Elio Motors Slated To Begin Production In 2015

[RUCRAYZE]

If I were Paul, I think I would remind the Parrish that a portion of the delay was caused by one of their own commissioners who filed a lawsuit trying to block Elio from acquiring the plant.

not a good idea. a defensive response will only unite the community as "outsiders" start directing the delay(s) on their community. EM showing up there or any open forum to refute a subjective negative view, cannot be discussed away with objectivity. Emotion trounces facts

 

[CompTrex]

not a good idea. a defensive response will only unite the community as "outsiders" start directing the delay(s) on their community. EM showing up there or any open forum to refute a subjective negative view, cannot be discussed away with objectivity. Emotion trounces facts

I agree, but sometimes people do need to be reminded of facts. Not defensive, but facts.
On this date this happened because of this. No finger pointing.

 

[eddie66]

not a good idea. a defensive response will only unite the community as "outsiders" start directing the delay(s) on their community. EM showing up there or any open forum to refute a subjective negative view, cannot be discussed away with objectivity

I don't see their inquiry as a negative subject. After multiple delays, I would see their concerns as a legitimate question that requires an explanation. I think most of us have pretty much the same questions.

 

[wayne kemp]

Elio called to the carpet, will they show?

 

[CompTrex]

Elio called to the carpet, will they show?

1. I'm not reading this as 'called on the carpet' as much as a status update to people that have a vested interest. I don't consider my weekly staff meeting being called on the carpet (though sometimes it can turn into that) as much as a simple update.
2. Regardless, they will show up, I'm sure.

 

[goofyone]

The fact is that Elio Motors is invited to and attends these meetings, in person or via phone, every six months or so as evidenced by the meeting minutes and/or news articles we have seen. The reporter makes this sound like a big deal when it is merely a routine event with the council doing their duty and staying updated on EM's progress. There is even now a council member who works for Comau at the plant so he has a very good idea of how things are proceeding from the inside.

These meeting can actually be informative to us as EM frequently reveals a little more information than we get to see via their marketing channels.

 

[JEBar]

I'm with you. A little boost in information would go a long way. But don't just blow smoke either. Only give us news if there really is news. Right now, we're seeing the old regurgitated stuff that we've seen for months. I like to see Elio in the news, like @Mrtoycrazy mentioned, but a little something new would be fantastic.

understood on the regurgitated stuff .... the New Year Tech Talk that was just released was a breath of fresh air in that regard .... hopefully the meeting mentioned below in a quote taken from the link in the opening post in this thread will give EM an opportunity to present new info :

"Caddo Parish Commissioner Ken Epperson says he has invited Elio CEO and the owners of the GM plant to a meeting later this month to answer questions the public may have.

The meeting will happen on January 15, 2015 from 6 p.m.- 8 p.m. at the American Rose Center located at 8877 Jefferson Paige Road in Shreveport. "

If I were Paul, I think I would remind the Parrish that a portion of the delay was caused by one of their own commissioners who filed a lawsuit trying to block Elio from acquiring the plant.

here I agree but as noted, needed to be done in a manner that wasn't intended to fan old flames .... I don't know if the lawsuit in any way impacted the fact that the motor still isn't ready .... with missed past release dates being thrown in EM's face, I can see them becoming cautious about releasing future projections ....

 

[goofyone]

EM will not take a confrontational tone or try to blame the council for the delays at all as they understand it is not smart to antagonize the local government which holds a lot of power over them. Anyway, the majority of the council have been supportive of EM and we have to remember that while the council got involved because of EM the lease is with IRG. IRG is the one that is on the hook for paying the lease and even if EM were to fail they would simply find other tenants to fill the property thus creating jobs for the Parish as intended. The Caddo Parish council may not necessarily like the delays but this deal is structured in a way that they really can't lose.


Jerome Vassallo has flat out told several of us they are not releasing development timeline information any more because of the issues it has caused them in the past. From talking to him I know he wishes they did not have to even releases a production estimate as that is dependent on way too many things to be truly accurately forecast more than about two quarters out when the final push really begins.

It is an unfortunate fact that production estimates are a marketing tool however we all know that virtually nobody would put down money on a vehicle with no production estimate available. However EM is even careful about these as from what I can find there has only been two official changes to the production estimate since the Shreveport deal was announced and reservations were opened on January 1, 2013. This basically puts official production estimate changes happening only once per year since the project was announced and I expect to see this trend continue as, if it is needed, I doubt we will see an official change in the production estimate until after the engine testing is completed and the ATVM loan decision has been made as those are two key pieces of information needed for any future estimates.

 

[Catia]

EM will not take a confrontational tone or try to blame the council for the delays at all as they understand it is not smart to antagonize the local government which holds a lot of power over them. Anyway, the majority of the council have been supportive of EM and we have to remember that while the council got involved because of EM the lease is with IRG. IRG is the one that is on the hook for paying the lease and even if EM were to fail they would simply find other tenants to fill the property thus creating jobs for the Parish as intended. The Caddo Parish council may not necessarily like the delays but this deal is structured in a way that they really can't lose.


Jerome Vassallo has flat out told several of us they are not releasing development timeline information any more because of the issues it has caused them in the past. From talking to him I know he wishes they did not have to even releases a production estimate as that is dependent on way too many things to be truly accurately forecast more than about two quarters out when the final push really begins.

It is an unfortunate fact that production estimates are a marketing tool as virtually nobody would put down money on a vehicle with no production estimate available. However EM is even careful about these as from what I can find there has only been two official changes to the production estimate since the Shreveport deal was announced and reservations were opened on January 1, 2013. This basically puts official production estimate changes happening only once per year since the project was announced and I expect to see this trend continue as, if it is needed, I doubt we will see an official change in the production estimate until after the engine testing is completed and the ATVM loan decision has been made as those are two key pieces of information needed for any future estimates.

I am supportive of EM and we will wait and see what next. I have no doubt what Paul and his staff will do what need to be done.

 

[Dusty921]

The reporter did say they asked, but Elio failed to respond.

I believe the reporter said "failed to respond in time" for the news article.