They just announced no trim levels:
I still hold out hope that they can get the company rolling. A sub-$8k commuter car that is reasonably safe & gets good gas mileage would be a minor miracle for a lot of people, especially with the creative ways they've talked about financing an Elio for personal use.
They just announced no trim levels:
https://www.eliomotors.com/trimming-costs/
Man, that's crazy! Their own article says that the current price difference between the various trim levels on a Ford F-150 is $33,655 (from a base model to fully-loaded). That's pretty crazy not to offer different trim levels, which are essentially just cash cows for the manufacturer with virtually no extra work. Like, on my last Kia Soul, I bought the stick-shift model, which is only available in base in the United States - but all of the electronics are there, so for the cost of a harness & steering wheel plastic button assembly (~$80 iirc), I was able to add cruise-control to my car. So they just used a universal electronics module for everything, and sold the car in different configurations. So many opportunities to jack up the price on the Elio...custom colors, spiffy rims, chrome pieces, adaptive cruise control, sports tires, leather seating, heated seats & steering wheel, etc.
I still hold out hope that they can get the company rolling. Right now it sounds like one giant joke though, which is a pity because I have a lot of friends in dire financial circumstances who could really use better, safer cars than they currently own. One of my buddies recently moved up by me & bought a car with zero credit history. He had to eat a 40% loan. Yes, forty percent. On a high-mile used car, no less. A sub-$8k commuter car that is reasonably safe & gets good gas mileage would be a minor miracle for a lot of people, especially with the creative ways they've talked about financing an Elio for personal use. Although, if the Sondors electric car ($10k starting price) really takes off, maybe that will be an even better alternative:
https://sondorselectriccar.com/
I've said this for years, if they build this and its get 60+ mpg and costs under $8K and HOV access is allowed - I'm 100% buying. 1+1 seating and small cargo area is perfect for 90% of our vehicles needs. Put a slim line cargo box up top for weekend trips and it would meet 95% of our vehicle needs.
Low boost Ford 1.0L Ecoboost would be perfect but most likely too costly.
I've said this for years, if they build this and its get 60+ mpg and costs under $8K and HOV access is allowed - I'm 100% buying. 1+1 seating and small cargo area is perfect for 90% of our vehicles needs. Put a slim line cargo box up top for weekend trips and it would meet 95% of our vehicle needs.
Low boost Ford 1.0L Ecoboost would be perfect but most likely too costly.
WTF? to comment 1 and 2, really...I mean...WTF? I know that these 40% loans on "leased" cars that have seen about 8 owners, ~20k values for the car, that has generated about $100k in income for the "leaser," even after all the repos is a big deal right now.....but 40%? lol
also, sub-$8k is difficult for a commuter car? searching searching.....searching...OK I found a Sentra and a Corolla, about 40k miles each, $6k-$7k in CA...well, in CA. ....of course everything else is a few years newer, about 10k miles less....and $10k? wtf? for reliable yet boring years-old cars with fleet car mileage?
This world is screwed.
The economics of most vehicles is pretty insane...some of the companies I do work for have 100, 200, 300 people...they all drive to work, park their cars for 8 hours, then drive, and park their cars overnight. A lot of big trucks & big SUV's that carry exactly one person & sit parked for most of their functional life as a commuter vehicle. Elio could do a lot of cool stuff if they ever actually get production going...
seriously: those people that do stupid things with their stupid cars will never make a smart decision and buy an appropriate car. No one can ever force Americans to be smart. The round (now flat!) device on their credenza (now fireplace!...gross) tells them exactly how they should think and pretend to live.
People are stupid. They are...just god damn stupid. They believe pictures with simple slogans, and pretty moving images. Their lives are failed representations of the fantasy lives that they fall asleep to. These fantasies are consumed and fed by ads in magazines, prime time and day time television.
People are stupid.
This company is doomed.
I
I have a lot of friends in dismal financial circumstances, and are in that type of situation for a variety of reasons - some of whom will never escape those constraints. Having access to a safe, reliable car for like $99 a month or $25 a week would be a real gamechanger for some of them. I've had some real junkers in the past & they can just be a huge headache in your life...endless moneypits, never reliable, just always having to deal with one problem or another. I could see the Elio being a huge success if they can ever really bring it to market!
I hear that crystal makes hella profit.Holy crap that is one butt-ugly vehicle.
Worse than the Aztec.
OK, so it is cheap to buy outright....what is the data on what we should assume about the cost of owning one, day to day? Is it not going to be in the shop every other week? Do we have any reason to guess on either side of that? Is this supposed to be like buying a Honda or a Yugo?
....I'm not trying to take a dump on the company, but I am of course very cynical about consumers in general (obvious ), and unproven, unknown companies that generate praise and predictions about quality with literally zero experience or historic evidence to back their products.
Just remembered Elio Motors
So any deliveries yet?
It's been 2 years and Tesla is kicking butt. Damn, imagine if someone listened to you.Tesla is next, I do not see them around 5 years from now. Blackberry, do they still make phones? Maybe the media should start hiring journalists and stop using unpaid internships and "Citizen journalists" (unpaid bloggers), we might actually get a good story on Elio Motors. Do you have some kind of financial interest in Elio Motors?
Production at the former GM plant in Shreveport has been pushed back to the fall of this year. That's five years after the three-wheeled vehicles were supposed to be made there.
Gas is back over $4/G here is Kommiefornia so there will be demand.
Hey how's the whole Elio Motors situation going, Will 2020 be the year of Elio Motors? Its A Zombie company at this point.
Amazing how so much has changed, Reality TV President just like in the movie Idiocracy, A Global Pandemic etc.. but no Elio Motor Trike yet.
This vehicle just doesn't seem practical. Saving a few dollars on gas is not worth so many sacrificies, and you can get many nicer used vehicles for the same price as a new elio. Also I doubt this thing could ever been driven in a cold climate. A 1500 pound car on a snowy road just won't work.
I would agree, but used car prices are kinda f'ed. Its weird, I think used prices have gone up during COVID (not sure if more people are selling their cars, more people are buying used rather than new, or if people are just being delusional, but used prices are weird and have been for a few years I think).
Too light to properly go over ice in the Midwest, plus can't use chains in urban areas.Why wouldn't it work? Put on studded tires or chains, or heck throw one of those tracks on the back one and skis on the front and turn it into an enclosed snowmobile.
They're baaaaack with another phantom vehicle, the Elio-E. I said EVs would make the gas engine version obsolete a few years ago. There is no way they will be anywhere close to their original target price going electric. There is already a better trike probably further along than Elio in the Aptera
From the link,WHAT the heck lol:
"Once the electric version is produced, Elio plans to potentially launch the Elio-G for consumers looking for a gas powered alternative."
hahaha!
From the link,
Elio Motors stock price is up 136 percent today because of the announcement "
The classic pump+dump I'd be interested to see how many Elio stockholders were waiting for a time to purge and by golly, they got it!.
They do, but with all major players moving into EV's these days Tesla no longer has it all to themselves.For the record, I think the car is a brilliant concept. Cheap & perfect for college kids, single-person commuters, etc. Even though the crash tests are probably bad, it'd be better than a lot of the older clunkers people are driving around these days with no airbags & whatnot. People can harp on Tesla all they want, but at least they deliver cars! lol