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Electric Elio May Be Closer Than You Think. Or Not.

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outsydthebox

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eddie66 said:
This is all great news, but when I read these posts, I can't help but think that since the whole concept of the Elio is a narrow, 3 wheel trike that gets great gas milage, wouldn't most people opt for more passenger space, and storage if gas wasn't an issue? I'm not saying there isn't a fun factor involved here, but if economy isn't the issue, why not put that technology in a more spacious vehicle? I think the market would be limited. Just my personal opinion.
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You are correct..."If gas wasn't an issue" and "if economy isn't the issue"...But it IS. As EM has said many times, the Elio is not meant to "replace" the family car, or pickup. Personally, the money I save from driving the Elio (80% of the time) will make it possible to spend more on vacations with my family, while driving our mini van. The Elio just makes sense.
 
eddie66

eddie66

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outsydthebox said:
You are correct..."If gas wasn't an issue" and "if economy isn't the issue"...But it IS. As EM has said many times, the Elio is not meant to "replace" the family car, or pickup. Personally, the money I save from driving the Elio (80% of the time) will make it possible to spend more on vacations with my family, while driving our mini van. The Elio just makes sense.
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outsydthebox.
Read what I wrote again. What I was saying was I don't think Elio would have the same interest level in an electric version. I was refering to the previous post about an electric elio. We are on the same page with the gas version.
 
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Rickb

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eddie66 said:
outsydthebox.
Read what I wrote again. What I was saying was I don't think Elio would have the same interest level in an electric version. I was refering to the previous post about an electric elio. We are on the same page with the gas version.
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An Elio EV may have the interest level but not necessarily from the same market segment because it would be well over $6800 in 2015 and would be more of a city commuter because of it's limited range. But 3-5 years from now more affordable batteries and extended range might make it a very desirable model option for Elio Motors. Elio may have to offer drive options to stay competitive in what will be an ever expanding market. I've never driven an EV, but they say once you have you'll never go back. I look forward to the gas sipping Elio.......and who knows..........maybe an Elio EV down the road.
 
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ArthurKent

ArthurKent

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CrimsonEclipse said:
I'll place this in the "Believe it when I see it" category.
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You won't have long to wait. This August Team TAISAN will use the few available cells made in the lab to build a go-kart version, to test heat endurance, etc. There have been false alarms in the past about revolutionary batteries, but NONE have
reached this stage of development or testingor have the pedigree of this battery- a premier engineering university
in Japan. Later this year a production line will build dozens of thousands of cells, and Team TAISAN will then
develop a battery pack for a full sized vehicle.I'll put my money on Power Plus Japan. Skeptics don't have any
information about this new battery.
 
ArthurKent

ArthurKent

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Battery prices for the Ryden is the big unknown. It's certainly possible to stuff a bigger battery
and get 300 or 350 miles of driving range, but that goes against the whole theme of the Elio -
a low cost vehicle. And with recharging this fast, a better choice for most is a cheaper,
shorter ranged version. Obviously a 150 mile range is more than sufficient around town
and can take you anywhere - stopping for a three minute recharge every couple of hours is
hardly an obstacle. And in the real world, the vast majority of a car's mileage occurs around
town, not during extended trips, where driving range can become an issue.
I'm estimating an electric Elio to cost between a penny and a penny and a half per mile for
electricity. Can you imagine driving 150 miles for a $1.50? And electric cars get roughly the
same mileage in the city as they do on the highway. An electric Elio would therefore also
achieve an "84MPG" equivalent around town.
If the Elio is still around 4 years from now, I will bet some money that an electric version
(and possibly the only version) will be electric. It all depends upon battery prices and the
success of the Ryden battery.
 
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