ArthurKent
Elio Aficionado
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2014
- Messages
- 69
- Reaction score
- 237
In reflecting upon this most innovative, yet practical of vehicles, my thoughts scan the
automotive years and come to rest upon the one other vehicle that strikes me as
one whose impact is likely to be considered as similar and large as the impact
that I envision for the Elio : the Ford Model T. The Model T's impact wasn't the
result of engineering even remotely similar to that of the Elio (mechanical brakes that
constituted quite a danger,especially in the case woman and older male drivers,
an engine crank to start a cranky engine) or maintenance-free operation. The Elio
strongly reminds me of the Model T because of its likely economic impact. The Model T
was a car almost everyone could afford, even farmers. And it was a simple design,
also much like the Elio. While not factory, the Model T and especially its successsor,
the Model A, became the most popular target for the hot rodders who appeared post WWII.
The Model A also sported a V-8 engine, which brought power to the masses. I envision
much the same for the Elio, albeit believe it far more likely that hot rod treatments will
come from the factory, in the form of turbo engines and motorcycle fenders and polished
alloy wheels, which are all already on the buyer's option list. It will be interesting to watch
the Elio deliver performance that won't take a back seat to very many cars out there, certainly
none that can even remotely compete on price. I just read a review of what may be the
most over-the-top muscle car, Evah! A Dodge 707 HP supercharged big block engined
monster (the Hellcat) that costs over $60,000. God knows what gas mileage this relatively
small sedan achieves, but I doubt that salesmen for this car will be grilled on its gas
mileage figures by prospective buyers. Zero to sixty times were claimed to be a new
production car record, which I remember as being in the low 4 second range, with the
quarter mile arriving at 11 seconds flat. On the other hand, the Elio can attain some very
respectable acceleration times itself, when equipped with its (more or less) promised turbo
engine. Researching this issue, I came upon the reported times for the Morgan three wheeled
retro car, equipped with an 82 HP engine. The Morgan weighs virtually the same 1200 pounds
as the Elio. Therefore, an 82 HP Elio would be expected to have near identical acceleration - 0 to 60
in a similar 5.8 seconds. That's faster than probably 98% on what's out there on the road. And
I will guarantee that not only will such an Elio get enormously better gas mileage, but also have
an enormously smaller price tag.
The Elio faces far more competition than did the Model T, but, on the other hand, it is far
more distinct than the Model T was. In a very large way, the Elio really doesn't have any
competition. And that usually spells very smooth sailing for a company and gives it
enormous leverage over its suppliers.
For all intents and purposes, the Elio is a completed design. The work currently being done
mostly involves fiddling with the design. All that's left is to move that design to the assembly
line. Buyers are already lined up and that number will grow exponentially once prospective
buyers can see, feel, and drive a demo vehicle and see them out on the road, making crazy
gas mileages. I was around when the VW Beetle first came to this country, and, people
basically being the same, heard the same arguments why they (and later the first small
Japanese cars) "will never sell or be popular with Americans, who want BIG, power-everything
vehicles." All our automakers (the big "automotive experts" ) firmly believe these arguments
and made no move to counter or meet the competition - not until they had lost enormous market
share. They argued that the Japanese cars lacked the quality of the American cars (which they
did, at first) , but then they failed to understand the simple fact that those cars were so much
cheaper than American cars, quality differences didn't matter very much.
These arguments are just as wrong today as they were those two other times. The less expensive
the product, the easier and more likely it is for an individual to "take a chance" and buy the item.
The added prospect of obvious fuel savings, cheaper insurance, a warranty for what is obviously
a simple car to repair, tires and brakes that will likely last well beyond 100,000 miles, and so
on, simply make the buying decision that much easier. And when they see that the price of some
option packages for higher priced vehicles,such as are found on a Tesla Model S, can actually cost more
than the Elio car itself, the buying decision starts looking like a no-brainer.
automotive years and come to rest upon the one other vehicle that strikes me as
one whose impact is likely to be considered as similar and large as the impact
that I envision for the Elio : the Ford Model T. The Model T's impact wasn't the
result of engineering even remotely similar to that of the Elio (mechanical brakes that
constituted quite a danger,especially in the case woman and older male drivers,
an engine crank to start a cranky engine) or maintenance-free operation. The Elio
strongly reminds me of the Model T because of its likely economic impact. The Model T
was a car almost everyone could afford, even farmers. And it was a simple design,
also much like the Elio. While not factory, the Model T and especially its successsor,
the Model A, became the most popular target for the hot rodders who appeared post WWII.
The Model A also sported a V-8 engine, which brought power to the masses. I envision
much the same for the Elio, albeit believe it far more likely that hot rod treatments will
come from the factory, in the form of turbo engines and motorcycle fenders and polished
alloy wheels, which are all already on the buyer's option list. It will be interesting to watch
the Elio deliver performance that won't take a back seat to very many cars out there, certainly
none that can even remotely compete on price. I just read a review of what may be the
most over-the-top muscle car, Evah! A Dodge 707 HP supercharged big block engined
monster (the Hellcat) that costs over $60,000. God knows what gas mileage this relatively
small sedan achieves, but I doubt that salesmen for this car will be grilled on its gas
mileage figures by prospective buyers. Zero to sixty times were claimed to be a new
production car record, which I remember as being in the low 4 second range, with the
quarter mile arriving at 11 seconds flat. On the other hand, the Elio can attain some very
respectable acceleration times itself, when equipped with its (more or less) promised turbo
engine. Researching this issue, I came upon the reported times for the Morgan three wheeled
retro car, equipped with an 82 HP engine. The Morgan weighs virtually the same 1200 pounds
as the Elio. Therefore, an 82 HP Elio would be expected to have near identical acceleration - 0 to 60
in a similar 5.8 seconds. That's faster than probably 98% on what's out there on the road. And
I will guarantee that not only will such an Elio get enormously better gas mileage, but also have
an enormously smaller price tag.
The Elio faces far more competition than did the Model T, but, on the other hand, it is far
more distinct than the Model T was. In a very large way, the Elio really doesn't have any
competition. And that usually spells very smooth sailing for a company and gives it
enormous leverage over its suppliers.
For all intents and purposes, the Elio is a completed design. The work currently being done
mostly involves fiddling with the design. All that's left is to move that design to the assembly
line. Buyers are already lined up and that number will grow exponentially once prospective
buyers can see, feel, and drive a demo vehicle and see them out on the road, making crazy
gas mileages. I was around when the VW Beetle first came to this country, and, people
basically being the same, heard the same arguments why they (and later the first small
Japanese cars) "will never sell or be popular with Americans, who want BIG, power-everything
vehicles." All our automakers (the big "automotive experts" ) firmly believe these arguments
and made no move to counter or meet the competition - not until they had lost enormous market
share. They argued that the Japanese cars lacked the quality of the American cars (which they
did, at first) , but then they failed to understand the simple fact that those cars were so much
cheaper than American cars, quality differences didn't matter very much.
These arguments are just as wrong today as they were those two other times. The less expensive
the product, the easier and more likely it is for an individual to "take a chance" and buy the item.
The added prospect of obvious fuel savings, cheaper insurance, a warranty for what is obviously
a simple car to repair, tires and brakes that will likely last well beyond 100,000 miles, and so
on, simply make the buying decision that much easier. And when they see that the price of some
option packages for higher priced vehicles,such as are found on a Tesla Model S, can actually cost more
than the Elio car itself, the buying decision starts looking like a no-brainer.