Elio 3-wheeler discussion thread
 

Thought I'd start a new thread about the Elio 3-wheeler - my strengths - Elio Motors : Elio Motors.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...pse0350715.jpg

From their site :

Why Elio? Simple …

84 mpg
It gets 84 miles to the gallon on the highway. That means you can go from Detroit to New York City on a tank of gas – or drive from Shreveport LA to Dallas and back – then back to Dallas again – and still have about 110 miles left before a refill. How is that possible? Keep reading.

8-Gallon Tank
It can go 672 miles, or thereabouts, because it has an 8-gallon tank and 8X84=672. Of course, other factors will affect your mileage but you get the point.

Find out how much you can save with
the Elio money saver calculator – click Elio_Calculator-arrows
Only $6,800
It only costs $6,800. That’s about what you would pay for an outboard motor to power a rowboat.

Safety
Each Elio comes equipped with a Safety Management System that includes three airbags – a reinforced roll-cage frame, Anti-Lock Braking System, and 50% larger crush zones than similar vehicles. Preliminary safety tests on computer models anticipate a 5-Star safety rating.

American Made = American Jobs
It should come as no surprise that Elio will create a number of much-needed jobs for American workers. We’re estimating 1,500 jobs at our Shreveport, LA plant beginning in the spring of 2014.

Fun
It’s a blast to drive. Imagine every little errand, every daily commute being something you look forward to because it means you’ll be driving your Elio. It looks cool. And face it, you are what you drive, so that will make you one cool person.

Unique
Because of its unique design, people will talk. They’ll also stare, smile, give you a thumbs up and who knows what else. And while everyone is smiling at you from the outside, trust us, you’ll be smiling from within.

Eco-Friendly
This is a very green vehicle – and we’re not just talking about the color. Yes, it gets 84 MPG on the highway, but you’ll be doing your share of city driving, too. Fear not, with its city rate of 49 MPG, you’ll be consuming only 1/3 of what the average American vehicle consumes.

Power in Numbers
An inline, 3 cylinder, 1 liter, 70 HP, fuel-injected, SOHC gas-powered, liquid-cooled, automotive engine.

Our Transmission Mission
5-speed manual or automatic. And yes, it has a reverse gear.

Fast Facts
Top speed is in excess of 100 MPH, and the 0-60 speed is under 9.6 seconds. So it’s not exotic sports car fast, but it’s not slow, either. And while a gas-guzzling muscle car might pass you, no one will pass gas stations like you.

Great Traction
The engine is in the front and it is a front-wheel-drive vehicle. So, with a low center of gravity and weight towards the front, you’ll get great traction action – even in the snow.

You Deserve a Big Brake
We will have 3-wheel disc brakes with the Anti-Lock Braking System on 15″ wheels. So your Elio will not only stop onlookers in their tracks, it’ll stop you, too – quickly and safely.

A Suspension as Independent as You
The first cousin of cool is smooth. So we’ve built Elio on an independent suspension with unequal length control arms, coil-over-spring and shock in the front and mono-shock with coil-over-spring and shock in the rear. The ground clearance is 5.75″ — similar to most of the passenger vehicles you see on the road today.

Heads Up. A Word About Interior Room
Interior measurements are as follows:

Headroom: Driver 39.8 Passenger 36.4 in
Seat width: Driver 20.6 Passenger 25.3 in

Interior Shoulder Width: 26.8 in

Front seat Legroom: 42.7 in
Rear seat Legroom: 33.1 in

Elio has been designed to fit 95% of all men. The tallest person we have had in the Elio is a 6’8″ former college basketball player, the largest is a 6’3″ 325 lb man, and the smallest is a 5’0″ woman (no, we didn’t ask the weight!). They all fit and loved it! If you are outside of these sizes, you’ll just have to hop into an Elio yourself and see how it fits.

How about the outside
Overall Length: 160.5″
Front Wheel Track: 66.8″ (center rim to center rim)
Wheelbase: 110″ (center of front wheels to center of rear wheel)
Overall Height: 54.2″

Listen to the Sound of Silence
The body panels are made of a composite (which is more sound deadening than steel) and attached to a tight, solid body that doesn’t have a lot of moving (read squeaky) parts. These two design features help keep outside noise from getting into the cockpit and getting in the way of your favorite tunes playing on our AM/FM radio
(that’s standard).

When You Need Your Space
The trunk space will be at least 27″ x 14″ x 10″, enough for an airline carry-on bag or a golf bag with the rear seat down (47″+). If you’re the working type, tools, blueprints, briefcases, and who knows what else can also be accommodated.

Uncommon Standards
When you own an Elio, you’re not just a customer, you’re part of a family. So we’re not going to lure you in with that $6,800 low price, only to mention things like A/C and an AM/FM radio are extra. They’re not. You get those items plus heater, defrost, the three airbags, power windows and door lock, seat belts, tempered glass, and windshield wiper at no extra cost.


Looks pretty darn good IMO. You could certainly modify it to get better fuel economy if you wanted.


As I said in another thread - how could they do all of this for $6800???


Jay

What is the cheapest new car as of now ?
A Nissan Versa for 11500$
(source : 10 cheapest new cars in America - Nissan Versa (1) - CNNMoney)

I might be wrong but I believe :
Divide it by 3 and you have the price out of the factory.
1/3 goes back to engineering
1/3 is for commercials / margin for the distributor

If you can reduce 2/3 of the price to half, your price is now 2/3 of those 12000.

The car is smaller hence less steel => there is your second reduction in price, say 10%.
We are at 7200 already.

Now the company is based on a single model / single variant, basically a start-up so you labor cost (for engineering) are much cheaper than those of the big 4.

Anyway, they don't have much choice because the vehicle is an UFO (or UDO) so they have to have a major hit on the market and the price is the ultimate argument.

Question arise : what engine would that be ?

I really would like to see this succeed where the others have not, but I'm not too optimistic.

We hope !

Paul Elio tried this before.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. - George Santayana

Mercury® Four-Stroke Outboard Motors : Cabela's

Lying throws up major red flags for me.

I really like the idea of it, but I keep visualizing going on a date with a beautiful young lady sitting behind me.

You need a hobby.

I wouldn't pay $900 for an outboard motor.

I read about court cases where companies argued that rational people would not have believed their claims--and won.

In the article that SentraSE-R shared:

Was that direct? Is optimism good enough?