Elio Motors to advertise on Fox News,ESPN, and National Geographic.

I can appreciate Elio's intentions but don't see that vehicle as a good long term solution. 84MPG no longer impresses me. In less than 10 years I believe there will be quality 2 passenger EVs on the market for less than $20K with a 200 mile range and high speed DC charging. Useful vehicles for a reasonable price. Zero emissions. Gasoline is dead.

Might want if it weren't for the motorcycle license thing.

One wonders why they would do this? They just did an "equity" offering to pay for some prototypes and still ~$200M away from being able to go into production. Why do demand gen if you are still at least a year away from being able to fulfill said demand?

I have tried to give these guys the benefit of the doubt (good intentions, poor execution) but this latest move seems very pyramid-y where they are using funds from the last fund-raising effort to drive more fund-raising.

I think it would have been way more interesting in an EV format. I agree gas is dead.

Most of us here are pretty EVcentric, which is fine. I've got to say though, if a car can cost $7,000 and get 84mpg, it has really big implications in many regards. Obviously, EV's are great, but this car, and cars like it, could play a large role in reducing emissions.

What's the point of having a cramped two-seater that effectively has the same footprint (primarily defined by its width) as a Ford Escort? Front wheels can sheer off upon impact. Just found out that it is even wider than one would suspect. The Elio forum says its width exceeds 76 inches. That's very close to a... Model S.

I've sat in the orange prototype vehicle posted above. I wouldn't say its cramped at all for the driver. You have more space on either side of you than you'd have between you and the door in a normal car. The back is cramped, but I'm also 6'2" and they say they've improved it in more recent iterations.

The reason for the design is simple, half the width, half the wind resistance.

I really doubt Elio is meant to be a pyramid scheme. I think this is Paul Elio's dream project, that he really wants it to work and I think it could. However it's all based on them getting another 250 million in funding from somewhere, and I'm increasingly worried they never will.

The key feature is not the mileage, it's the "claimed" retail price and that is probably lost on some members of this site, even those who will have to scrape their wallet to get a Model 3 or CPO.

Few folk who can buy $100k cars are shopping for <$10k cars.

There are no new $10k cars in the US. In fact, those silly open cockpit 3 wheel "motorcycles" are over twice what an Elio's claimed price is.

India has cheap cars for the mass, but the Western world does not, we don't even have cheap motorcycles. Government restrictions forbid you to purchase a dangerous car or cheap MC.

About the mileage, my "errand" motorcycle is a Honda 500, which is about $6k new. It gets a true 60mpg combined or up to 70mpg at 60mph. Sure it will such the paint off a Prius or Elio, but MCs are aero like a barn is.

Because of this, the Elio does have potential, much like the VW Beetle did when it came to the US. A car even the poor could afford to buy new.

I would never buy one, but I can see an 18 year old who works in fast food buying one. Otherwise, they buy a used car, and the cheaper one are the pollution-mobiles.

The fact we see college freshmen driving $50,000 cars isn't the reality for masses. Heck, I feel like a cheapskate, only spending $25k each for my kids.

Sadly, I think the dream will fail. It is great idea to bypass our Nanny State Mandates to provide cheap transportation, but I don't thing he'll pull it off, which is sad.

If the Elio was electric, I would be excited about it. But it's an ICE. So last century.

I think the engineering vision is admirable, but the business plan has never seemed quite as well thought out. Beyond that, I am unsure about the fundamental premise: that folks will flock to a wierdmobile simply because its cheap--this seems like the same kind of thinking that yields the LEAF and the iMiEV: "ignore the looks, its electric!". As a second car or commuter car, the Elio might work, but a quick check on KBB shows I can get a 2009 Honda Civic Couple DX (well-rated, decent mileage, can get it repaired anywhere) in "good" shape for about $6K, maybe as an only car, a used car seems like a more versatile choice. I don't have much insight into buyer behavior in this space, so I could be completely wrong on this.

I don't see how it will ever meet US bumper/safety standards.

Lloyd said:

I don't see how it will ever meet US bumper/safety standards.

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It won't.
NHTSA proposed Rulemaking on three-wheeled vehicles could put damper on Arcimoto, Elio Motors | The Long Tail Pipe

Which would be a pity. You can still chose to buy a motorcycle (for now) which is far more dangerous than a 3 wheeler.

We will soon get mandatory speed limiters, more safety equipment weight, mandatory driver's aids, etc. Eventually hypercars will get the axe as well, especially when sold with a 85mph speed limiter. Yes, motorcycles will be eventually illegal. Already in England you must be 25 years old to buy a >48 hp motorcycle, and it's getting stricter.

It will never fix crashes though. People cause crashes, and safety equipment is a poor solution for bad driving. You will always be able to be killed in a car if you don't drive with your eyes on the road.

Why can't you decide you want a cheap car today? You cannot. We surrendered that right a long time ago. VW Beetles we grew up with cannot return. You can't buy a cheap car because the government does not want you to have one.

Concerning a 2009 Civic? Not exactly 60+ mpg, not even 30mpg combined. Not exactly new (they would not pass 2016 safety requirements if sold new), and if Elio's are sold, don't you think there will be $2000 used Elio's in a few years?

McRat said:

We will soon get mandatory speed limiters, more safety equipment weight, mandatory driver's aids, etc. Eventually hypercars will get the axe as well, especially when sold with a 85mph speed limiter. Yes, motorcycles will be eventually illegal. Already in England you must be 25 years old to buy a >48 hp motorcycle, and it's getting stricter.
It will never fix crashes though. People cause crashes, and safety equipment is a poor solution for bad driving. You will always be able to be killed in a car if you don't drive with your eyes on the road.
Why can't you decide you want a cheap car today? You cannot. We surrendered that right a long time ago. VW Beetles we grew up with cannot return. You can't buy a cheap car because the government does not want you to have one.

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In the US, over the past 60 years cars have become dramatically safer, and fatality and injury rates have dramatically declined because of government mandated safety requirements, and that's a very good thing.
Accident rates will dramatically decline in the future as more and more cars are driven by software and not by inattentive humans.
As far as the cost of cars, there are plenty of under US$20K new cars, and after a few years of use they can be had for far less than that. So there are plenty of "cheap" cars available.

I'm not so sure it will sell. What is the point of this vehicle? It's narrow yet wide due to the front wheels. Strange indeed.

voyager said:

What's the point of having a cramped two-seater that effectively has the same footprint (primarily defined by its width) as a Ford Escort? Front wheels can sheer off upon impact. Just found out that it is even wider than one would suspect. The Elio forum says its width exceeds 76 inches. That's very close to a... Model S.

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The S with mirrors folded is 77.3", mirrors extended is 86.2". The point of the Elio's narrow cabin is to reduce drag by decreasing the frontal area and thereby reduce fuel usage. The design achieves that objective but sacrifices interior volume (though not compared to a Smart car).