Bye-bye, Elio.

Bede @5 and 6. This may be a bit harsh in comparison to Elio. Flown (many still flying) BD-4 and -5 number near 1000. Tens of thousands of plans sold did not get built, but much of that fault probably lies with the buyers.

Bede designed, and enabled construction of at least two plane types that were apparently a hoot to fly. A lot of money also disappeared, but there must be a better example of this type of failure. Moller?

 

DeLorean?

 

Hurrah for the British tax payer!

 

Soon there will just be an oil slick on the water.......


Elio Motors: Where's the money? | 3investigates | ktbs.com

 

If you can see it through the dust cloud from his heels! If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and waddles like a duck.....

 

Hurricane Harvey?

Bob Wilson

 

Shreveport?
Largely unaffected I presume.

Too bad they cannot re-tool and start building Katrina Cottages.


Elio is too far down the bowl to reach the toilet paper roll....and those waters are swirling too....

 

Are there any big automotive companies gutsy enough to buy out Elio and turn the car into their own? Let's say that some big company buys Elio, does extensive R&D, sticks a Li-Ion in it, and turns it into a 100 mpg hybrid, with a raised final price of $12,000. I bet people would still buy it, so maybe it's worth the risk.

 

The Elio car could be designed tooled for and for sale in a month by any major player, they wouldn't even need buy out a Elio to do it

 

Just shows how impossible it is and for always will be to start a new car company, even if it has the supposed advantage of not being electric. Tesla beating that trend is an achievement that isn't as highlighted as it should really be.

 

I will slightly disagree as the problem is making an EPA compliant ICE engine. This is very advanced technology and other than buying from someone who has figured it out, a game killer. The body and even accident survival can be solved with ordinary mechanical engineering skills. But making an emissions compliant drivetrain takes more.

Bob Wilson

 

One thing that made it a lot easier for Tesla was that they started in the luxury market.

That said, startup motorcycle makers (which is what Elio really is) have seen success - see companies like Cleveland CycleWerks on the low end (although they use Chinese engines AFAIK), or Zero on the high end.

 

Agreed, market something that's desirable and unique, it's bound to sell. Making it limited supply and price it beyond the reach of the Hoi Poloi can only enhance the desirability.

 

There are already covered trikes available. they are just high end performance with $40k and higher price tags. The Can-Am Spyder is the cheapest, but is still performance and ridden exposed like a motorcycle. You can get a Yaris for slightly less than it.

For a trike like the Elio to work, you need high fuel prices to pull in the people that want to keep their larger vehicle around for occasional use.