New Car company starting in 2015

Elio Motors to begin production in 2015 with MSRP of $6800

3 wheels and single seater, I give them 18 months.

7 months tops

I actually like it, but I also drive a first gen Insight so... Add a motorcycle trailer on the back though and you're all set for a nice road trip. Though I wish it had more of a fighter jet canopy instead of the regular a/b/c pillar arrangement.

Ill be the first to say, lsx swap and biiiig rear tire...

How many more of these startups do we really need? Aptera, Carbon Motors, Fisker, countless more in the past five years alone. You can't throw a rock without hitting a green car startup these days. Who wants to start taking bets on the debt they run up before they go under?

Ironically enough, take a hardcore sports car company like TVR that just couldn't cut it in the pre-green age; I have a strange feeling that they'd be in freewheeling excess right now if they hadn't overextended themselves so badly in the 2000's, since the pendulum is now swinging the other direction...

at least it is not the Howard

SlickDizzy wrote: How many more of these startups do we really need? Aptera, Carbon Motors, Fisker, countless more in the past five years alone. You can't throw a rock without hitting a green car startup these days. Who wants to start taking bets on the debt they run up before they go under? Ironically enough, take a hardcore sports car company like TVR that just couldn't cut it in the pre-green age; I have a strange feeling that they'd be in freewheeling excess right now if they hadn't overextended themselves so badly in the 2000's, since the pendulum is now swinging the other direction...

how many car companies were building new cars in the USA 100 years ago?

How many of these new car companies exist only because of government subsidies, grants, loans, and loan guarantees?

David

By George. Go3Wheeler really got his E36 M3 together.

The Convention center photos looked like a prototype car. The rest of the photos were clearly photo-shopped or computer graphic images.

.....and their gonna be in production in 2 years???

Rog

It has to be light, something tells me a hayabusa swap would make a pretty quick little car. Plus, it can come with a manual transmission, costs only $6,800. Seems alright to me.

I bet they go under SUPER fast, but it's still kinda neat.

Burrito Enthusiast wrote: By George. Go3Wheeler really got his E36 M3 together.

I miss that guy, he was a lot of fun!

There have been a few threads on here about the Elio. My opinion stays the same. I'm very, very interested to see what happens. I really like what I see, but right now I'm not willing to plop down money for a deposit. If I do anything, I'd do the $100 refundable option.

DWNSHFT wrote: How many of these new car companies exist only because of government subsidies, grants, loans, and loan guarantees? David

How many of the old ones do, too?

(Pretty much all of 'em)

I've said it before, if that comes available for under $7k, I would buy it for a commuter.

I like the new car from Myers Motors . They've been in business for many years previously building a similar vehicle and selling it for around $30k, so I wouldn't be so sure this one won't make it.

DWNSHFT wrote: How many of these new car companies exist only because of government subsidies, grants, loans, and loan guarantees?

Probably the same percentage as existing companies - that is to say, 100%.

What the hell powers it, a metro 3 pot? I can tell you, zero 900cc motorbike engines exist that will return 85mpg highway with a 400lb bike, let alone how much this will weigh(most likely 800-1000lb).

Credit car option sounded cool until I figured it'd take me 10 years to pay off the Elio

SlickDizzy wrote: How many more of these startups do we really need? Aptera, Carbon Motors, Fisker, countless more in the past five years alone. You can't throw a rock without hitting a green car startup these days. Who wants to start taking bets on the debt they run up before they go under? Ironically enough, take a hardcore sports car company like TVR that just couldn't cut it in the pre-green age; I have a strange feeling that they'd be in freewheeling excess right now if they hadn't overextended themselves so badly in the 2000's, since the pendulum is now swinging the other direction...

As many as the free market will bear. What's wrong with more choice?

bravenrace wrote: I like the new car from Myers Motors . They've been in business for many years previously building a similar vehicle and selling it for around $30k, so I wouldn't be so sure this one won't make it.

Well, one can look at it a different way.

The small 3 wheel market is small- that seems reasonably obvious.

And lets just say that once a $6800 3 wheeler comes along that it will 100% displace the $30k one (just for arguments sake).

Is that volume increase enough to make money on a $6800 car?

That's where I have serious questions.

Well, the first round of serious questions. The second has to do with it being a motorcycle, and how the consumers will really accept all of the compromises that allows the car to be $6800.

Really- outside of one wheel, there's still a body- which needs stamped, or formed, and then put together; there's still a powertrain- so you don't use the same mass- it's still the same work and process to make the engine and trans; there are at least one seat; there's still the nominal controls; still a door, et etc.

So to actually make it for $6800, there's a lot of things that are compromised when you compare it to the cheapest B car in the US. There may be half the mass of stuff, but that's only part of the cost of making a car. Unless they magically have figured a way to have robots make 100% (which also costs massive volumes of money to get).

yamaha wrote: What the hell powers it, a metro 3 pot? I can tell you, zero 900cc motorbike engines exist that will return 85mpg highway with a 400lb bike, let alone how much this will weigh(most likely 800-1000lb).

Weight has very little impact on highway economy. Cd has a huge impact, and I've never seen a bike with a low drag coefficient.

alfadriver wrote: Well, the first round of serious questions. The second has to do with it being a motorcycle, and how the consumers will really accept all of the compromises that allows the car to be $6800.

I wonder if it will come with all of the "compromises" of being a motorcycle such as HOV lane access, hot-lane access, free parking in may metro areas, etc. That alone could sell a gazillion of them in the DC area.

ProDarwin wrote:

alfadriver wrote: Well, the first round of serious questions. The second has to do with it being a motorcycle, and how the consumers will really accept all of the compromises that allows the car to be $6800.

I wonder if it will come with all of the "compromises" of being a motorcycle such as HOV lane access, hot-lane access, free parking in may metro areas, etc. That alone could sell a gazillion of them in the DC area.

No, I don't think so. There are plenty of ways to use most of that already, yet consumers choose not to. They would rather have a full sized car, and drive by themselves.

I foresee a significant percentage of the people who bought the three wheeler can-ams to commute into work in the HOV lanes to switch over to these. they looked awfully cold commuting on a can-am in february. probably not a lot of people in absolute numbers, though.

I also look forward to what sort of creative park jobs i'll come across with these, like people do in the city with the smart cars.