happens to be fun too, then a different market will be available also. As for people in the back not being a distraction, well, ever hear of back-seat-drivers? I think any passengers can be a distraction. Not a good selling point for Elio. They should focus on their strengths of low costs (purchase cost, maintenance, gas, insurance).
There will be enough people interested in just those things to keep the plant busy for years. Let kids discover what they want on their own.
 

Ty

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I bought "good" used cars for the three kids that are above driving age now... The last kid's 2012 used car was about $7,000 and she actually wanted an Elio. Now, I didn't "spoil" the kids as they had to pay back their cars. The first kid made payments to me which I kept and gave her as a graduation gift so she could move up from that car. These last two are making actual car payments though my 16 year old isn't working yet and only paying a little each month till she gets a job. She makes straight As while taking AP/Honors classes so I'm not the least bit upset about making her measly payments.

My point is, you'd be surprised how enticing a vehicle with a warranty is to a parent who has a kid who is going to go away to college... especially if they aren't going to work on their own vehicle.
 

RSchneider

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With my kids it was this. One got my old car and the other got a used one I bought him. In the end, with the split, it was $2500 for each. The deal was, they had to be honors and in advanced/AP courses before this was to happen. Then both had to pay for insurance, gas and maintenance (which for us was just the parts). Both did this and both went onto college with about 80% paid through grants and scholarships. When both graduated, no debt and they got the opportunity to be at really good schools that allowed both to get great jobs right out of college. Both are way ahead of me when I was their age. I was raised to keep advancing the family from generation to generation and that is not only family values but in education and financially. It's worked in my family for the last four generations and I hope it keeps going.

In the end, my $5K investment in a car for one has paid dividends down the road. What worked for me might not for others.
 

Johnny Acree

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I'm back. I had the flu last week. Thank you boo boo, for filling in for me. Now here it is.
A Platform for the Future
February 23, 2018



Happy Friday Elio’ers! Is it just us or did the last two weeks seem to fly by? The closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics will take place on Sunday. The US may not have piled up the medals like we have in the past, but we’re still tremendously proud of all our Olympic athletes! For any night owls out there, the US Men’s team plays Sweden in the Curling gold medal match at 1:25 AM eastern tonight. Who would have thought curling would be so popular all of the sudden? Go USA!

In case you missed the Momentum on Wednesday, we covered some interesting industry news. One portion in particular, about electric vehicles, seemed to have been of interest to many Elio Motors supporters and gung-ho proponents of alternative energy. We highlighted the fact that while electric vehicles have generated a remarkable amount of buzz, the technology is not quite there yet. We received many inquiries asking variations of these two questions: why is the first model of the Elio gasoline powered and will future models run on alternative energy? Today, we’ll answer these two great questions.

Why is the first iteration of the Elio gas powered?

Our aim has always been to produce a vehicle with an unbeatable value proposition. While electric vehicles have made major strides in recent years, they are still considerably more expensive on average than gasoline powered vehicles. The range of electric vehicles is going up and the cost of the technology is going down, but an electric powertrain does not currently meet our cost/value requirements. The price of even the least expensive electric vehicles is more than 3 times that of an Elio!

Additionally, we have designed the Elio to be a viable option for nearly everyone. Currently, the existing electric infrastructure limits the plausibility of owning an electric vehicle for folks in rural areas. As a gasoline powered vehicle, the Elio offers limitless mobility to drivers in the most remote locations.

Is an electric/water/vapor/sun/wind powered Elio a possibility in the future?

In a word, absolutely. We think that the configuration and engineering for the Elio makes for an exciting platform for alternative power sources. Even as we are focused on the present and bringing the gasoline-powered Elio to production, we will always be simultaneously looking to the future and into different ways we can improve our vehicle. As technologies continue to improve and costs continue to drop, the notion of an alternative Elio powertrain is absolutely a possibility.

Thanks for your support and have a golden weekend!
 

Elio Amazed

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It may be just me, but EM has seemed just a tad preemptively defensive about the whole electric thing lately.
 
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Trusting

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It's only Thursday but I got my latest email from Elio (v144). This time they talk about all the different fender options they plan to offer. I'm sorry, but isn't that like the captain of the Titanic talking about all the new dinner menu options as the ship is going down?
 
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