Elio motors....scam ?

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Too early to tell, but as delays happen, it's starting to look more like the Dale.
 
I'm not sure if it started out as a scam, or if that is their intention ... but it looks more and more like that every day.

It ain't going to happen.
 
There was a car (well, a promise of a car) back in the 1940's that did the same thing. Since at that time you couldn't outright ask for money upfront with no product, they used the loophole that a customer would buy the radio that fits their new car now. The radio was very expensive, but that was understood it was technically an investment in the car company and reserved them a car.

The car was never ready, so all that the investors ended up with was a somewhat collectible car radio.

It was not really a scam, everyone had good intentions, but then as is now, it takes ENORMOUS amounts of cash to start a new car company and put a car on the market. An amount of cash that exceeds the GNP of many countries.
 
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I have $100 in on it too. Now reconsidering my vehicle needs, I don't see me purchasing one if it ever gets to market.

I really don't believe it is a scam. I think it is an incredible effort that they may not have fully realized and underestimated the time and capital investment to get running. If it was really a scam, I don't think they would have put the effort to design an engine into it.

It's a neat idea. I may still buy one if the target price is met, who knows. We'll see how my screw around cash is doing at that time. Kind of hard to beat the potential of 80mpg when you drive 115 miles/day, but see the math below.

I also bet that Kira is correct, low fuel cost is going to hurt this effort. I bet their reservation intake has slowed dramatically with the recent drop in fuel costs. I did their fuel cost saver calculator and right now based on my current vehicle getting an average of 34mpg (hand calculated by me on every fill up), cost of gas is $1.59/gallon and driving 29000 miles per year, I will only save about $600 per year. When gas is $4/gallon that goes up to $1500 per year. $600 per year to have a dedicated commuter car that I can't carry my two (and one on the way) kids in at the same time, so I would need another "weekend" vehicle of sorts. Or I just go buy a Ford Focus hatchback, normal engine, 5speed and get 36mpg for under $20k or even a SE ecoboost for only $500 more to get 40mpg/6speed and still be under $20k


I hope the best for them, it would be pretty cool to see it succeed.
 
In years past, I fabricated, assembled, constructed, painted and completed high-end, custom built wealthy-man's automotive toys.

Put simply, it's just not that hard to design and build something really nice. Mankind has been doing it for centuries.

If Elio can't pull it off in a year or two, it's a marketing scam. They may have good intentions, but the reality is that hardware must exist in great numbers for the project to have any chance of success.



Here is a pic of what I built:

1993Talbo_01_700.jpg


TLC16.JPG


GroupDinner.JPG
 
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Its probably not a scam, but hybrid and EV sales along with the Elio will see very little interest as long as Saudi Arabia keeps flooding the market.
 
Originally Posted By: Cujet
In years past, I fabricated, assembled, constructed, painted and completed high-end, custom built wealthy-man's automotive toys.

Put simply, it's just not that hard to design and build something really nice. Mankind has been doing it for centuries.

If Elio can't pull it off in a year or two, it's a marketing scam.


It was scheduled to go into production in 2008 ...
 
There is a big difference between building some custom car years ago and building a car that meets modern safety and emission requirements.
 
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
There is a big difference between building some custom car years ago and building a car that meets modern safety and emission requirements.

Since it's classified as a motorcycle, I think the amount of modern safety requirements that Elio must comply with is rather minimal.
 
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
Its probably not a scam, but hybrid and EV sales along with the Elio will see very little interest as long as Saudi Arabia keeps flooding the market.


Even though high MPGs is one of this vehicle's big perks, that isn't its only selling point. It would also make a nice replacement for those who enjoy riding motorcycles, but don't like getting cold or wet...
 
The Elio is a year away...and always will be!

Well...until the whole thing implodes in a blizzard of flying lawsuits.
 
I'd love to get my hands on one, and turn it into a track car.
Think of the fun you could have with a toy like this with better suspension upgrades, and more go juice.

Of course, it being a 3 wheeler, probably won't be allowed on most track days...

But, it could be a fun way to play around with different engine tech.

BC.
 
It probably started out with good intentions. But with the price of fuel so low... that's not a good thing. I think the decision to design and build his own motor was not good. We'll see, I'm keeping a half an eye on it.
 
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