Em Danger Period

[pistonboy]

Incorrect.

You do not have to be within the financial industry to obtain the certifications, they are wonderful business tools for those who wish to understand public companies.

The analogy is obtaining a law degree without ever having the intent to practice law.

A lifelong pursuit of knowledge is always a wonderful thing!

Of course you do not have to be within the financial industry to obtain the certifications, but that was not what I was talking about.
I am comparing it to entrepreneurship, which is about creating businesses.
The trading of stocks of businesses is not the same as creating businesses.
The stock brokers on wall street trade stocks of businesses, but they do not create businesses.

 

[Rabrandt99]

Personally, I find the danger won't be the production volume (which IS an issue, to be sure, not denigrating that fully) but the public narrative.

If the Elio has any sort of problems, be it poor safety standards, overall build-quality, ETC; people are going to latch onto that and it will be a shit-storm. Just look at Jalopnik... they look for any little negative detail (real or perceived) in order to piss all over the Elio. And three-wheeler trikes already have a history of failure about them and get labeled with crap stories (too many people still think the Reliant Robin tips as easily as shown on Top Gear, not knowing that the TG team did everything they could to make it tip over), so there's an already built-in negative stigma.

So not only is the final autocycle going to have be phenomenally well-built, but their communications team is going to have to be on their A-game in order to nip any potential negative stories in the bud. Because if they don't, people who want the Elio to fail WILL run the narrative and ruin any chance of Elio succeeding.

I look at the Tesla Autopilot death that just happened. Tesla were prepared for something like that, so when the unfortunate event happened, they were all over it. A lot of fire and brimstone building up, but they nipped it in the bud.

It's why although I can appreciate them giving 'first-looks' and 'test-drives' with the P4/P5, I really wish they'd hold off until the autocycle is 98% production ready... so we avoid what happened with the fender in NYC. Because if there's one thing Americans love more than a success story, it's a failure.

I can see them hitting their goals once the Elio is finally on sale and people see them driving. But it won't happen if Elio has bad word of mouth right out of the gate. They have to control the narrative or I can't see them succeeding.

 

[airforceguy6]

Considering the current number of reservations are at <7% brand recognition, I think that Elio Motors will be able to continue production for quite some time into the future. I'm a perpetual optimist, but I predict long wait lines for the first year of production.

By the time the domestic demand begins to slow down, international exports will begin. Aside from Canada, I think the Elio would be very popular in Europe. France, for instance, is trying to slowly cut down on the number of Diesel cars and switch to gasoline because of the terrible smog in Paris and other population centers. And places like the UK, where gasoline is even more expensive than in Canada, would certainly benifit from 84mpg.

I live out here in Germany right now and I could see Elios as VERY popular option for many people here in Europe. The size and MPG (or kilometers per liter out here) would drive a lot of interest alone. Just have to make sure the Elio can handle the higher speeds of the highways here.

 

[WilliamH]

I live out here in Germany right now and I could see Elios as VERY popular option for many people here in Europe. The size and MPG (or kilometers per liter out here) would drive a lot of interest alone. Just have to make sure the Elio can handle the higher speeds of the highways here.

What are the higher speeds?
I've never been there so I'm just looking for some clarification.
Where I'm located, posted speed limits are 75 to 80.

 

[airforceguy6]

What are the higher speeds?
I've never been there so I'm just looking for some clarification.
Where I'm located, posted speed limits are 75 to 80.

The top posted speed limit for most parts of the Autobahn in Germany is 130kph (approx 81mph). However there are many parts of the Autobahn that they have no restrictions to speed, and speeds up to 150-180 are common (93-112mph). Love these roads and I always dread riding on the roads when I come back to the states.

 

[Ty]

The top posted speed limit for most parts of the Autobahn in Germany is 130kph (approx 81mph). However there are many parts of the Autobahn that they have no restrictions to speed, and speeds up to 150-180 are common (93-112mph). Love these roads and I always dread riding on the roads when I come back to the states.

In my time in Germany, I drove a Mini. It was a blast. I didn't find the roads there to be THAT much different than here though. Sure, they were a little faster but everyone was going a bit faster... I'd say it was about 10 MPH faster than here. Sure, I got that Mini over 100MPH but not for long. The roads between Cologne and Frankfort and over to Luxembourgh may not have been the best example of Autobahn though.

 

[airforceguy6]

Mini's are all over the place here, and we actually own a newer Mini Countryman. They are a blast to drive
The regular "back roads" arent much different (except better cared for), but the Autobahn can be a little much for some vehicles. Also, in some older towns they have the old school paver stone roads, which could be hard on the ride of Elio. We dont want anymore fenders to fall off!

 

[Ty]

Mini's are all over the place here, and we actually own a newer Mini Countryman. They are a blast to drive
The regular "back roads" arent much different (except better cared for), but the Autobahn can be a little much for some vehicles. Also, in some older towns they have the old school paver stone roads, which could be hard on the ride of Elio. We dont want anymore fenders to fall off!

You've got that right. (24 years in the AF here. Retired in February and now a GS at STRATCOM)

 

[TCBronson]

I remember the outrageous price when Gas hit 49 cents a gallon for something that had been only 20 cents a gallon fairly recently. The they had another shortage and the price hit $1.10 and everyone was apoplectic. That was the time I got a 4 year old Buick LaSabre with a 455 - 4Barrel carb for a song.

Buick 455 was a great engine! Especially in the Gran Sport models....510 Ft/ Lbs of torque!!!!!

 

[Ekh]

So here we go, off to the Autobahn. Wunderbar!