I think this is a step in the right direction for the fledgling motor company. I hope this means they are closer to ACTUALLY producing something.
And I Really hope it means a performance version is in the works. 
I think this is a step in the right direction for the fledgling motor company. I hope this means they are closer to ACTUALLY producing something.
And I Really hope it means a performance version is in the works.
the fact that this is supposed to be some earth shattering announcement, PLUS they way they phrased it, that says something.
Just not good, to me, at least.
I've seen the model in real life. I still believe it is vapor ware.
Why do they need an engineering partner if they're launching 4th Q 2016? Shouldn't the engineering be done?
dculberson wrote: Why do they need an engineering partner if they're launching 4th Q 2016? Shouldn't the engineering be done?
Unless it's as we sort of suspected, that it isn't.
dculberson wrote: Why do they need an engineering partner if they're launching 4th Q 2016? Shouldn't the engineering be done?
There is no room for your logic here.
Roush worked on the non-vapor MV-1, for whatever that is worth.
I guess I AM berkeleyed up in the head.
Just realized my 2 dream cars are an MV1 with a Coyote mill, and an Elio with 1.0 ecobooster.
In reply to Mike:
They work on a lot of stuff. As long as they are paid.
This isn't a partnership, as I see Roush, it's a contract to pay them for their services.
Which also can be read in a different way, Elio does not have some specific skills, so they have to hire them out.
FWIW, their is a hotrod version on the drawing boards....a turbo and more aggressive suspension.
jungle wrote: FWIW, their is a hotrod version on the drawing boards....a turbo and more aggressive suspension.
Why? Did they finally realize that only a few thousand people want fuel economy at the expense of everything else?
Low gas prices and the rise of small engine turbo cars have to be driving htese guys into a corner.
Apparently this is a Billion dollar idea now.
Wow !
etifosi wrote: Apparently this is a Billion dollar idea now. http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2016/02/82348-brief-elio-shares-rise-in-value-company-now-valued-at-over-1-billion/
sure, I bet the CRX did actually net honda more than a billion dollars.
jungle wrote: FWIW, their is a hotrod version on the drawing boards....a turbo and more aggressive suspension.
As opposed with the rest of their product line, which is also on the drawing boards...
Are there still actual drawing boards anywhere?
Wall-e wrote: Are there still actual drawing boards anywhere?
Only in the bottom of the crack pipe....
Hoping they suceed (so I can drive one someday for kicks), but still guessing they won't. Actually surprised they have stuck around as long as they have. Wouldn't it make more business sense for them to partner with an established vehicle maker like Polaris or BRP ???
einy wrote: Wouldn't it make more business sense for them to partner with an established vehicle maker like Polaris or BRP ???
Seems that way to me. But it also would've made sense to use an engine that is already in production, instead of spending a ton of capital to develop and manufacture a unique engine that is decidedly low tech, so I'm not sure the guys running this show think the way that we do.
yes and no.. many a niche producer has been put out into the cold when their supply of engines or parts dried up. Look at the Sunbeam Tiger. When they got bought out by Roots (a Chrysler entity) the writing was on the wall for the Tiger which used a Ford Engine.
Same with Pantera, they have used Ford engines for decades, but they are also at (or were at) Ford's mercy in regards to availability of engines and if Ford felt like giving them the good stuff depending on how Ford felt about racing that year
After sitting in one at the Detroit Auto show I REALLY want them to make it to market. I envision mine wrapped in Gulf colors or BRG with lipstick.
Roush has went heavy into Natural Gas conversions. Maybe that is why they are there, although the press release says chassis.
I still think one of the most catastrophically stupid ideas from this guy is building his own engine right off the bat. So Honda or Rotax didn't have a cost effective 1 liter engine you could use, I mean that is what they both do. Sell engines to other people, they don't dry up or go away. Hell the entire Aprilia linuep is Rotax powered (remember this is a trike and plays by motorcycle emissions rules). I find that hard to believe. Hell a Rotax 904 nails this and if he wants integrated CVT the Rotax 850 package does too.
Rotax builds a hell of an engine and already has a dealer support network in place.
mad_machine wrote: yes and no.. many a niche producer has been put out into the cold when their supply of engines or parts dried up. Look at the Sunbeam Tiger. When they got bought out by Roots (a Chrysler entity) the writing was on the wall for the Tiger which used a Ford Engine. Same with Pantera, they have used Ford engines for decades, but they are also at (or were at) Ford's mercy in regards to availability of engines and if Ford felt like giving them the good stuff depending on how Ford felt about racing that year
You have a point. But one could also have been able to put a business case together that you could use a bought engine for a specified time, within that, your profits could have been used to put into your own powertrain.
I know liquor businesses do that- for the time it takes for their stuff to age, they buy something that is close to what they expect to get. That way, they have revenue stream while the product is developed.
For any car, the longest term item is the powertrain. And the most expensive. They could have easily gotten a car into production with someone else's engine- even tuned totally differently (cams, exhaust, features, etc). Which would put product out there, and started a revenue stream. That would have both gotten some money from sales as well as realistic money from investors.
In house can often be more cost effective than out sourcing.
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