Bumped Backwards?

[Navigator]

Is is possible that people with registered production numbers could be bumped backwards if one or more large fleet orders were to be placed for Elios shortly after production begins? Just curious.

 

[KN16]

Is is possible that people with registered production numbers could be bumped backwards if one or more large fleet orders were to be placed for Elios shortly after production begins. Just curious.

Your guess is as good as the next guy's

 

[H2odog]

Is is possible that people with registered production numbers could be bumped backwards if one or more large fleet orders were to be placed for Elios shortly after production begins. Just curious.

I would hope not but I can certainly understand the question and concern.

 

[HoofHearted]

I think anyone who reserved should feel used if they were bumped. Anyone who wants to order a large fleet should get in line and go all in.

 

[zelio]

If you find out, let me know. I want to know how big my fleet has to be to bump all of you behind me. LOL :-) Z

 

[Inigo93]

I would welcome it if that was the difference between the Elio being produced or not. Granted, even though I made a reservation I'm one of those who is not yet convinced that so much as one production Elio will ever see the light of day. If, however, the Elio's production could be assured by some corporate folks walking in and saying, "We want 10,000 of them, but we need them by [insert date that would require them move to the head of the line]?" GREAT! It means the Elio will be produced!

I don't see it happening though. Nobody is going to sign up for 10,000 cars from a company in it's first year of production. What if the company goes belly up after the first year or even the third? What sort of service options will/won't be available? Yeah, yeah, I know the Elio is supposed to use a high percentage of COTS parts, but there are going to be some that aren't. Are you as a corporate big wig wannabe going to sign off on a risk like that? Not likely. If you need low cost efficiency, you're going to buy 10,000 Smart cars.... at least until the Elio is a proven product.

TL/DR: Possible, but highly unlikely.

 

[HoofHearted]

I would welcome it if that was the difference between the Elio being produced or not. Granted, even though I made a reservation I'm one of those who is not yet convinced that so much as one production Elio will ever see the light of day. If, however, the Elio's production could be assured by some corporate folks walking in and saying, "We want 10,000 of them, but we need them by [insert date that would require them move to the head of the line]?" GREAT! It means the Elio will be produced!

I don't see it happening though. Nobody is going to sign up for 10,000 cars from a company in it's first year of production. What if the company goes belly up after the first year or even the third? What sort of service options will/won't be available? Yeah, yeah, I know the Elio is supposed to use a high percentage of COTS parts, but there are going to be some that aren't. Are you as a corporate big wig wannabe going to sign off on a risk like that? Not likely. If you need low cost efficiency, you're going to buy 10,000 Smart cars.... at least until the Elio is a proven product.

TL/DR: Possible, but highly unlikely.

Why would anyone buy even one "not so smart" car ? They look like they would be fuel efficient however I think their MPG rating is in the low 30's. The Smart diesel which is currently unavailable in the U.S. gets almost double that. I considered buying one on the "grey market" , but registration would be iffy.

 

[Inigo93]

Why would anyone buy even one "not so smart" car ?

Insert your other cheap car of choice. The point wasn't that Smarts are great or even good. The point was that they are a known quantity whereas the Elio is a gamble.

 

[KN16]

Why would anyone buy even one "not so smart" car ? They look like they would be fuel efficient however I think their MPG rating is in the low 30's. The Smart diesel which is currently unavailable in the U.S. gets almost double that. I considered buying one on the "grey market" , but registration would be iffy.

Not "iffy" this isn't like buying a camera that isn't supposed to be imported. There are ways to get your hands on one. You could claim it was going to sit in a museum or it was only going to be used as a show car however if you got caught using it for anything else you'd likely do jail time.

 

[HoofHearted]

Not "iffy" this isn't like buying a camera that isn't supposed to be imported. There are ways to get your hands on one. You could claim it was going to sit in a museum or it was only going to be used as a show car however if you got caught using it for anything else you'd likely do jail time.

I have been led to believe that there are over 100 Smart Diesels registered in the U.S. from Canada. Occasionally you see one of them on eBay, The last one I saw was from Ohio. It might be pretty easy to get one registered in Alabama where I live and there are no inspections.