Toyota Prius’ are great cars, but at 25-30k+ the economics will never add up for them or any other hybrid and/or plug-in when they come in that price range. Many smaller engine gasoline engine cars that are not hybrids and get 40+ highway are far more feasible, and about half the price of the Prius.
Batteries also hold up quite well with Prius, but it’s still something that will need to be replaced at around 150-200k miles. Those costs also have to be figured in as well, and at a few thousand dollars, the money you saved on gasoline, just went to buy a new battery pack. Even if you sold it before the battery replacement, depreciation will still have to be factored in.
The Elio obviously wouldn’t be the answer for many, but for motorcyclists and bicyclists who would like to get out of the elements, and also for many wanting a great commuter, I think if the reliability works out–and assuming they ever get this thing off the ground–it will be a great investment.
I think 90% of the cars on the road only have one person in them, anyhow. Even with two people, I believe behind the seat there is still some cargo room, but for a larger amounts, yes, the back seat would have to be folded down to get more in there, so things would have to be planned out. Even though I currently drive a pick-up, I rarely carry cargo, anyhow.
Something like that would be perfect as a 2nd car for me; all I need my own car for is to run around by myself and do errands - grocery store, dry cleaning, gym, other shopping. Parking is tight in my neighborhood so that would be a plus. We have our other car if the two of us need to go anywhere, but I like that in a real pinch (no pun intended) my partner (who is small) could probably ride in the back. And the price is much cheaper than any other tiny car around.
Of course, I would want to know that the company was going to be around for the next 10 years, which is how long I would expect the vehicle to last. It’s not clear that that’s going to happen with Elio.
Yeah, let’s see if it even makes it the first year. Even if they went bankrupt, he designed quite a bit of this car with parts that are already out there and being used on other cars today, so at least a good portion of these parts could still be easily sought if they did go under.
I wish Elio could find a Mark Cuban, Bill Gates, Ross Perot, or just any billionaire to cut him a check for the rest of it and get on with it. It would be funny to see Elio on Shark Tank asking for the other 150 million. I’d love to hear what they had to say.
I seriously doubt they will get the first cars off at the end of the year, and my guess is that they will push the time back again.
I’d be surprised if it’s actually that high overall, though it’s undoubtedly a large percentage.
The issue is that, even if most trips are driver-only, many drivers want the flexibility of being able to comfortably have one or more passengers, and carry more than a small amount of luggage, without having to change vehicles.
The Elio could appeal to people who are willing to dedicate a vehicle to commuting or solo trips. I’m just not sure how big of a market that is. You could argue that those needs coincide with motorcycle riders, but they already have motorcycles for those sorts of trips (though the Elio is more feasible for bad weather).
It’s all about the price. If the final price is between 6 and 7 thousand dollars then it’s not really a second car. It’s more like a Vespa or a 4 wheeler, a specialized mode of transportation. If the price reaches 10 grand then it’s just a small crappy second car, you might as well buy a KIA.
From the pictures, it looks like it would not be a big deal to make the back panel transparent so that the rear mirror will actually show you who’s behind you (and would make sitting in there less claustrophobic). Why did they go with solid panel?
The car is about as wide as the front seat, so there is no point having a rear view mirror in the center of the car. The side mirrors will do just fine.
This would be an excellent second car or commuter. I would love to have one for those days when…
Like for the last two months it’s been too cold to ride my Vespa.
If you look at the video which razncain linked to above (post #10), you’ll see why. The headrest of the back seat goes all the way up to the roof. There’s no place to put a rear window.
I sat in one on the west side of Chicago last summer and at 7’3", it fit me well in my upper body. Good visibility all the way around including out the front where some cars I have trouble seeing stop lights if I’m the first car. Biggest problem for me with the current lay out is mostly my right leg but yea, getting feet to pedals and I’d like to drive a manual transmission if I can. The designers said there wasn’t a lot of important stuff under the right side of the dash, and well, maybe an extended seat track could move me back a little.
I want to sit in one again to remember this and look at what could be done to customize my fit, otherwise my brother will get a whopping birthday present from me. If anyone knows when they’ll show in the midwest again please share.
I used to fit like a glove in a Ford Aspire which got 42mpg, 45 if I coasted a lot.
I used to drive a Saturn SC2. You could fit 2 grown adults in the back seat, but unless they were midgets, they sure as heck wouldn’t be comfortable. I call this concept the “vestigial back seat.”
It looks like the Elio’s back seat is very much vestigial.
Okay, I read thru their whole website and then watched a bunch of youtube videos, including those produced by EM. Then I went and read a bunch of articles and commentaries on the car and on the company.
The handful of naysayers are all waaaay to shrill in their invective and for the articles written before last winter, many of their predictions have already been proven false.
That said, I’m still not sure this company will ever actually produce these for sale, but they seem to have more on the ball than most automotive startups so it could be that a year from now we’ll see a couple of these cars on the road.
And if they do start actual production, I think I’m in. I could cut my commuting gas needs in half, at least. Plus it looks cool as hell.
My only reservation about the design of the car , really, is whether or not I’ll fit in it. So thanks to damntalldave for posting (I’m tiny compared to Dave at a mere 6’4").
I’d really like to see one and sit in it; I’ll have to keep my eyes open for the opportunity here in Las Vegas (I can’t believe they were here for CES! I coulda seen it then!).
Here’s an interesting potential competitor: the LIT Motors C-1, an all-electric, two-wheel, gyro-stabilized, car. Supposedly it will carry two, but they would have to be REALLY close friends. Probably would work best as a commuter vehicle, but the whole gyro-stabilized thing is pretty cool, like something out of Smokey Stover.
My husband has a 6 mile commute one way, and if these cars come to fruition he is getting one. We have other vehicles to use if we need to carry more people or cargo, but for a straight up commuter car, this is perfect for us. Hopefully NC will get on board with the helmet exception for it, otherwise he’ll need to wear a brain bucket while driving it.
On their site, it says the tallest to date was 6’8". If you got a pic of yourself in it, I’m sure they would love to have it, and would probably use it as promo.
As I suspected, their launch date has been pushed back yet again. They are now stating 2015.
Still hoping they will make it, because I want one, but haven’t put any money down on it yet.
Their website says that the cars will be manufactured in Shreveport, LA. Maybe or maybe not. They are supposed to start manufacturing the vehicles this year but they haven’t even leased the building yet, let alone set it up. The plan to buy the building fell through…and there may be another startup auto company vying for the place. More on the deal that could displace Elio.