Tech Talk Archive

[Ty]

That tech talk came right after I posted a question to Elio's Facebook page:

I thought an unveiling of a red, a white, and a blue Elio P5 on July 4th would be about as American of an unveiling as you could have. So, when will we see the P5?... If you can't give an exact date, how about answering this one - Will you bring the P5 to the Albuquerque Balloon Fest in October?

And, they've already answered:

Elio Motors Hey Ty, we don't have any news to share regarding a potential future prototype.
Like · 7 hours ago

It's not much of an answer but I figured I'd share if for no other reason than to say "Hey, they are now answering Facebook posts. Go try it and let us know their answer."
From the ones I saw that they answered, it seems a short, to the point question was more likely to get an answer. The leading or trolling questions were mostly ignored..

Check it out, good luck, and share what they say!

 

[Neal]

Elio Motors Tech Talk v21


Elio Motors is not a fling. It is not a novelty. It is the product of a mobile society naturally evolving to a more efficient, practical, and affordable form of transportation. The challenge of launching the company is big, but we believe it is well worth the fight. And, with every step taken we’re getting closer to production.

Let's look at the facts and realities of the world we live in: gas today is near an all-time high; space is becoming a smaller and smaller commodity; cars cost more than the average house did only a few decades ago; and traditional personal transportation isn't working like it used to.

That's why Paul Elio’s idea is simple and brilliant.

To accomplish the must haves of 84 MPG, a $6,800 price tag and to engineer for a 5-Star Crash Test Safety Rating, it takes a very smart and passionate team of industry professionals. Paul Elio brought together some of America’s top engineers, suppliers and partners all in the name of creating a vehicle for today's generation of drivers that addresses the transportation needs, and the world's new realities.

Consider this:

• The need exists for a new way of getting around. Most American’s — about 93% — drive to work alone. That means they are commuting to work in a car big enough for four or more passengers.

• 95 million “Clunkers” are on our roads today. These “Clunkers” have over 100,000 miles and on average get less than 17 MPG. Yet, many can’t afford a better option. If given a choice between a pre 2000 vehicle with over 100,000 miles, no warranty and an average of 17 mpg vs. a brand new Elio that gets 84 MPG with a 3-year/36,000 mile warranty, the answer is easy. Especially when at three times the gas mileage the Elio pays for itself in gas savings.

• The Elio is more than merely a fun, fuel-efficient way to get around. The Elio can have a profound effect on our economy, creating approximately 1,500 American jobs. And, we all know the ripple effect a vehicle has when you factor in everyone from the suppliers and their employees to all the other businesses that prosper from putting previously unemployed hard working folks to work.

• Elio is a major step in curbing the erosion of our environment and making us far less dependent on foreign oil. Just think how that will affect the political landscape of our world. Case in point, we had a little fun when we published how an Elio driven 20,000 miles per year put out less harmful methane gases than a cow. But this is no joke. Solutions are needed now and Elio Motors is playing its part.

• Elio Motors is an immediate bridge towards new fuel technologies. At 84 mpg EPA hwy and 60 mpg EPA city, the Elio is nearly 1.4 times the fuel economy of the Toyota Prius at 50 mpg EPA combined and 1/5th of its cost. Because most people can afford an Elio, together we can make an immediate impact.

From the economy to the environment to the national debt to foreign relations, Elio is an idea whose time has come... and that time is now.

​

Copyright © 2014 Elio Motors, All rights reserved.
You signed up to receive updates from Elio Motors where you filled out a form including your name and email address!

Our mailing address is:
Elio Motors
2942 North 24th Street
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Phoenix, AZ 85016
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Someone pointed this put on Facebook. Everything else published says 49 mpg city. I wonder if this is a typo or a result of testing the new engine?

 

[zelio]

Someone pointed this put on Facebook. Everything else published says 49 mpg city. I wonder if this is a typo or a result of testing the new engine?

I wondered the same thing when I posted it but since I posted in after midnight last night (I think) I was too tired to do anything about it. LOL Maybe one of you people on Facebook will be kind enough to ask the question for us. Thanks. :-) Z

 

[Neal]

I wondered the same thing when I posted it but since I posted in after midnight last night (I think) I was too tired to do anything about it. LOL Maybe one of you people on Facebook will be kind enough to ask the question for us. Thanks. Z

Someone followed up and says Elio confirmed it was a typo

 

[zelio]

Someone followed up and says Elio confirmed it was a typo

I'm so glad. There wasn't even anyone else on the forum at the time I posted it to discuss it with. LOL :-) Z

 

[Jim H]

Someone followed up and says Elio confirmed it was a typo

I know I am a terrible typist but how do you accidently type 60 when you meant 49? Quality control is always is always important and mistakes of this nature only inspire the antagonists.

