Electric Elio?

[Reid3400]

I was always impressed by the Smart's safety rating and it's overall function as an urban commuter, but don't care much for the styling which is critical to what I drive as well as handling and comfort. I think the Smart scores ok in the comfort category. I wonder if Smart sales never really kicked off and then declined because of no advertising and or marketing campaign? I have never seen a TV commercial or print advertising for the Smart. Perhaps targeted to urban dwellers. I have a neighbor that owns two Smart for 2's and likes them as do most owners.

Look a little further into the Smartcars safety rating. Look to see why it took 4 years to get passed in the US after it passed in Canada. Mercedes lobbyists convinced the gov to change the US crash test from head-on to a 45° angle. They argued successfully that a 90° crash was not a reasonable assumption, as they poured money on the problem. The test it passed in Canada was head-on, but at a much lower speed. The battery for the all electric smart is made by Tesla.

 

[Rickb]

Look a little further into the Smartcars safety rating. Look to see why it took 4 years to get passed in the US after it passed in Canada. Mercedes lobbyists convinced the gov to change the US crash test from head-on to a 45° angle. They argued successfully that a 90° crash was not a reasonable assumption, as they poured money on the problem. The test it passed in Canada was head-on, but at a much lower speed. The battery for the all electric smart is made by Tesla.

This is the IIHS rating. The GOOD Rating is what it is for all vehicles. If I'm in a small vehicle colloision I may rather it be in a Smart than any of the comparable sized makes and models. I wonder how the Elio will compare to the Smart when finally tested?

 

[Reid3400]

This is the IIHS rating. The GOOD Rating is what it is for all vehicles. If I'm in a small vehicle colloision I may rather it be in a Smart than any of the comparable sized makes and models. I wonder how the Elio will compare to the Smart when finally tested?

View attachment 6079

Read the report. The only car which has been given a "G" after the door flew open on impact. The dummy was not tossed out or showed any signs of internal trauma so the "G" was granted with a note of caution attached.
My friends who live near a ski village have all driven 1T trucks with 20" wheels for years. A Mustang went under one many years ago, before child car seats. A 5 year old was standing on the tranny hump with her hands on the dash. She had some bruises as did the other 3 without seat belts. The 4 in the Mustang did not survive. Look at the IIHS crash pictures. Most all small car to small car, with 3/4 overlap.
A doctor from MIT who studied aircraft fatalities told me the damage is done by the speed and intensity of the shock-wave passing through the brain. This wave diminishes as it goes from front to rear of the aircraft. This is why the people in the rear are often the only survivors. If your vehicle is not stopped by the collision, this damage to you is very minimal. The more mass in front of you, the better your chances. This is the reality of a Sports car, Smart or an Elio. Pick the color of your coffin. My current one is black.

 

[nimblemotors]

You don't have to build the car yourself, a key point of the car is having independent automotive shops build them for you, and the website will have lists of shops and their prices to build them, which I'd estimate to be $1000 to $2000.
Again, the car is designed to simply bolt-in parts from a Prius, no hunting down parts, you buy the kit, a prius and get them all,
take it to your mechanic and you'll get back a complete car.

I only need a small amount of money compared to Elio Motors.
I'm not seeking investors at all, in fact, I don't want them.
I am looking for some customers, you can only get them if they know about your product.

I estimate the Indy One will use 100 watts per mile, it weighs 1/4 less and has 1/3 less air resistance than a Tesla Model S, so it would get the equivalent of about 330 MPG, which at California electricity rates, at 10,000 miles a year, your 'fuel' costs would be $150.

 

[nimblemotors]

..A doctor from MIT who studied aircraft fatalities told me the damage is done by the speed and intensity of the shock-wave passing through the brain. This wave diminishes as it goes from front to rear of the aircraft. This is why the people in the rear are often the only survivors. If your vehicle is not stopped by the collision, this damage to you is very minimal. The more mass in front of you, the better your chances. This is the reality of a Sports car, Smart or an Elio. Pick the color of your coffin. My current one is black.

Thanks for making this point, and this is why the Indy One places the driver in the 'back' of the car, it is the safest place you can be,
the Smart Car relies completely on the Air Bag to prevent you from being killed, there is no 'crush zone', whereas the Indy One has a very large crush zone and does not need an air bag for safety.

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

The Small two seat Mazda Miata was wildly successful in the US.
What a car looks like matters a great deal.

I agree that what a car looks like matters, but mostly only for niche cars that people care about. The Camry looks like the boring appliance that it is, but it sells more in three weeks than the Miata does in an entire year because the people that buy Camry's don't care what it looks like so long as it's not hideous and blends-in with the other appliances.

The corollary is: If you are going to try to sell a niche vehicle, it had better look good to your customers. The Elio gets better looking with every iteration. Importantly, it doesn't look bad.

