Anyone Else Think It Wont Happen?

[tonyspumoni]

Zelio,

I don't disagree in the least and I too hope Paul can achieve this. But would you choose 'bend' or 'break' if he could not? I like 'bend' because I'd like to own one of these, but part of me would respect 'break' just because it would be so unconventional and non-corporate.

Business sense and shareholder interests dictate a certain capacity operational flexibility. If, say, it transpires that they can't build these for less than $7200 a pop, there WILL be folks hurt by now having to pay $8500 instead of $6800. But that's exactly what Elio Motors will do because while Paul is Elio Motor's, um, motor, he is not Elio Motors. That entity consists of the folks who dropped millions into this and their views on this are far less likely to be guided by Paul's original vision and far more by 'the numbers'.

Moreover, I said no one is simple. What I left unsaid was something I cannot easily articulate without coming off as a jerk, which is that for those less fortunate than myself I dearly do hope this comes to pass exactly as Paul has articulated it because folks with not much deserve something great, having taken it hard at the expense of the rest for the past 30 years or so. Sure, I went all in because I want one of these, but part of me justified my bet - for that is exactly what this is - in hopes that it would contribute in some small way to helping make this a reality for others too. So there it is. Narcissism and altruism all wrapped up into one butt-ugly dude.

 

[nickskeys]

The way they keep changing the car, it may not look remotely like any of the prototypes by the time it is actually produced. That is my biggest concern. People who paid $1,000 dollars for the design on the left, are not sitting pretty with the latest incarnation. So who knows. I really hope that this car can be produced. They need to show it at some big ticket venues like the North American International Auto Show, the New York Auto Show, or the Chicago Auto Show. Showing it to hundreds of thousands in a week will further word of mouth than showing up in some far off city at a small venue for a few thousand.

 

[LillyMayPatterson #1685 & #5648]

I've really enjoyed reading this thread. Thanks to Harlan for starting it. I'm glad you joined us. This has been like being at a really big party or 'sit-down dinner meeting' with all of my best Elio friends. Only I was the only one drinking. Good Night My Friends.

 

[JEBar]

Zero technological hurdles by using off the shelf components?

off the shelf components is a common thread in many discussions .... and while it is true with most items, the heart of an Elio, arguably the most important part, is anything but off the shelf .... its motor is unique to the point of being one of the kind .... its development diametrically opposes all of the advantages of costing less, having a proven track record, and being readily available

Jim

 

[Smitty901]

All in for 1000 but have some doubts I will ever see a production Elio

 

[zelio]

All in for 1000 but have some doubts I will ever see a production Elio

I'll wave at you as I drive mine home from Shreveport. :-) Z

 

[DaveM]

Remember the BRICKLIN?

[Broken External Image]
This car came on the scene and got a lot of people excited, me included, since it's corporate office was in the same industrial building complex that my business was located in California. Turned out to be a scam....many lost money. BUT, there where early signs that maybe this car was not what it was cracked up to be even though it did reach a low level of production.
In this case I think we're looking at a different situation. IF this is not legit, it's an extraordinary effort with so much 'documentation' that by now someone would have blown the whistle if there was any monkey business going on.
I have every faith that the Elio will be produced and sold, unless some legal obstacle or some sort of industrial sabotage (read competitor attack) holds it up and leads to it's demise.
Everyone has to judge for themselves.

 

[tonyspumoni]

off the shelf components is a common thread in many discussions .... and while it is true with most items, the heart of an Elio, arguably the most important part, is anything but off the shelf .... its motor is unique to the point of being one of the kind .... its development diametrically opposes all of the advantages of costing less, having a proven track record, and being readily available

Jim

Jim,

The motor is indeed the place where most of the design risk seems embodied. But IAV is a proven entity with a pretty good track record and when the krauts get the chance to do something original design-wise (instead of being handed a set of compromises by 'marketing'), they seem to do pretty well.

Secondly, while there has been a lot of speculation regarding the particulars of the engine design implementation, what I have not noticed is any systematic and widespread doubt among those with practical engine design knowledge that what has been proposed simply cannot be done. Rather, most folks who sound like they know what they are talking about focus on sub-aspects such as durability of this or that cylinder wall coating, to take one recent example.

You are right - not off-the-shelf physically but perhaps off the shelf design-wise? It's not like they are counting on a Wankel rotary diesel or anything. And Paul is an engineer, so while I will always consider his business statements suspect I am pretty confident that when he said 'no existing motor' fits he had a good reason for saying it.

 

[jetpack54]

I think most folks feel that way but with the rate EM is releasing info, there wouldn't be many post and little motivation to check into the forum as often as most of us seem to enjoy

Jim

Aha! But that's where the patience comes in! Anything can happen or won't happen between now and Sept. 2015 so entertaining the unknown is very unhealthy! I would rather spend my time doing something I CAN DO at the moment that WHAT CAN'T HELP! I would rather wait for yet another update from EM positive or not...then let's discuss! I'll tell you this much, if they don't come up w/ the 5th prototype or the pre production Elio w/ the brand new engine by the end of this year....yeah that's right, I'm giving them that much, then we can all entertain our worst fear that it's not gonna happen in 2015!

 

[harlan stephens]

I wonder how many people here understand what I am even talking about.

Understand the pros and cons of a long stroke motor?

Understand the pros and cons of 11.1 plus compression ratios?

Have ever ran a coated bore ? Or even simply took time to learn the pros and cons both good and bad?

And contrary to a few coments here
Bring up these issues. Not becuse I dislike the elio concept. Want it to fail.or am being negitive. Or any other such rot.
No I am not a smart guy eather. But I tend to learn from my mistakes.



and hopefully this gets up to the big guys at elio...
Every fiber of my being tells me make at least one thin walled iron sleeved prototype motor. you got to machine the bore out anyway so its not a huge task. Press a liner in there...
And do so in case the spray bores do not work in this engine.
So this project moves forward regardless.
They may well have done this. But who knows.

Coated pistons on the other hand have been working great. and do not blow motors or loose compression if they fail.
Tend to.work well with the cons of long stroke. And higher compression.