Do you remember your original point? Here it is "
Mr. Elio has made his mark by utilizing already produced parts (except maybe a few) and bringing them together, eliminating the need for producing your own propriatary parts. I don't know why this hasn't been done with cars already. How many companies make a 4 cylinder engine for example? I imagine there are problably 20 or more. " And what did I do? I pointed that very few of the major parts are off the shelf. Chassis not off the shelf, body panels, fenders, engine, transmission, lights, wiring harness. These are more than a "few." And because I pointed that out, you had a problem with that. Major parts cost money to develop. Like that engine you mentioned. Elio would not need to pay for expensive certification tests if they used one already in production. Elio could use their negotiating skills to get a good price on the engine..............I never said Henry Ford "only" argued the patent of the automobile. Your making things up...........you ask why this hasn't been done (utilizing already produced parts). I guess you never heard of AMC (American Motors Corporation), but was really known as All Makes Combined. They used "off the shelf" Ford and GM parts in their vehicles.
So is Elio paying IAV to develop/modify/upgrade an engine? Manufacturing engine for Elio's? Sounds expensive.