The Corbin Sparrow looked ridiculous. Not even Camry drivers would have been caught dead in that thing. Many of the other attempted hyper-mile or EV's also look ridiculous. But finally automakers are beginning to understand. Tesla totally gets it, turning out a sexy EV supercar. The Leaf, Volt, Spark EV, and upcoming Bolt all look at least as good as a Camry.

I lament the loss of the super-sexy Aptera, but there were many things wrong with it including one-(wrong)-wheel-drive and being ludicrously expensive.

Now, for the elephant in the room: To me, only my opinion, the Indy One is not attractive looking. It doesn't quite look ridiculous, but I don't like it's appearance. If I could buy the Indy One today for $10,000 complete I wouldn't buy one. I'd go lease a Spark EV for $139 a month instead.

 

[Rickb]

Read the report. The only car which has been given a "G" after the door flew open on impact. The dummy was not tossed out or showed any signs of internal trauma so the "G" was granted with a note of caution attached.
My friends who live near a ski village have all driven 1T trucks with 20" wheels for years. A Mustang went under one many years ago, before child car seats. A 5 year old was standing on the tranny hump with her hands on the dash. She had some bruises as did the other 3 without seat belts. The 4 in the Mustang did not survive. Look at the IIHS crash pictures. Most all small car to small car, with 3/4 overlap.
A doctor from MIT who studied aircraft fatalities told me the damage is done by the speed and intensity of the shock-wave passing through the brain. This wave diminishes as it goes from front to rear of the aircraft. This is why the people in the rear are often the only survivors. If your vehicle is not stopped by the collision, this damage to you is very minimal. The more mass in front of you, the better your chances. This is the reality of a Sports car, Smart or an Elio. Pick the color of your coffin. My current one is black.

Apparently I can't trust any of the IIHS Ratings. A future White Elio with crumple zones, safety cage, shoulder harness, and airbags will work for me. Many actual coffins cost more than $6800.

 

[Rickb]

Thanks for making this point, and this is why the Indy One places the driver in the 'back' of the car, it is the safest place you can be,
the Smart Car relies completely on the Air Bag to prevent you from being killed, there is no 'crush zone', whereas the Indy One has a very large crush zone and does not need an air bag for safety.

I anxiously wait for your prototype builds and crash test rating.

 

[Reid3400]

You don't have to build the car yourself, a key point of the car is having independent automotive shops build them for you, and the website will have lists of shops and their prices to build them, which I'd estimate to be $1000 to $2000.
Again, the car is designed to simply bolt-in parts from a Prius, no hunting down parts, you buy the kit, a prius and get them all,
take it to your mechanic and you'll get back a complete car.

I only need a small amount of money compared to Elio Motors.
I'm not seeking investors at all, in fact, I don't want them.
I am looking for some customers, you can only get them if they know about your product.

I estimate the Indy One will use 100 watts per mile, it weighs 1/4 less and has 1/3 less air resistance than a Tesla Model S, so it would get the equivalent of about 330 MPG, which at California electricity rates, at 10,000 miles a year, your 'fuel' costs would be $150.

May I respectfully suggest that you quit with the estimates and actually document some firm costs? $10,000 to $15,000, $1000 to $2000 is just guessing. Get a shop to give you a firm quote on building your car. Then publish it.

 

[Brainmatter]

And know your market. Smart had available in Europe the Smart Roadster. It looked better in person, performed well with a small turbo, and could easily swallow 2 6' adults. A friend of mine in the U.K. had a black one; nice nimble little car. They even had a brabus version available.

If they had made that car so that it didn't leak it would have lasted in the m
arket more than 3 years and perhaps we'd have that instead of the fortwo. If only.

Smart can make a smart looking car. They chose not to fix the issues crippling it, and now they try to force us into the ever-ugly fortwo. I very much dislike Smart for this.

I agree that what a car looks like matters, but mostly only for niche cars that people care about. The Camry looks like the boring appliance that it is, but it sells more in three weeks than the Miata does in an entire year because the people that buy Camry's don't care what it looks like so long as it's not hideous and blends-in with the other appliances.

The corollary is: If you are going to try to sell a niche vehicle, it had better look good to your customers. The Elio gets better looking with every iteration. Importantly, it doesn't look bad.

The Corbin Sparrow looked ridiculous. Not even Camry drivers would have been caught dead in that thing. Many of the other attempted hyper-mile or EV's also look ridiculous. But finally automakers are beginning to understand. Tesla totally gets it, turning out a sexy EV supercar. The Leaf, Volt, Spark EV, and upcoming Bolt all look at least as good as a Camry.

I lament the loss of the super-sexy Aptera, but there were many things wrong with it including one-(wrong)-wheel-drive and being ludicrously expensive.

Now, for the elephant in the room: To me, only my opinion, the Indy One is not attractive looking. It doesn't quite look ridiculous, but I don't like it's appearance. If I could buy the Indy One today for $10,000 complete I wouldn't buy one. I'd go lease a Spark EV for $139 a month instead.