8/20/2014 - Fox Business Interview With Paul Elio

[ThreeWheelBurnin]

They get pretty dismal fuel economy for what they are. The diesel version isn't allowed in the US, but in Canada they get >65mpg. Our gas version available here is hardly competitive with a Nissan Versa.

It's percieved as 'not safe', too.

Too me, it seems that the fuel economy isn't good enough to counter the compromises built into a Smart car. While the Elio has its compromises, it at least is inexpensive and gets great fuel economy.

 

[Elio Amazed]

In the Fox interview, PE's reference to the "F" word struck me as rather odd.
I realize that he was trying to come off as "a regular guy" with a sense of humor and all.
Believe me, I'm about as far from being a prude as you can get.
But I can't help thinking that statement might have not been in his best interest.
I'm thinking that a number of people were likely put off by that for a number of reasons.
Middle America may be more conservative than we like to believe. Especially those watching Fox.
I'm not sure people expect that from a guy who's supposedly undertaking a very serious automotive start-up endeavor.
I'm thinking that it may be time for PE to come off more as being one deadly serious CEO.
It might be better than appearing to be "the slightly eccentric guy who wants to help all of America by making and selling a kinda crazy car."
I realize that the latter is exactly what many interviewers want in the interviews, but again, I think it's time to show some hard steel.
I'm just doing what I usually do: Stepping outside of my position and trying to observe from the perspective of the unbiased average Joe Public.
And on a personal note...Gawd! I wish he'd stop beginning a lot of his responses with "So..."!
Drives me nuts.

I might be just be making something out of nothing with the "F" reference, and it might actually be a brilliant PR ploy.
But I don't think so.
So... this is old J.P. just sayin'.

 

[rracer]

I think PE is a decent, grounded dude.

 

[Ekh]

I'm inclined to agree with Snick, except for one thing. There may be several distinct groups of buyers for the Elio.
1. The "and" people, which includes virtually everybody on this forum (we're the ones who can plunk down up to a grand on spec).
2. The single moms or men holding a dismal job with a long commute; basically, blue collar folks without huge numbers of kids to haul around.
3. Young people, from high school seniors through college or a bit past that. They will try new things, need cars, and are short on money.
4. Retirees who can get by with one small car for every day and rent a van if they need to haul furniture or something.

I don't like Paul discarding these other markets in favor of the "ands." It's just that the "ands" are the ones who have voted with their wallets. But the concept of the car is really to help out the working class, and that should not be abandoned in favor of an image of the Elio as a toy for the well-heeled.

 

[Ekh]

And on a personal note...Gawd! I wish he'd stop beginning a lot of his responses with "So..."!
Drives me nuts.

I might be just be making something out of nothing with the "F" reference, and it might actually be a brilliant PR ploy.
But I don't think so.
So... this is old J.P. just sayin'.

I agree that starting a sentence or paragraph with "so" is either bone-deep ignorance as to the function and meaning of the word "so" or an affectation.
When my 27 year old daughter does this, knowing perfectly well that so functions to introduce a conclusion or a summary, I cringe. Brat! I don't know where Paul picked this nasty habit up, but I sure wish he'd drop it.

 

[eddie66]

1. Evening news is where they begin with “Good evening,” and then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.

 

[zelio]

I agree that starting a sentence or paragraph with "so" is either bone-deep ignorance as to the function and meaning of the word "so" or an affectation.
When my 27 year old daughter does this, knowing perfectly well that so functions to introduce a conclusion or a summary, I cringe. Brat! I don't know where Paul picked this nasty habit up, but I sure wish he'd drop it.

I hear it everywhere these days so simply ignore it as much as possible. :-) Z

 

[zelio]

I'm inclined to agree with Snick, except for one thing. There may be several distinct groups of buyers for the Elio.
1. The "and" people, which includes virtually everybody on this forum (we're the ones who can plunk down up to a grand on spec).
2. The single moms or men holding a dismal job with a long commute; basically, blue collar folks without huge numbers of kids to haul around.
3. Young people, from high school seniors through college or a bit past that. They will try new things, need cars, and are short on money.
4. Retirees who can get by with one small car for every day and rent a van if they need to haul furniture or something.

I don't like Paul discarding these other markets in favor of the "ands." It's just that the "ands" are the ones who have voted with their wallets. But the concept of the car is really to help out the working class, and that should not be abandoned in favor of an image of the Elio as a toy for the well-heeled.

Ummmm. He's got me and nobody in their right mind would call me well-heeled. I'm not poor, I'm low income. I feel poor is a frame of mind that is hopeless and a trap. Being low income means there is hope, sort of. Z

 

[GaPawn]

I would very much like to have seen him be more inclusive in the groups that the Elio appeals to. Class warfare is getting to be all the rage, and if he pigeon holes the Elio as a "rich man's toy", he's going to alienate an awful lot of potential customers! I physically cringed when he went there, and then didn't emphasize the fact that there are buyers from ALL walks of life who are putting their $$$ down to reserve an early spot in line! At nearly 55 I may not be a young person, but I, and I think most of the other folks on this forum, are FAR from being the rich folk that we were portrayed as.

Other than that, I think he did OK. I did cringe a bit at the "F" word reference, but I'm hoping he was indicating that those worries are nearly behind him. After all, emphasizing a negative that HUGE, is a PR no-no, unless you are in the process of slaying that dragon, and are therefore trying to put that negative to bed. I tend to worry more about what issues they DON'T address, as apposed to the ones they do.

Unless Mr. Elio is a complete idiot (and I don't think he is), he struck me as someone who is coming down the home stretch..... I sure hope I'm right!!!

 

[Jambe]

Have you noticed how many 'interviewees' start with "Well,...

Well, I have.