Frank Brown Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Has anyone checked this out? http://www.eliomotors.com/ It boasts an estimated 84 MPG Highway and a 672 Mile/8 gallon tank for only $6,800. Looks like it could be promising. Thoughts? Flachbau 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epoxi Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) Not to be a grumpy naysayer, but it has the impracticalities of a motorcycle and none of the advantages apart from covering the driver, but BMW made an (unsuccessful) covered motorbike. It's probably more of a toy than daily driver. In my opinion it's no better than this: 1993 Daihatsu Charade turbo diesel. 100mpg (about 83mpg US). Cost only a couple thousand dollars more when new, is a similar size and has 5 seats. Of course it probably has a worse crash rating and is incredibly dated, but it could easily be upgraded as a design. Also, Japanese kei cars are expensive, but I'm sure if they knocked down the build quality and features to US-market standards they could outstrip the Elio...but the Japanese haven't done that because there just wouldn't be a market for it in the land of free parking strip malls, $4.50/gallon gas and 8-lane highways. In fact, Daihatsu withdrew from the US in 1992 because of the lack of sales of that Charade. Edited January 19, 2014 by epoxi Flachbau and Frank Brown 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moth Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Yeah, no thanks. This isn't going to do well if it even releases. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes another vapidware car company, like Carbon Motors. Frank Brown 1 Formerly known as The General Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Dildo Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Thoughts? sure. -ugly -too small the gas mileage is great, but it's just a death trap on wheels. Edited January 20, 2014 by El_Diablo Flachbau 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Brown Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Thoughts? sure. -ugly -too small the gas mileage is great, but it's just a death trap on wheels. It's ugly, sure, but this thing would be great for commuters, don't you think? My car gets only 20 MPG highway. I'd switch over to this in a heartbeat if it saved me money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moth Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Thoughts? sure. -ugly -too small the gas mileage is great, but it's just a death trap on wheels. It's ugly, sure, but this thing would be great for commuters, don't you think? My car gets only 20 MPG highway. I'd switch over to this in a heartbeat if it saved me money. Would you really? Couldn't you get a used light weight car(Think Honda CRX) for the same amount and have it be more useful? This is for all intents and purposes a bike in a shell. Hell you would need to get a bike license to even drive the thing. I would never got the reasoning why car manufacturers like to say single person transportation is the future. It would make congestion much worst than it already is! Frank Brown and epoxi 2 Formerly known as The General Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Brown Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Thoughts? sure. -ugly -too small the gas mileage is great, but it's just a death trap on wheels. It's ugly, sure, but this thing would be great for commuters, don't you think? My car gets only 20 MPG highway. I'd switch over to this in a heartbeat if it saved me money. Would you really? Couldn't you get a used light weight car(Think Honda CRX) for the same amount and have it be more useful? This is for all intents and purposes a bike in a shell. Hell you would need to get a bike license to even drive the thing. I would never got the reasoning why car manufacturers like to say single person transportation is the future. It would make congestion much worst than it already is! I would. I'm a college student, I live with my parents, and I don't have kids. For basic transportation to and from work/college I'd love something like this, I'd only pay 1/4th of the money I pay for gas. Probably less since I have to pay for Premium and this takes Regular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K^2 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I like it. I have to do weekly commutes over 100 miles. What it costs me in gas makes me grind my teeth. I'd ride a motorcycle, but weather around here isn't exactly friendly. That wouldn't be a problem with Elio, though. Depending on where I get a job after the Ph.D., I might still consider getting one of these. It doesn't make sense as main family car, but as a second "car", I do like it. Frank Brown 1 Prior to filing a bug against any of my code, please consider this response to common concerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outcast Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 This sounds suspiciously similar to this. epoxi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K^2 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 This sounds suspiciously similar to this.It does. In a lot of details. I wouldn't be surprised if this was part of inspiration for Elio. The key difference is that several prototypes of Elio actually exist, and the plant for production has been secured. This can still turn out to be a flop, but it does not come off as something that's just a scam. Prior to filing a bug against any of my code, please consider this response to common concerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Hellraiser Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 What I don't understand about this advertising though: the Elio is only three-wheeled. By most (if not all) areas in the US, this would be classified as a motorcycle. Is it different because of the closed cabin, or are they just skimming over that little detail? Many people might be extremely tempted to buy it, only to find out once they take it on the road that they are driving it without a license... