[Subjectivist]

What was the sporty little Honda sedan that used to get 55 mpg back in the mid 1980s? I want to say CRX, but the one I'm thinking of was sportier.

I always thought they were pretty sporty, YMMV. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hondacrxsirstock.jpg

[PrestonSturges]

I keep thinking what's needed are separate lanes for electric vehicles where they can tap into a power source while moving, like streetcars used to do and electric buses. This could be mainly on uphill stretches, including interstates.

[Plantagenet]

what's needed are separate lanes for electric vehicles where they can tap into a power source while moving, like streetcars used to do and electric buses. This could be mainly on uphill stretches, including interstates.

We've already got the technology developed to do that, but the expense of building miles and miles of separate lanes covered with bumper car arcades so electric cars can stay connected as they travel along is too expensive to even contemplate.


electric vehicles that tap into a power source while moving, like streetcars used to do

As gas prices go higher and higher it would be much cheaper and simpler to shift people out of their giant gas-guzzling SUVs and pick-up trucks and into small simple ICE cars like the Elio that can get 84 mpg and also use the existing regular highways.


Vroooooom!

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . Subjectivist. You mean a Nagasaki Ferrari . . . .

http://bhondas800sportscarclubmessagebo ... d.com/t437 . . . .

I one of those . . . next model after the chain drive.

Cheers,

[Keith_McClary]

The $2000 Tata Nano actually cost $3000 and didn't sell well in India. But:

Tata will redo Nano for the U.S.
October 15, 2012

A redesigned version of India's no-frills Nano minicar will come to the United States in three years, said Ratan Tata, the billionaire boss of that country's giant Tata Group.

"The U.S. is a very enticing market," Tata said in an interview. "We are redesigning the Nano for both Europe and the U.S."

He said the new Nano will be far more sophisticated than the ultracheap model that has flopped in India despite a world of hype.

It will get a bigger engine and "more bells and whistles," including such features as power steering and traction control. Tata said it will be priced below $10,000.

No news about this since Oct. 2012. But there are plenty of microcars to choose from:

[Subjectivist]

The $2000 Tata Nano actually cost $3000 and didn't sell well in India. But:

Tata will redo Nano for the U.S.
October 15, 2012
A redesigned version of India's no-frills Nano minicar will come to the United States in three years, said Ratan Tata, the billionaire boss of that country's giant Tata Group.

"The U.S. is a very enticing market," Tata said in an interview. "We are redesigning the Nano for both Europe and the U.S."

He said the new Nano will be far more sophisticated than the ultracheap model that has flopped in India despite a world of hype.

It will get a bigger engine and "more bells and whistles," including such features as power steering and traction control. Tata said it will be priced below $10,000.

No news about this since Oct. 2012. But there are plenty of microcars to choose from:]

The roblem with almost every microcar developed in th past is all they did was take an ugly arge car and shrink it. Why are none of they styled like a mustang or camero? Selling a car is so much more than selling transportation it is not even funny, no matter how sad that is. If you were just selling transportation than ever car would be the cheapest color of paint with a complete set of mandated safety features and zero extra's, like a 1981 Yugo.

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . Subjectivist.

The problem with almost every microcar developed in the past is all they did was take an ugly large car and shrink it. Why are none of they styled like a mustang or camero?

Did my link for the S800 not work for you?

Dunno about micro but it was a small car with just room enough behind the seats for my swag, kitbag, chainsaw and saddle.

DOHC, 4 cylinder, 800 cc lumpy thousand RPM idle, shift point for "sport driving" was about six thousand revs and I believe it would wind out to ten, extractor system with more pipework than you ever would believe, slickest shifting four speed I ever drove.

Did about 80,000 trouble free miles (and it had at least two carburettors) it broke my heart to sell it . . . driven sensibly it would do fifty miles to the imperial gallon and I wish I had it now.

Cheers.

[Tanada]

CNN has a new blurb about the Elio today,

Location: Shreveport, La.

When General Motors closed its Shreveport, La., plant in 2012 as part of its bankruptcy restructuring, it eliminated nearly 1,000 jobs.

A year later, auto startup Elio Motors took over almost half of the plant's 4 million square feet to manufacture its three-wheel cars.

"The plant was in great condition and all of GM's machinery was still there for reuse," said IRG's Lichter.

Elio, based in Troy, Mich., expects to begin commercial production of its $6,800 car in 2015, producing as many as 250,000 vehicles a year at the plant.

"It's been good for us and good for Shreveport," said Paul Elio, founder of Elio Motors, who said the company plans to hire 1,500 workers by the time production is in full swing.