 

[zelio]

6/18/2014
Elio Motors Tech Talk v22
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How Can You Make an Elio so Affordable?

When Paul Elio visits tour events, one of two things inevitably happens. One, people passionately thank him for working so hard to bring American manufacturing back to the US. Two, they ask about the price -- “how can you sell a brand new vehicle that gets 84 MPG for $6,800 in America?”

The answer should be “Why not?”…but the answer requires a little more explanation.

The truth is, there is not one specific answer because Elio Motors’ engineers and suppliers save costs in multiple ways that create a huge savings in the overall project.

“In reality, with every decision we make, Elio Motors is laser focused on cost savings,” Elio said. “Our engineers and suppliers form one of the best teams in the industry. We constantly evaluate every aspect of the vehicle and the company to see where we can profitably mass-produce a low-cost vehicle. It includes engineering decisions, supplier relationships, options packaging, and the retail network and service arrangement. Focus on detail in each of these areas keeps total costs down.”

Here are a few examples of how we get it done. Note we mentioned “a few examples” as this is far from an all-encompassing list.

Lighter Weight = Lower Cost

Some things are pretty obvious. The vehicle weighs just 1,228 lbs., while most entry-level vehicles weigh approximately 2,400 lbs. “Half as much material costs less,“ Elio said. “Three wheels cost less than four, two seats cost less than five and one door is less than two or four.”

Clever Engineering: A Few Examples

Other cost savings are far less obvious, but no less important. Many cost savings come from clever engineering solutions that are often taken for granted. Take the hood latch, for example.

Hood Latch

A traditional hood opens forward, requiring two latches. If the first latch fails, the second latch keeps the hood from popping up and blocking the driver’s sight line. But, the second latch requires an interior release handle, a cable and a bracket to install. This simple system alone adds more than $20.00 to the overall vehicle cost and adversely affects gas mileage because of added weight.

On an Elio, the hood is engineered to open the other way. If the latch fails, the wind will blow the hood down rather than up, so a redundant latch is not required. The Elio latch costs just $3.00.

Windshield Wiper Bottle

A traditional vehicle has a thick plastic windshield wiper bottle, designed to last for at least 10 years and work well at -40 F to 140 F. In addition, when you buy windshield wiper fluid, you have to pour it in (usually spilling some on your shoes), and then a little bit remains that you don’t want to throw away and you don’t want to store. The actual cost of the well-designed windshield wiper bottle in today’s vehicle costs about $8.00. The Elio system is another simple but highly effective example; there is a depression in the engine compartment to put a 1-gallon jug of wiper fluid securely in place. The cap has the hose from the wiper fluid pump in the middle so all that is needed is to open the jug and screw on the cap. The cost of the bottle is free — it is included when you buy windshield wiper fluid.

The Innovative Engine Design

Because the engine is gas powered, Elio is often asked why they simply don’t purchase an off-the-shelf 3-cylinder engine to expedite production. Elio said that “most engines are designed with many different vehicle platforms in mind which results in an engine that is good for all, but best for none.” The Elio engine is designed to be highly fuel-efficient, yet meet strict performance expectations for both city and highway driving. Plus, it is designed by one of the world’s premier and most respected engine design and engineering firms, IAV (Click for our supplier page)

Supplier Summits – Bringing together the Best Engineers in the Industry

Elio’s own history as an engineer spurred him to create a better system for fostering supplier relationships.

“As a budding engineer, I was able to show an OEM that they could save 1/2 lb. and $1.00 if they moved a bolt hole in the floor pan one inch.” Says Paul Elio. “They said, NO.” Reason being, the traditional design process compartmentalizes each component with rigid boundaries. Cost, mass and performance is optimized at the component level rather than the system level. “Elio Motors realizes that our customers don’t care how much we pay for a seat or the frame; they care about safety and how much does the vehicle cost.”

Through our Supplier Summits, Elio Motors optimizes on the system level rather than the component level. Sometimes the right answer is to pay $1.00 more for the seat because $3.00 can be saved on the frame if done this way.

Business Model - Elio Motors Business Operations Simplify Retailing, Service and Reduce Overall Costs

Much like the vehicle design itself, Elio Motors has many innovative business operation strategies that help control overall costs. This includes how the company allows customers to pick options, as well as how vehicles are sold and serviced.

