POLL ---- Production In Or Before 2023

[Made in USA]

my wife and I attended several Elio shows and sat inside an Elio at each of them ..... the only area I can see where they can mount a significant number of batteries is the trunk .... doing so will add considerable weight to that already on the single rear tire .... having a strong (heavy) battery pack isn't a problem if extended distance between charging, if the cruising speed doesn't matter, if running accessories like AC/heater isn't necessary .... if/when they produce an electric vehicle it will be interesting to see how they make it work

Best place for a heavy battery is low for center of gravity. Under the floor would be a good place. Adding the weight down there would improve handling in the corners, especially at speed. The single rear tire is a concern but could probably be addressed with stronger suspension and a tire rated for the weight.

 

[JEBar]

Best place for a heavy battery is low for center of gravity. Under the floor would be a good place. Adding the weight down there would improve handling in the corners, especially at speed. The single rear tire is a concern but could probably be addressed with stronger suspension and a tire rated for the weight.

that makes sense and raises other questions .... the floor of the Elio was so low and so thin that they had to run the exhaust pipe down the side .... as I recall there wasn't much space between the bottom of the seats and the floor .... consequently, as others have noted, its bound to require a significant redesign

 

[3wheelin]

that makes sense and raises other questions .... the floor of the Elio was so low and so thin that they had to run the exhaust pipe down the side .... as I recall there wasn't much space between the bottom of the seats and the floor .... consequently, as others have noted, its bound to require a significant redesign

.....and to re-package all that stuff into an E-ELIO for 14K is like repeating history with the same scenario- step one- get everybody excited, step 2- send your deposit, and step 3- wait and dream on. I will wait to see how successful the similar 3wheeler E-SOLO as they start selling on Oct. 4. With the right investors, just maybe ELIO can do it too.

 

[AriLea]

Well guys, there are several places that batteries could go with out a chassis redesign. It's just how many batteries vs how much redesign.

True, they could start from scratch and redesign from the ground up. But they don't have to. This kind of adaptation has been accomplished for at least 20 years. For both custom refits, and production alterations of original ICE driven platforms.

First, the electric motor(s), could just be plopped on to the current transaxle. That leaves a little space around the floor level, then more as you go up.
But if you go with a dual motor using stepped belts and CV's you have a little more at the floor level, same going up.
But if you go with hub motors, even just a little more at floor level, and again the same going up.
Any of that requires minor changes to the support that was around the transaxle. And additional support or panels for the battery support.
None of that is too big of a deal.

Second, In the old area of the exhaust at the sides, it is possible to widen or thicken that space, and extend the design to both sides, to accommodate some shape of current Li batteries . That is only a minor change to the research EM has done already.

Third, only a small change to the front seat allows a pack under there, and just a few inches forward of the seat. Extra brackets, change to the seat, no chassis mods.

Fourth, then there is the area under the rear seat and where the gas tank was. This could be more utilized/filled up than even the tank alone was.
This would only modify the seat(maybe) and tank holding brackets, no chassis mods.

Fifth, and a bit more controversial, there is a space at the sides of the front seat going into the rear area. Just brackets and a steel/removable cover is needed, no major chassis mods. This does mean that riders would need to step or swing their feet over that space on the door side.
And this does include space that was previously allocated for the shifter assembly.

Sixth, With the added weight for those areas being so low and forward, now you can utilize some area at the 'trunk' area at the upper back. And things will balance out OK.

None of that needed major chassis mods. However, the main issue is this; Will it be crashworthy with these minor mods and will the suspension work as engineered? This will be the limiting factor as to how much battery pack will pass the simulations, and if structural changes are needed.

So basically the current Elio will be range limited to what they can do and keep integrity and promise crashworthiness.
I guarantee they have already calculated what the current design can stand.

So I'm watching to see what effort they will go to materialize those mods in their sample model. If they never seem to do it, maybe there IS a problem they are not talking about.

Edited: (Didn't want to make a new post about below...... Yep $$$$$$$$$$$ x 1000 )

 

[W. WIllie]

The problem still is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

 

[JEBar]

and the string of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ continues to grow longer and longer

 

[Capes]

Problem is...........

Plus, 76 weeks from today is March 14, 2023. Then, never forget the Elio business plan, this is not a three wheeler made by someone in a garage but a mass produced vehicle with all the bells and whistles. Thus a fully equipped car that needs to sell 250K per year.

If I had had all the money that Elio got from deposits since 2013-14, I could have built 500 or 600 3 wheeled motorcycles
in my garage. The Chinese have flooded our country with half a million piece of junk ATV's / Motorcycles since that time, and they
only cost them a few hundred dollars a piece to build. And people buy them!

 

[JEBar]

I think a slightly better pole would be “will we get another update or a hear a peep out of Elio by 2023”?

unless there is a truly major positive influx of funds flowing into Elio Motors, I do not believe they will bring a vehicle to production .... that said, they have a proven history of using various media to keep the company going .... I do believe there will be more emails directed at doing it once again

 

[smithsonssg]

Unlikely Elio will ever market it. 150 miles in nothing for all electric today. Knowing full well that is is unlikely to get anywhere near 150 miles in the real world.

 

[grampi]

I hope they produce both, or go back to the original plan with the ICE powered version. I'm still not sold on electrics...