There was another Elio Motors town hall meeting today with a small group of reservation holders getting access to a direct conversation with Paul Elio. This information is available on the Elio Motors Owners Association Facebook page as several of the members there are invited to each town hall. These points are comments from Paul Elio speaking.
1. Elio Motors is working with their suppliers to come up with a web site with proposed options and prices. Based upon how many people vote for items they would purchase and certain price points this would determine if these items will be offered in the Elio Store. This is a way to keep prices under control while allowing for the broadest offerings and not having to buy packages.
The EM suppliers are interested in providing a lot of cool stuff that can be applied to the Elio. Everything from FLIR to lane departure warning system's and lane encroachment systems to fancy seats and all kinds of other really cool stuff.
2. There has not been a final decision however there is a very good possibility the vehicle will be ODB II however there will likely be certain limitations for security and liability reasons. Basically OBD II support is likely however it will likely be a one way stream of data outbound instead of full two way communication however some inputs may be allowed if they can be secured.
3. Every 4 inches there will be blind structural nuts in the roll cage so the little black rubber strips along the top of the vehicle can be pealed off and there will be access to secure something like a roof rack. The chassis developer has a method of building the roll cage and inserting these fixtures inside while they make the roll cage. The right side of the vehicle has the addition of these hard points as well as alternating power points.
4. There is a test for testing tire wheel distortion when hitting potholes. The tire distortion test has been completed and is helping to determine the final road clearance on the vehicle and wheel shrouds. This will result in these being slightly higher than they were in the P4 which should help prevent damage to these items.
5. Reservations will continue to be taken for the entire estimated first year production run. Whether or not reservations will continue past this point is yet to be determined.
6. EM will soon be releasing a picture of the proposed dash and it is along the lines of the Lord Elgin design.
7. Features such as wiring and mount points for trailer hitches are not likely on the first year model. Paul was told that it would take an additional 6 months to test and modify the ESC to accommodate that hence they can't put something in that would give them liability so at least in the first year this would be all on aftermarket suppliers. This is essentially the same answer given several months ago at the last town hall meeting.
8. Elio Motors selects parts based on suppliers being able to supply the correct items in quantities necessary along with the projected longevity of parts availability and quality. 1st priority is given to US companies with products made in the US. Second place is Foreign companies with products made in US. Third is to items produced outside the US.
9. The general color choices currently offered will very likely be the final colors however the exact paint and pigment is still being finalized for each color. Unlike most vehicle manufactures who change their colors every couple of years EM plans on having the exact same colors for many years to come.
9. The ESC will be produced in the US
10. EM is still looking at AC supplier. The one they wanted to use that is available for a current auto will not be available as the auto is being dropped. The AC was manufactured in the US but now they have to find some other options. They are still looking and hoping to make a deal for a US manufactured AC
11. Paul was excited to share that he feels that things are finally really coming together very well with no big speed bumps in the road. Paul said that the reservations numbers have really helped when it comes to investors, suppliers and media. He said he used to go to an investor meeting and the question was "will anyone buy one of these". Now with 27000 reservations that question is gone.
12. Paul told said flatly that they're not designing this engine for a turbo however he did say that if it costs nothing to leave a hole somewhere it is something they could consider. He said that some holes were put in the design by the engineers just in case and IAV are working on a turbo in their spare time so in the future this might come together.
1. Elio Motors is working with their suppliers to come up with a web site with proposed options and prices. Based upon how many people vote for items they would purchase and certain price points this would determine if these items will be offered in the Elio Store. This is a way to keep prices under control while allowing for the broadest offerings and not having to buy packages.
The EM suppliers are interested in providing a lot of cool stuff that can be applied to the Elio. Everything from FLIR to lane departure warning system's and lane encroachment systems to fancy seats and all kinds of other really cool stuff.
2. There has not been a final decision however there is a very good possibility the vehicle will be ODB II however there will likely be certain limitations for security and liability reasons. Basically OBD II support is likely however it will likely be a one way stream of data outbound instead of full two way communication however some inputs may be allowed if they can be secured.
3. Every 4 inches there will be blind structural nuts in the roll cage so the little black rubber strips along the top of the vehicle can be pealed off and there will be access to secure something like a roof rack. The chassis developer has a method of building the roll cage and inserting these fixtures inside while they make the roll cage. The right side of the vehicle has the addition of these hard points as well as alternating power points.
4. There is a test for testing tire wheel distortion when hitting potholes. The tire distortion test has been completed and is helping to determine the final road clearance on the vehicle and wheel shrouds. This will result in these being slightly higher than they were in the P4 which should help prevent damage to these items.
5. Reservations will continue to be taken for the entire estimated first year production run. Whether or not reservations will continue past this point is yet to be determined.
6. EM will soon be releasing a picture of the proposed dash and it is along the lines of the Lord Elgin design.
7. Features such as wiring and mount points for trailer hitches are not likely on the first year model. Paul was told that it would take an additional 6 months to test and modify the ESC to accommodate that hence they can't put something in that would give them liability so at least in the first year this would be all on aftermarket suppliers. This is essentially the same answer given several months ago at the last town hall meeting.
8. Elio Motors selects parts based on suppliers being able to supply the correct items in quantities necessary along with the projected longevity of parts availability and quality. 1st priority is given to US companies with products made in the US. Second place is Foreign companies with products made in US. Third is to items produced outside the US.
9. The general color choices currently offered will very likely be the final colors however the exact paint and pigment is still being finalized for each color. Unlike most vehicle manufactures who change their colors every couple of years EM plans on having the exact same colors for many years to come.
9. The ESC will be produced in the US
10. EM is still looking at AC supplier. The one they wanted to use that is available for a current auto will not be available as the auto is being dropped. The AC was manufactured in the US but now they have to find some other options. They are still looking and hoping to make a deal for a US manufactured AC
11. Paul was excited to share that he feels that things are finally really coming together very well with no big speed bumps in the road. Paul said that the reservations numbers have really helped when it comes to investors, suppliers and media. He said he used to go to an investor meeting and the question was "will anyone buy one of these". Now with 27000 reservations that question is gone.
12. Paul told said flatly that they're not designing this engine for a turbo however he did say that if it costs nothing to leave a hole somewhere it is something they could consider. He said that some holes were put in the design by the engineers just in case and IAV are working on a turbo in their spare time so in the future this might come together.
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