• Option Strategy Reduces Over Contenting – Most vehicles for sale today package options in bundles. This helps control inventory but it ultimately means that consumers are forced to pay for options they don’t want or need. Elio Motors is going about this differently by offering two basic models: a standard transmission and an automatic transmission. Every vehicle comes with AC/heat, AM/FM stereo radio, power windows and a power door lock. Customers can add other individual options such as a power leather seat, blind spot detecting mirrors, back-up camera and more. This ensures customers pay only for the options they want.

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• Proven Service Network – Elio Motors will be supported by a proven service network — Pep Boys (press release). Our simplified system allows Elio Motors to pass along substantial savings to the customer by reducing the costs to operate a service network. In doing so, the focus will remain on building quality, low-cost vehicles and in turn relying on Pep Boys as the Official Service Center to deliver a high quality customer experience.
• Company Owned Retail Outlets – Elio Motors’ company-owned retail stores (click here) will be strategically located in markets of high sales potential and will be situated in real estate situations that are high traffic and make efficient use of floor space. The stores will be architecturally simple and focused on efficiency, which allows Elio Motors to pass savings along to its customers.
• American Made – In the long run, costs will be kept down by building it here. American workers have the right experience to ensure a start-up transportation company will build a high-quality product.

“If you're going to build a sophisticated product like a vehicle,” Elio said, “America's still the best place to do it. Hands down."

As you can imagine, there are an abundance of examples as to how Elio Motors can sell a vehicle for $6,800. Over the next few months we will continue to share more. But for now, we hope these examples demonstrated that one needs to look beyond the obvious as a means to achieving Elio Motors’ key “must haves.”

​

​

Copyright © 2014 Elio Motors, All rights reserved.
You signed up to receive updates from Elio Motors where you filled out a form including your name and email address!

Our mailing address is:
Elio Motors
2942 North 24th Street
Suite 114-700
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Add us to your address book

 

[zelio]

6/25/2014 Progress Update: Elio Engine


Elio Motors Tech Talk v23
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Focus turns to the Cylinder Head
In a previous Tech Talk, (click here) Elio Motors provided an update on the engine block and cylinder head prototype kick-off. Since then, steady progress continues on the overall Elio Motors engine with the cylinder head being the current focus.

Given fuel efficiency is one of Elio’s four “must haves,” there is a concerted effort applied toward combustion attributes, port design and valve events. With each, there is a strong underlying requirement for reliability, which forces attention to geometric tolerances and interactions, metallurgy, metrology, etc. When the engine is downsized, performance remains important such that the airflow characteristics and capability of the cylinder head/valvetrain are critical.

The Ports

Both the intake and exhaust ports were designed to have unimpeded flow into and out of the combustion chamber. The line-of-sight “tumble port” intake ports are designed to have high-flow capacity as well as generating high levels of in-cylinder air motion. The in-cylinder motion, in concert with careful shaping of the combustion chamber, enables fast burn rates and high knock resistance.

The intake port design and the fuel injector targeting allow for all the fuel to be aimed at the backside of the intake valve via:

Closed Valve Injection Timing: Allows for better fuel vaporization (heating) in part-throttle light load operation
and optimizes combustion efficiency for best fuel economy and lowest emissions.

Value Open Injection Timing: This same fuel targeting allows for very effective strategies at high load full-throttle performance. The fuel enters the chamber in atomized state (liquid – small droplet diameter), which cools the combustion chamber and allows for higher compression ratio and more optimized spark timing. In this way, a more cost efficient port fuel injected (PFI) engine can return similar knock resistance to a direct fuel injection (DI) engine.

The Combustion Chamber

The combustion chamber was designed to be very compact with a low surface/volume ratio. This minimizes the heat transfer out of the combustion chamber, improving the thermal efficiency and consequently improving the fuel efficiency of the engine.

The spark plug is angled towards the center of the combustion chamber and this, together with the deep piston bowl, allows for maximum flame kernel growth prior to surface impingement. This flame growth, in concert with the conversion of bulk in-cylinder motion into flame front turbulence, is responsible for the fast burn rate. A faster burn rate is important for minimizing octane requirements and maximizing higher indicated efficiency.

Another feature of the combustion chamber that enhances the burn rate is the large squish area that was included to help with in-cylinder turbulence near time of ignition.

