Elio Motors, The Next Big Thing?!!...

[Grant-53]

Once an engine model is certified by the EPA, you can use it as you please as the end user. A manufacturer of motorcycles would have to sell engines certified for that class of vehicle. Wiring harnesses can be broken down into sub assemblies such as chassis lights and instrument panels that are connected by adapter blocks. This could allow variations for gas or diesel power. An electric version would likely require a different chassis and suspension. Unless states with motorcycle helmet laws allow for exemptions for trikes that meet Federal rollover standards you may still need a helmet.

[seanof30306]

I wonder how the drop in gas prices will effect Elio? It's looking like we could be seeing sub-2.00 gas prices for quite some time.

It doesn't change my interest, but gas prices are something people react to very emotionally.

Over and above that, I've just seen something on their site that concerns me greatly.

The lack of real information and the "options" page, where all of the options shown are drawings, this close to their latest projected production date had left me a little uneasy, but I was just looking at the pics section, and there are a bunch of them purporting to be from an interview with "NBC's Dan Jovic". Dan Jovic is a reporter for the NBC affiliate in Shreveport, not for NBC News.

That is such utterly dishonest, purposely misleading hype that it leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.

Man, I'm really excited about the Elio, but this close to their claimed production date, I'd think there would be near-daily updates, and much more specific information. I'd certainly not think they would have dishonest hype only a 2nd-year marketing major would think would be effective all over their webpage.

[ME_Andy]

I don't think the difference between NBC and an NBC affiliate is a huge deal. I would've made the same mistake myself. On the other hand, the lack of news about the engine and the next prototype is starting to concern me.

If the government kills this project by denying the loan, it will feel like a stab in the back.

I could see some philanthropic billionaire stepping in to fund the project. You know how Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, etc. have pledged to give more to charity? This is probably the most worthwhile cause I could imagine, from an environmental perspective and a social perspective.

What if Elon Musk funded Elio or rolled it into Telsa Motors? That would be truly bad-ass...

[Frank Lee]

Affiliate = local yocals. They don't bother with vetting what-so-ever. (Recalling media coverage of HP2G scams)

[niky]

As opposed to the head office, which fabricates its own stories?

Whoops... NBC, not ABC...

[Frank Lee]

Well... yeah... at least on the national level when there is an egregious reporting error they MIGHT apologize/issue a retraction/let somebody get slapped around for it.

[seanof30306]

The point is, they deliberately took one thing, an interview with the local affiliate, and tried to make it more than it is.

That screams of hype.

Remember Snakes On A Plane? Horrible movie, but in the marketing world, it's a legend. The advertising agency that handled the marketing won multiple awards for their campaign because they did such a great job of creating so much buzz over the movie.

The problem was, once it hit the theaters, and people saw it, the word quickly got out that it was awful, and what started with promising day-one and day-two box office numbers fell completely apart.

I spent a quarter-century in marketing, and management. At one point, good marketing was considered creating awareness for a product; showcasing it's benefits in such a way that people looking for those benefits knew where they could get them. That's all changed. Today, the marketing campaigns that win the most awards are the ones that make a garbage product seem appealing. It's all vapor.

The more I see about Elio, the more I fear the vapor.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by ME_Andy

I could see some philanthropic billionaire stepping in to fund the project. You know how Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, etc. have pledged to give more to charity? This is probably the most worthwhile cause I could imagine, from an environmental perspective and a social perspective.

Except Elio is a for-profit company. This type of rescue funding would be justifiable only if it were done like the Wall Street/Detroit bailouts: the thing that benefits society (banks, manufacturing) continues while the jackasses who ran them into the grouund for their own profit (shareholders, bondholders) lose either everything or close to everything while the rescuers book a tidy profit once things return to normal.

If Warren Buffett wanted to, he could put together an Elio-class car and make money from it. But Elio won't make the kind of returns that Buffett likes to get so he'll never finance them, and if he were going to do it on his own he'd never start by buying such an ineffectively run company.

But yes, a minimalistic, highly efficient vehicle would be a Good Thing. Aside from the fact that we want them, lots of other people could really use them.

[Frank Lee]

Can we get these other people outta their v8 4x4s?

[seanof30306]

Look what just came in my email:http://us6.campaign-archive2.com/?u=...2&e=761b2a4146 ..... screen captures from a video that's more than a year old ..... and yet another solicitation for money. Nothing new. If you had a car nearly ready to market, wouldn't you be constantly updating your webpage with NEW information? New pictures? New Videos? Elio constantly deluges you with information, but it's merely old information, recycled and repackaged. Something just isn't right here.