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

[botsapper]

Another startup, Elio Motors, a Phoenix-based company said it would hire 1,500 workers and to take over a GM Shreveport assembly plant to build a fuel-efficient three-wheeler. Their relatively attractive green vehicle is very car-like, fully enclosed with power windows, airbags and air conditioning. American-made and America-sourced, maybe the new Ford EcoBoost 1L triple, 2012 Engine of the Year? Their most attractive marketing come on is the very low and reasonable pricing, for ONLY $6800! Their marketing presence are small enough to be under the big news radar but they are aggressively using social media and for their appeal for...$100 Facebook reservation (and you get $50 discount, a limited edition T-shirt & bumper sticker), federal funding and state tax breaks of a capital investment of about, let's say a round number - 100 million dollars?! Maybe too good to be...real?!

Caveat.

Hope it is not a crowd funding marketing site for vaporware. In 1948, Tucker had an innovative 'guaranteed spots waiting list' funds marketing that raised $19 million but at least he produced 51 vehicles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-SawjhfwQk

[Flakbadger]

Kind of an annoying commercial, but the vehicle is awesome! I want one!
It'd be neat to see a longer version with doors for the driver and passenger.. It would make it a bit more attractive to the Average American Consumer.

Thank you for sharing this link!

[NeilBlanchard]

Looks reasonable - it is front wheel drive, but there are no details on the engine. It reminds me of a tandem Zap or the Myers Duo.

Ultra High Mileage Car : Elio Motors

No specs that I could find, other than it is FWD, has an 8 gallon tank, and comes in a choice of 7 colors...

They are saying it is a motorcycle, so if your state requires a motorcycle license, you will need one. Though, you will be able to take your driving test in the Elio, so no worries. Massachusetts requires a motorcycle license.



The price would be a breakthrough - I hope they can do it. Apparently the $100 deposit is nonrefundable, so I think prudent skepticism is in order. I hope they are legit, and come out with more technical details, and how they tested for the 84mpg claim, etc.

[CigaR007]

Their website is not working on my side. Anybody else having issues ?

flushed my DNS cache. Works now.

[HydroJim]

I like the concept. It's along the lines of what I wanted to do when I'm older. They need to work on the aerodynamics though. 84 mpg might not be enough to convince people to buy them. The price is definitely very good though. Hopefully it's not a scam

[DieselX]

That's cool.

[darcane]

Looks slick, but the lack of details makes me very concerned about it being real... Computer models predict 5-star crash ratings? That doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling. For something that is going to start shipping in 2014, it seems like there are a lot of details to iron out.

Pics inside the engine compartment, interior, and rear suspension would be helpful, as well as details about the drivetrain and indications of there being more than just one prototype.

[doclees]

Yes at about $10k less than Lit motors I like it a lot. I'm sure I will be sad to find some crap chinese engine that you can't find parts for or handling like a shopping cart. Perhaps it will leak in rain like my jeep which is ok because you have drain holes in a Jeep. I'ts expected to take on water. Black please with some pin strips. At that price point I'd retro fit a proper engine if need be. If you can't get a web sit up in running how do you expect to convince people you can build this?

As with the Lit cycle this is a No Fart Zone!

[NeilBlanchard]

Okay, a few details they mention on their Facebook page: the engine is a 3 cylinder 1L 70HP and will be available in either automatic or manual shift. 60MPG Combined, 84MPG Highway, about 107MPH top speed.

[serialk11r]

Hmmm trike, would prefer 4 wheels. Why can't some company do some clever side ducting and pillar trickery to make a low drag actual car already?

I sat in a Lexus ES350 today and I realized that they lowered the roof quite a bit (apparently for aero as from the side it looks like it follows template pretty well), as I couldn't sit straight without my head hitting the roof. I'd rather lose some storage space than lose headroom.