Bill In Congress Would Legally Allow For Low-volume Replica Cars

[JEBar]

this could be interesting .... link to where much more info is available

"Proposed legislation in the House of Representatives would create a new category of regulations for low-volume automakers – specifically those building replicas of classic automobiles. Current regulations, which hold small-scale manufacturers to the same standards as mass producers, mean that these low-volume automakers are forced to sell their products as kits, but the new category would allow them to offer turn-key vehicles, with no further assembly required on the part of the buyer."

I can see a market for replicas of classic automobiles .... the size of the market would be heavily impacted by cost .... I know that I'd be much more interested in buying a completed classic than I would a kit

 

[karl]

For the Elio to work it can't be low volume...Look at the price of a pair of hand made shoes and a pair produced in a factory...

 

[Craig]

[Broken External Image]

Alex. I'll take a Switec Porsche 962C for a thousand.

 

[JEBar]

low volume production most certainly wouldn't work for EM if they want to keep their price anywhere near where it is .... if they ever were to produce a '55 T-bird hardtop/convertible I'd have to check on it ... that said, checking on it would probably be as far as it would go

 

[Smitty901]

Pricey but a few places doing this already

http://www.brandnewmusclecar.com/mustang.html

 

[Coss]

Pricey but a few places doing this already
http://www.brandnewmusclecar.com/mustang.html

Pricey is right; $60K and up is way outside my cookie jar.
I like what they're doing, and can see the market they appeal to and that is a pretty small market.

Opening a market segment like this shows me that someone is paying attention to the automotive market and is doing something about it.
They know the big car companies fill the majority of the buying public, but there is enough demand for "something else"
That's where companies like this come in; the big boys know they'll never be a threat to take their buyers.

 

[Smitty901]

Pricey is right; $60K and up is way outside my cookie jar.
I like what they're doing, and can see the market they appeal to and that is a pretty small market.

Opening a market segment like this shows me that someone is paying attention to the automotive market and is doing something about it.
They know the big car companies fill the majority of the buying public, but there is enough demand for "something else"
That's where companies like this come in; the big boys know they'll never be a threat to take their buyers.

Provided the ELIO makes it to market I bet it will make a dent. PE is right on his target market. The ELIO could fill a slot not yet tapped.
The Smart car had a chance but it just did not deliver on fuel mileage on the US model. Also it had issue with the transmission ect.
Smart could have made a bigger dent if the US market had the diesel version . I was on the Smart right away then a trip to the dealer ran me off.
ELIO could well be the US version of the first VW's,except even better.

 

[BigWarpGuy]

I think this would be great for companies like Midget Motors which make replicas of the King Midget cars.

I believe they make them as a kit. It is a historical car. There is a King Midget Car Club.

 

[BigWarpGuy]

I would not mind a company making the 1969 Fiat Abarth 2000 in small numbers.

 

[AriLea]

It is interesting to think, the encroachment of 3d printing into manufacturing mixed with allowances for low production vehicles will definitely have an affect.
A ruff 3d print of some popular body, sanded back down, then plopped on top of a common base would be very workable.

That was the basis of some of my advocacy designs. I was often comparing this work to the vw bug chasis and the lowcost for two comparable standards.

As you all say, this will never compete with full production designs and especially not against the Elio. But it could usher in designs that were once held off, simply because only the big boys could play. The Reverse Trike is one of those that was underserved.

I could certainly see the Elio donor car taking the place of the VW kit car donor. That should help you keep your used Elio prices up a bit.

Windshields are the only hard part. Yet that is addressed very well by kit style windshield assemblies. The small manufacturer for such kits may find a nice market for such things in that kind of environment.

As it stands now, a one-off custom curved windshield costs at least $800 delivered. But with the existence of low volume kit sales, half or quarter of that is reasonable. And reasonable kit frames, wiper assemblies and such could then also exist.

Even so the Elio windshield lends itself nicely to many single and inline seating designs.