Hello... From Across The Atlantic!

[Coss]

Did Paul ever seek contact with Polaris? A pretty substantial company that is producing the three-wheeled Slingshot, bought French Aixam, etc. There's considerable expertise present.

Not that we're aware of (in other words they've never said) but there are a number of things that we don't know that have gone on at EM.
Elio Owners is not affiliated with Elio Motors, so we're just outsiders like everyone else.
However they did just sign Roush Industries as the head of engineering; and Linamar just signed an agreement to build the motors that IAV designed for them. If you go to the EM site, you'll see the list of vendor partner and providers, plus the different people and groups signed on for all of the different aspects of the Elio.

 

[voyager]

Amazes me that Paul Elio had to develop his own engine. Must cost a fortune. Daimler is said to invest 3 billion euro in new diesel technology. Have always wondered why the heck it must cost billions, instead of say tens of millions...
Back to Elio, there must be dozens of last-generation, frugal two- and three-cylinder ICEs out there.
IMO, automakers should jump to the occasion of lending engines to Elio, knowing that their ICEs have had their longest time...

 

[Coss]

Amazes me that Paul Elio had to develop his own engine. Must cost a fortune. Daimler is said to invest 3 billion euro in new diesel technology. Have always wondered why the heck it must cost billions, instead of say tens of millions...
Back to Elio, there must be dozens of last-generation, frugal two- and three-cylinder ICEs out there.
IMO, automakers should jump to the occasion of lending engines to Elio, knowing that their ICEs have had their longest time...

The P1 thru the P4 used the Geo Metro 3 cylinder, the P5 is the first to have the IAV engine.
They didn't want to use the Geo engine because it was obsolete technology that didn't meet the needs they were aiming at.
There is a discussion (or 4) about this very topic on the forum; you can do a search and find a lot of reference to it.

 

[voyager]

Thx Coss! I will study them.

 

[Coss]

You're very welcome.
With 4,000+ topic threads, and 140,000+ messages, I don't think there's much we haven't covered.
But as soon as I say that, someone comes up with something new.

 

[voyager]

Well then, obviously, people will have discussed the choices Paul Elio made, the basis upon the whole venture started, which IMO can be summarized as follows:
1. Don't need four seats, most people drive alone
2. Means a narrow cabin that can tandem-seat two suffices
3. Which is also good in terms of low drag and weight
4. A relatively small, fuel-efficient ICE will do
5. Don't need four wheels then; three-wheel platform sets it apart
6. Elio needs to qualify as an 'autocycle'
7. Need a wide front-wheels stance for stability

 

[Lisa]

Your point about finally being able to afford a NEW car really hit home. I've owned many used cars because new ones lose so much value the moment they leave the lot, and are expensive. My first new car was the Corolla I'm still driving; I bought it in 2000 from a Toyota dealer who had used it as a test-drive car; it had 43 miles on it. They gave me the same warranty as if it were new, but knocked $4,000 off the price (which was substantial for a Corolla 16 years ago). I considered myself extremely lucky to get that deal and never expected to be able to buy a new car again. Until Elio!

 

[voyager]

What's this? The forum's feline dept.?

 

[Marshall]

Your point about finally being able to afford a NEW car really hit home. I've owned many used cars because new ones lose so much value the moment they leave the lot, and are expensive. My first new car was the Corolla I'm still driving; I bought it in 2000 from a Toyota dealer who had used it as a test-drive car; it had 43 miles on it. They gave me the same warranty as if it were new, but knocked $4,000 off the price (which was substantial for a Corolla 16 years ago). I considered myself extremely lucky to get that deal and never expected to be able to buy a new car again. Until Elio!

In a crazy, upside down sort of way, I've been stuck buying new cars when uncovered repairs made driving my existing car unaffordable. While I was perfectly willing to go with a used car, I never had the cash to put down. New cars were actually easier to get into with no money and a broken clinker down.

But I hope you enjoy your NEW ELIO and I HOPE the wait isn't too long.

 

[Coss]

What's this? The forum's feline dept.?

Nope, the feline area is over in "General Discussions <non-Elio related>" under the heading "For the Cat Lovers" and another one called "For the Dog Lovers"