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlover325 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I don't see this being very successful. It's ugly and impractical. I can see it being a "toy" vehicle that a few people might want, but nothing more than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K^2 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 What I don't understand about this advertising though: the Elio is only three-wheeled. By most (if not all) areas in the US, this would be classified as a motorcycle. Is it different because of the closed cabin, or are they just skimming over that little detail? Many people might be extremely tempted to buy it, only to find out once they take it on the road that they are driving it without a license...It's classified as a motorcycle everywhere in US, but whether you need a motorcycle endorsement for it or not varies by state. They do actually mention it in the FAQs on the site. Same deal with the helmet. Most states do not require a helmet in a motorcycle with a fully enclosed cabin, but a few do. Guys at Elio are actually lobbying in several states to change their laws to treat Elio and vehicles like it more like cars. I believe, they've already managed to change helmet laws in at least one state. In the worst case, though, it's just a matter of taking driving test again in an Elio to get your endorsement. It's a bit of an extra hassle, but not much of one. I don't think people who want to buy one of these will be discouraged by it. I don't see this being very successful. It's ugly and impractical. I can see it being a "toy" vehicle that a few people might want, but nothing more than that.I can understand "ugly". It's a matter of taste. Doesn't put me off, but I care about function more than looks. But impractical? Certainly, this isn't going to be your primary family car. I'm not going to take my wife shopping in this, because it can fit either the groceries or a passenger. But consider a typical family. Do you need two cars? Probably. Do you need two large cars capable of taking a full load of people and groceries? Probably not. As a second car, Elio makes perfect sense. I certainly wouldn't mind driving something like this on my long commute. You also have to consider a huge demographic of people who don't need a large car at all. My university has over 20,000 undergraduates on the main campus. Almost half of them drive there. Parking costs over $100/semester. Motorcycle parking costs $15/semester. Now consider this pool of students, and offer them transportation that's just as convenient as their car, uses up a third of gas, costs a fraction in parking, and has a very reasonable price tag, how many of these do you think will say, "Nah. It's ugly. I'm going to keep wasting money I don't have on a big car?" This vehicle definitely has its place on the market. It's not going to compete with primary sales of new vehicles. It's going to compete with a used car market as a second car or university student car. And there, it can easily take the quarter million per year sales target that Elio Motors is shooting for. Whether it actually makes it will depend on a lot of factors, but I wouldn't count it out just yet. Prior to filing a bug against any of my code, please consider this response to common concerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Hellraiser Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 (edited) Am I vain enough to choose a used, lesser quality, lesser MPG hatchback that isn't an eyesore over a newer, more economical, low-priced ugly excuse for a car? Yes, yes I am. Edited January 26, 2014 by Ex Hellraiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Hellraiser Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I typed Elio into the search to see if there was a topic on this, as I found out, there is, and I was the last one to post in it two years ago lol. Shockingly (sarcasm) they didn't meet their Q4 2014 release, and I doubt it will even make a Q4 2017 release. This project of a car has been going on for 8 years now, and it is just ridiculous at this point. What could possibly take so long in a vehicle's development? They have had roadworthy prototypes for like 3 years now, what is the holdup? The only thing I can think of is they want to get laws changed before they sell it, but I don't see them doing much to change them at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthLand Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 When any company makes a car that looks like a car, sounds like a car and handles like a car but with the advantage that is eco friendly, maybe i might consider to buy one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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