[Keith_McClary]

... Yugo.

Ran across this oil connection:

The second force was Occidental Petroleum, an American oil company that had just signed a "countertrade" deal with Yugoslavia, exchanging shipments of oil for … well, whatever Yugoslavia could produce that would sell in America.
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/tran ... _ever.html

[PrestonSturges]

What was the mileage on the sporty 1.1 L Opel GT?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel_GT

[dolanbaker]

Reminds me of one of these.

[Subjectivist]

The Elio founder was on Fox and Friends yesterday morning and let Brian Kilmeade take it for a test drive http://youtu.be/dO-r-i8V0UE

[Subjectivist]

Reminds me of one of these.

Interesting, according to Wikipedia the Morgan Motors company returned to three wheel side by side designs in 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Motor_Company

[Tanada]

I was very excited about these cars when they were announced and we considered putting down a refundable deposit back in 2014 when the promise was they would be available starting in September 2015. I am very grateful we decided not to "invest" because here is is 2018 and the start of production mysteriously remains 18 months in the future. Seems as if every six months that pass production gets pushed back another six months.

The sad things is the company could have hand built a few hundred cars and gotten them out to the first people in line and it would have shut up all the critics. Even Tesla Motors has always been producing some product and making some deliveries even if not at the scale that would really drive the cost down to middle-middle class pricing. Elio should have delivered the first thousand cars at a loss if necessary just to avoid looking like a pure scam, which is what it appears to be at this point in time. They have spent all the money on executive salaries and advertising to get more customers and lobbying to get states to rule the tricycle car is a car and not a motor cycle that requires different regulations. Now after five years they still have the same handful of prototypes and a lease on a vacant GM plant in Louisiana that requires taxes and other expenses without the capability of building a single unit. The guy running the company might be an automotive engineer par excellence but as a CEO he stinks on ice.

PHOENIX - It's supposed to get 84 miles a gallon and cost around $7,000.

That's why Jim DeForest spent a thousand dollars.

It's a deposit, to be one of the first in line for the car/motorcycle hybrid put out by Elio Motors. That was nearly 5 years ago.

Today, the Phoenix-based startup still hasn't produced any cars for sale.

Jim says he's tired of the waiting and excuses.

"I'm 75 years old. I don't have time to piddle around. I want my money back," said Jim.

But owner Paul Elio says that's not going to happen.

"These dollars aren't sitting around to give back to them because we're spending it creating a business," said Elio two years ago.

Recently, he again stated that people had a choice of giving non-refundable deposits to get a better reservation. Or they could give refundable deposits that he says have been refunded when requested.

Elio today, is as optimistic as when I spoke with him in 2015.

Although he's fighting a Louisiana fine for overselling and accepting non-refundable deposits without a license, he's confident he'll win the appeal and his vehicle will be produced.

Elio says it's been tough to raise the hundreds of millions of dollars it takes to begin production.

He says he understands buyer's concerns.

So far about 65,000 people have put money down for a car.

But he says this year should be the year to raise the money and he eyes production possibly for late 2019.

It's something, Jim says, he's heard too many times before and just wants his money back.

"This is non-refundable if I get a product I think. But if I don't get a product, I didn't give them $1000 to go have a party," said Jim.

LINK

[asg70]

History is full of these sorts of things. At one point I was interested in what is now being called the Persu.

http://www.flytheroad.com/

It seems like there's nothing impossible about making one of these. They're all technicall feasible. What's lacking is the investment capital, and it requires way more than any sort of reservation / crowdfunding thing. Witness who insanely leveraged Tesla is right now in order to just barely climb up the S curve with the Model 3. That requires an insane level of faith.

If you can't do that then you're relegated to small boutique kit car style scale which isn't gonna be able to keep these at the hyped price-point.

[Tanada]

Elio Motors signs MoU with Automotive Fortune 500 OEM to Provide Powertrain Projects $120 million Research and Development Cost Savings



PHOENIX, September 27, 2018 — Elio Motors, Inc. (OTCQB: ELIO), developer of the ultra-high-mileage, low-cost three-wheel Elio vehicle, announced that they had entered into a memorandum of understanding with a Fortune 500 OEM, to provide the engine foundation as part of a new powertrain for the Elio vehicle. Elio currently projects that the new powertrain will result in $120 million in research and development cost savings. The company is working with the engineering team at Roush to develop a new Elio prototype employing the OEM powertrain.

