Elio trike- Good news & bad news

If I owned one I'd paint it silver and put a propeller on the front

I'm sure they will successfully get these trikes into production WB, they are very much a sensible vehicle that's right for the times.

I'm signed up for one (silver with no propeller) and the delay is okay with me since I need to get my financial house (trailer actually) in order to pay for it with a bank loan. Driving an old truck is expensive at 17 miles to the gallon thereabouts. 83 mpg would be a world of difference. I could pay for the car with the gas savings. Also I can pretend I have a hard top Morgan while riding along. Woohoo! Mine will need a trailer hitch for a wee trailer to haul a bike around and for trips to the landfill. I want for the Elio to succeed not just for myself, but to change the direction of personal transportation. Small is beautiful.
SB

I'm in complete agreement with you Silverbear about changing the direction of personal transport

My silver paint and propeller comment might seem cheeky, it's just that the Elio reminds me so much of the light plane I took flying lessons in back in my early twenties.

This is bad. I have high hopes, too, for Elio. But production delays can really only mean one thing. They can't afford to build them. And the Gizmodo article pointed in that direction.

I wonder if they've made an error in promising and trying to develop too much razzle-dazzle before they managed to get a revenue stream going?

Designing their own engine before getting into production seems wasteful if you imagine that a competent engine could have been purchased elsewhere.

Yeah, I got the message re 2016 too. No biggie.

I think the cheap gas we are getting now is partly to blame. Two fifty a gallon down from $4.50. When I gassed up in Nevada last week I paid $1.95.

But I don't see those prices staying around forever.

I remain patient and hopeful. Even if it ends up costing a thousand more and the mileage turns out to be a measly 75 miles per gallon instead of 86, I'm still game. And if you are economically challenged (working poor) $2.00 a gallon is still a big part of your budget if your vehicle gets 17 mpg as my truck does. How many options are there to buy an enclosed vehicle capable of say 50 mpg for less than $10,000.00 new? I think Elio has lots of wiggle room to still have a lot of potential market even if they try and can't make the intended goals. I'm hoping that too many people saying "we need and want this" will not allow the Elio to go totally silent. And if it is successful even at higher cost and lower mpg, it will bring competition which I hope will change the direction of automotive manufacturing. It is why I voted yes with a hundred bucks I could ill afford to give away.
SB

I wonder if my gloomy outlook will really be helpful?

Still, I'll go ahead and say it.

I'm sorry, folks. But you might as well kiss Elio goodbye.

I may be wrong. I hope I'm wrong. Heck, I'll buy one myself if they ever get it to market. But I don't think I'm wrong.

You can only promise how great your product is going to be for so long. If the deadline passes without something solid introduced, then you're finished. I think Elio has reached that tipping point. When production slipped from 2014 to 2015 it didn't necessarily mean the end. "Unforeseen" supply or engineering delays are a realistic hazard when developing a new product.

This new production delay can mean only one thing. They were under-capitalized from the start. Venture capitalists won't invest and banks won't loan once they've come to realize this.

(One other possibility is that they had adequate capital, but terrible management. But the result is the same.)

Paul Elio said that he's optimistic that he can get the financing that he needs. But that means absolutely nothing because he dares not say anything else.

The only thing that can save them now would be for someone like Google or Elon Musk (maybe one of the auto companies?) to step in with enough money to get that thing into production. Get those things on the road where people will see them. And get a revenue stream started.

I had doubts about them when I realized that they were asking for money up front to 'reserve' an Elio. That was an obvious sign that they didn't have enough money to get things rolling. Maybe that scared away loans and investment. Or maybe the loans and investments had already been scared away and this was simply a desperation move.

Maybe someone will rescue him. I suppose the price that Paul Elio will have to pay is, in effect, losing control of the company. But that's better than losing everything.

Bluegoat, you may well be right and this will never get off the ground. When I sent in a hundred bucks I had my serious doubts, but thought about it and decided that poor as I am I wanted to cast a vote saying that I want for this or something similar to be a reality. No reason for it not to. I still don't know that I'd be able to buy one if my "reservation" came up. Expecting to get one was not why I sent off a hundred dollars. Foolish from the point of view that it was a gamble whether or not there would be one to buy, but from my view an investment in an idea which I hope becomes a movement. Like donating for a candidate to run for office, although I am less inclined to believe in a politician's optimistic promises or outright lies. I'll still be hopeful the Elio makes it to the road and if it doesn't that something of like kind will.
SB

silverbear said:

Bluegoat, ....When I sent in a hundred bucks I had my serious doubts, but thought about it and decided that poor as I am I wanted to cast a vote saying that I want for this or something similar to be a reality......
SB

Click to expand...

And I can understand your reasoning and your sentiment in doing so. You were putting your money where your mouth is.

I do something similar. There're a couple of advocacy organizations that get a few bucks out of most of my paychecks. It probably amounts to $250/year. I don't imagine that it's going to make any difference in the larger scheme of things. But at least I'm doing something.

Like many of us, I'm not made of money. One might wonder if people like us can afford to make symbolic gestures. My answer to that is that a hundred dollars, or a couple hundred, is not really all that much if it's going toward something that'll help to make this world just a little bit better.

Let me reiterate something, as long as I've got the floor: I'm not one bit happy about my prediction about Elio's future. I hope I'm wrong. I hope they succeed. This is my interpretation, not my preferrence.

I think they'll make it. Not for $6800 bucks though.

They'll have a big talk with the financial community and crunch the numbers. Me thinks 10 grand will be a good price. I paid 10 for the Bonneville and 10 for the Burgman 650.

A good motorcycle costs 10 grand, why not a good trike?

I agree with Mike ... they'll most likely make them but I'm sure the price tag will be bigger than 6800 with all the goodies they're throwing in these as well as covering the cost for developing their own engine.... which I think they should have waited a few years to do after these are in production, that's a lot of money they could be using to improve on other areas.
I will buy one when they come out since the cost to drive them will rival that of my intruder1400 or my 1200 sportster. I'm also sure once these are in production the price will go up the following year since you cant even touch most econoboxes for 6800 let alone 10000. Even a nice motorcycle will set ya back more than that.
I remember back in the early 80s when those Litestar pulses came out I wanted one of them but they only made a total of about 350 of them, there were 2 of them I used to see here in San Antonio back in the mid 80's but being 19 years old and not making very much at the time it was just wishful thinking and now when onendoes go up for sale they don't sell cheap or they're ready for the scrapyard and take lots of time andmoney to restore or make roadworthy.
Im hoping these make it into production and they do have nearly 40000 buyers lined up with more who will buy once they see them. I really don't see themnselling for 6800 unless the company is intentionally taking a loss to get the first production run out on the streets where more people will see them and want one.

The TDub was $4800 out the door and I'll have 3 grand in the Motoped when it's done.

A "car" with a roof and a door for $6800?

I don't think so.

I'm so sorry. I want to be enthusiastic. It would be a better world if Elios and competitors were available for purchase.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope Elio and others succeed.

But I've been seeing so many promises about how great it's going to be. And I'm just not seeing any product.

The math just isn't adding up.

Oops! I just realized that my comment above wasn't necessary at all. Since it seems that I said pretty much the same thing in this same thread back in February or so.


Sooo..........

never mind.....