The features that create the high burn rate also contribute to good homogeneity (uniform mixture composition). High burn rates and good homogeneity allow for high rates of EGR to be applied to the engine, which in turn reduces pumping loss at part-load for improved fuel economy. EGR also reduces the temperatures in the combustion chamber which reduces NOx formation for improved/reduced engine-out emissions.

The Upper Cam Shaft Cover

One of the many innovative design features of the engine is the upper cam shaft cover, which includes integrated cam caps. The integrated cam caps improve cam bearing performance and reduce oil pump requirement/sizing (reduced parasitic loss). This feature also allows for reduced part count in the manufacturing assembly process. The lower part count decreases complexity, which cuts cost. Decreasing the manufacturing complexity minimizes the cycle time for assembly knowing that time is money.

IAV (click here) has engineered the Elio Motors cylinder head to achieve its fuel efficiency goal and has included additional features to minimize overall costs. Stay tuned as future Tech Talks will continue to provide updates on the engine development progress.

​

Copyright © 2014 Elio Motors, All rights reserved.
You signed up to receive updates from Elio Motors where you filled out a form including your name and email address!

Our mailing address is:
Elio Motors
2942 North 24th Street
Suite 114-700
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Add us to your address book

 

[Danno]

This thread is being used as an archive of links to previous Tech Talk emails as the Elio Motors email marketing system does not list all of them. Dedicated discussion threads for each Tech Talk are still encouraged however this thread will make it easier to find the links to both the Tech Talk itself and the relevant discussion thread on this board.

Goofyone,
Thank you for posting this in this fashion...it's a lot nicer to have something to copy and paste to send someone who is interested, and it being factual info. from Elio instead of guesswork and hearsay makes it easier to sell people on the vehicle.

 

[zelio]

7/16/2014 How Elio Connects

Elio Motors Tech Talk v25
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Connecting with NEWTECH 3

It’s easy to look at the Elio and immediately be swept away by its futuristic design, its low price and its amazing fuel efficiency. Obviously, these are attributes that catch the auto enthusiast’s eye.

But, the true gear heads out there will realize that every vehicle has an unsung hero that keeps drivers comfortable, safe and happy. With the rise in electronic technology in the industry over the past several decades, the wire harness has taken on a more prominent role in vehicle design and overall customer satisfaction.

Fortunately, Elio Motors is working with NEWTECH 3 (click here), one of the premier suppliers of wire harnesses to the transportation industry. The company started as Accumax in 1984 as a designer and manufacturer of premium sound systems for GM vehicles. It has grown into a wire harness and circuit board assembly supplier to OEMs such as Chrysler and GM and global Tier One auto suppliers such as Bosch, Inalfa, Webasto, Magna, Mitsubishi and Peiker Acustic to name a few.

How important is the wire harness? Here are a few of the systems on the Elio that depend on NEWTECH 3’s expertise:

• all of the communication between the engine sensors and the ECM;
• the wheel sensors and the ABS module;
• crash sensors and the airbag squibs;
• the communications between the ECM and the MFC;
• and the power to drive items such as the windows, wipers, fuel pump, fans, HVAC, lights and dashboard.

NEWTECH 3 will be managing and producing all of the wire harnesses for the Elio vehicle, and like all Elio supplier partners, they play an active role in making day-to-day design and engineering decisions that keep overall costs down by focusing on system cost rather than component cost. Through the Supplier Summits, the lead electrical engineers from Elio Motors and NEWTECH 3 are in constant contact with all suppliers of electrical accessories on the Elio. This helps specify the proper connector and terminal systems to mate to the accessory and provides a better understanding of power and communication requirements that each accessary requires.

As the electrical components are added to the vehicle, a map is made of the necessary connection points. Currently, most of the components are “designed in.” The next step is to install prototype harnesses on a “buck” to determine the best routing for manufacturing. The first harness to be built will power the engine, followed shortly thereafter by the body and lighting harnesses.

Vehicle electronics in the auto industry will continue to experience rapid growth. According to global forecasting company IHS, the global market for automotive electronics is set to rise to $240 billion in 2020, up more than 50 percent from $157 billion in 2010, driven to new levels of prominence by regulatory and safety initiatives. NEWTECH 3 will play a critical role in helping guide our electronics strategy, as the Elio Motors electronic capabilities evolve to enhance the driver experience without adding to the overall cost of the vehicle.

​

​

Copyright © 2014 Elio Motors, All rights reserved.
You signed up to receive updates from Elio Motors where you filled out a form including your name and email address!

Our mailing address is:
Elio Motors
2942 North 24th Street
Suite 114-700
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Add us to your address book