“Purchasing an OEM’s existing powertrain has an enormous impact on the project, it helps both expedite the timeline, and it directly reduces our capital requirement by about $120 million dollars”, said Elio Motors CEO, Paul Elio. “This powertrain will also greatly enhance the Elio’s performance by nearly doubling its horsepower while still maintaining class-leading fuel economy at an affordable ultra-low price”.

Roush will integrate the new powertrain into Elio’s prototype in order to begin preliminary testing procedures. These testing procedures will prepare the Elio for production, which will occur at the Elio Motors manufacturing facility in Shreveport, Louisiana.

The new powertrain will push the Elio’s performance specifications far beyond prior consumer expectations. The engine should offer nearly a 100% increase in horsepower rating when compared to initial Elio prototype vehicles. When combined with the Elio’s low curb weight, the new powertrain is expected to deliver excellent driver response and a highly improved acceleration time. Even with the Elio’s substantial increase in performance, the advanced technology in the new powertrain should enable Elio Motors to achieve their promise of ultra-high fuel efficiency.

About Elio Motors


Founded by car enthusiast Paul Elio, Elio Motors Inc. represents a revolutionary approach to manufacturing an ultra-high-mileage vehicle. The three-wheel Elio is engineered to attain a highway mileage rating of up to 84 mpg, while providing the comfort of amenities such as power windows, power door locks, air conditioning and cruise control, accompanied by the safety of multiple air-bags and an aerodynamic, enclosed vehicle body. Elio’s first manufacturing site will be in Shreveport, Louisiana.

About Roush

Roush, a full-service product development supplier headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, has over 4,000 employees in facilities located throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Widely recognized for providing engineering, testing, prototype, and manufacturing services to the transportation industry, Roush also provides significant support to the aerospace, defense and theme park industries.

Roush is a subsidiary of Roush Enterprises, Inc., parent company of Roush Fenway Racing; Roush Performance, developer and manufacturer of performance vehicles and products for the automotive aftermarket; and Roush CleanTech, developer and manufacturer of propane-powered trucks and vans for the fleet vehicle market.
For more information please visit www.roush.com

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements related to anticipated commencement of commercial production, targeted pricing and performance goals, and statements that otherwise relate to future periods are forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, which are described in more detail in the Company’s periodic reports filed with the SEC, specifically the most recent reports which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made and based on information available to the Company on the date of this press release. Elio Motors assumes no obligation to update the information in this press release.

*MSRP for non-refundable reservations only and applies only until non-refundable and refundable reservations total 65,000. Total current reservations can be seen at: www.eliomotors.com MSRP excludes destination/delivery charges, taxes, title, registration, and options/installation.

[Cog]

Perhaps Eliomotors should partner up with the cold fusion people to make the scam complete

[Outcast_Searcher]

I'll believe in a practical, cheap vehicle from Elio Motors, easily purchased, maintained, and SERVICED, when I see it.

Just like, say, a real world $35,000 Tesla Model 3, with quick, convenient, reliable Tesla service centers near small cities in all red states -- with affordable parts AFTER the warranty expires.

In other words, don't hold your breath, no matter how many press releases you may see.

And meanwhile, in the real world, HEV's, PHEV's, and BEV's from many makers keep looking better, both in real world production, and in plans for the next few years.

[KaiserJeep]

There are several obvious shortcomings to small, fuel efficient "cars" that are basicly made from motorcycle powertrains and chassis:

1) There are no safety features associated with collision survivability. The conservation of momentum results in most of the energy being transferred to the smaller object in an elastic collision, which is therefore subject to greater acceleration. Without airbags, padded surfaces, multipoint seatbelts, etc., the passengers of the smaller vehicle get snuffed or seriously injured.

2) The utility aspect is missing. Even with an impractical Jeep Wrangler, I frequently bring home 200+ pounds of food and other goods from Costco or Target.

3) The passenger capacity is lacking. Even a Wrangler seats four people, and sometimes I need seating for six plus cargo capacity. I then rent a minivan.

What is needed is a more fuel-efficient vehicle with the same capabilities, not some glitzed-up motorcycle that is restricted to motorcycle type limitations. The safety features are imposed by legislation, once you surpass the limitations of a motorcycle chassis, you trigger the requirements to comply with the safety features required by a car.

Eliminating the safety features to save fuel is a non-starter of an idea. Quit obsessing over vehicles few will ever own because few can tolerate the lack of utility or safety or capacity.

This is not a "better" idea. It's not even a good idea.

[dolanbaker]

I think that these "super eco" cars have had their day, EVs (or is that battery technology) has advanced so far in recent years that there is no real place for such vehicles.