Shreveport Plant Operations And Personnel Questions

[Craig]

$3.41 at Costco in Augusta, GA. On post, gas is $3.55. Sorry, I am not going to get boned on the post where I work for gas. They've had 22+ years of my life, they aren't getting my money, too.

 

[pj rogers]

if the number of reservist is cut off at 40k which has been mentioned, than if it takes several weeks to ramp it up to 250 a day (btw, that's an elio every 2 minutes) it will take about 160 days to fill the reserves. That's 6 months. If my math is right, that means if production starts in may or june, the elio will probably be called the 2016, and a lot of the reservists will get their elio at the end of 2015 or even the first two months of 2016.
Also the cost of the elios is obviously going to increase as the time goes on. I do not think any one believes the 1st quarter production anymore, as the elio web site say sometimes in 2015 now. We have a dozens suppliers who are waiting for the elio order right now, and a working P5 is not even finished yet and is at least 2 months away. The battery of tests will begin probably in july and if elio produces a dozen or so prototypes at a 100,000 each, Em is going to need at least 40,000 or 50,000 to cover the cost of plant renovation and protos. As of now, the 1000 reservists are less than 4000 and they will need 5-10 times more than that to pay the plant renovation and the payroll of a few hundred plant employees for several weeks. It is going to get done, but time is the enemy because of all the delays and we all know the 100 non refundables will not accept a $9000+ elio with auto air and cruise..there will be plenty of cancelations..i am not one of them, but am a realists..and understand the money situation...the big dog investors have to be ready soon to make this happen.

 

[zelio]

Will someone please explain to me why it is assumed that if the Elio is produced later in 2015 it automatically is called a 2016 model. Who determines that? Please don't say it is because that is the way it is in the auto industry because Paul Elio has already stepped outside those ridiculous boundaries. If my Elio is built in 2015 then I want it to be acknowledged as the 2015 model. I also don't want Elio Motors to have to come up with new and better models every year. Again that is the industry standard but it does not have to be that way. I also remember in the 1940s how it only made sense to trade in your car every 2 years because of built in obsolescence. Doesn't anyone have the courage to do things differently in this country? Paul Elio has already shown the courage to combat the throw away mentality in this culture by creating a vehicle that will be easy to maintain. I think he should be encouraged to do even more. Just some thoughts from a very tired little old lady who absolutely loves the Elio and is not getting a number on Monday. Sob, sigh! LOL :-) Z

 

[Ty]

Will someone please explain to me why it is assumed that if the Elio is produced later in 2015 it automatically is called a 2016 model. Who determines that? Please don't say it is because that is the way it is in the auto industry because Paul Elio has already stepped outside those ridiculous boundaries. If my Elio is built in 2015 then I want it to be acknowledged as the 2015 model. I also don't want Elio Motors to have to come up with new and better models every year. Again that is the industry standard but it does not have to be that way. I also remember in the 1940s how it only made sense to trade in your car every 2 years because of built in obsolescence. Doesn't anyone have the courage to do things differently in this country? Paul Elio has already shown the courage to combat the throw away mentality in this culture by creating a vehicle that will be easy to maintain. I think he should be encouraged to do even more. Just some thoughts from a very tired little old lady who absolutely loves the Elio and is not getting a number on Monday. Sob, sigh! LOL Z

True but the perceived worth that the consumer places on the Elio is worth a lot. Someone thinking about an inexpensive car may be swayed by a 2016 Doomaflagy vs. a 2015 Elio though they may have been made at the same time. Plus, there will be some who think "It is already mid-2015. I'll wait till the 2016 comes out." If enough people have that wait till the next one comes out in a few months attitude, it could really impact early Elio sales. Now, get some rest Z... you have to cheer Monday when I finally get a number!

 

[Rickb]

Will someone please explain to me why it is assumed that if the Elio is produced later in 2015 it automatically is called a 2016 model. Who determines that? Please don't say it is because that is the way it is in the auto industry because Paul Elio has already stepped outside those ridiculous boundaries. If my Elio is built in 2015 then I want it to be acknowledged as the 2015 model. I also don't want Elio Motors to have to come up with new and better models every year. Again that is the industry standard but it does not have to be that way. I also remember in the 1940s how it only made sense to trade in your car every 2 years because of built in obsolescence. Doesn't anyone have the courage to do things differently in this country? Paul Elio has already shown the courage to combat the throw away mentality in this culture by creating a vehicle that will be easy to maintain. I think he should be encouraged to do even more. Just some thoughts from a very tired little old lady who absolutely loves the Elio and is not getting a number on Monday. Sob, sigh! LOL Z

My only explanation is...............because. Look at the bright side you're 2016 Elio will have a higher book value than a 2015 model year Elio..............when you trade for a 2019 Elio in two years. That makes no sense whatsoever!

 

[Ty]

My only explanation is...............because. Look at the bright side you're 2016 Elio will have a higher book value than a 2015 model year Elio..............when you trade for a 2019 Elio in two years. That makes no sense whatsoever!

Lol... once they got ahead of the model year, there was no going back. Ford can't be selling 2014 trucks across the street from GM selling their 2015s! I'd think it would only be a matter of time before someone used them all for false advertising or something. The government would step in and enforce a new law: "To be called a certain year model, a vehicle must have been assembled within that year." Alas, tis not to be.

 

[Inigo93]

If my Elio is built in 2015 then I want it to be acknowledged as the 2015 model.

I've no idea about naming conventions, but I'm curious why you care? They could call it the 1649 model and it will still have been made in 2015. Does anything else really matter?

I also don't want Elio Motors to have to come up with new and better models every year. Again that is the industry standard but it does not have to be that way.

That hasn't really been true for a very long time. They tweak the models, yes, but do you really consider it a "new and better model" when the only thing that's changed is the grill? Significant redesigns happen, but not every year.

I also remember in the 1940s how it only made sense to trade in your car every 2 years because of built in obsolescence. Doesn't anyone have the courage to do things differently in this country?

Again, this hasn't been true in a very long time either. Obviously, everything wears out, but these days any car that doesn't last well over 100,000 miles is considered a POS. Even I'm old enough to remember when a car with that many miles in it was considered ancient.

 

[pj rogers]

Ty and every body, sometimes you have to make the adjustments to remember who the board of elio motors is. Are they folks off the street, no, they are car people and the new car smell is their blood. If there is a dime to be made, a car person will make it. Mr. Elio is an engineer, not a accountant, and I guarantee the car people on the board will make him make the necessary adjustments to make EM EXTREMELY profitable. Heck, even Jerome is a 14+ year vet in auto sales..Sales and the bean counters will win over an engineer every time. But the elio still is the GREATEST vehicle I have seen in over 10+ years selling cars..yes, folks, I am the dreaded car salesman. Sold over 1300 vehicles. Did over 1600 test drives, maybe 1500 credit checks, and made many families very happy driving their brand new car..BTW, as I always say, sales is the OLDEST profession, because without the sale, NOTHING ELSE would have happened. I know, All of you probably hate us, but is was a very good job and lots of fun. I could write a book about the lies people would tell me, especially the ones with 2-3 social security numbers..or the ones with perfect credit except for the bankruptcy last year..
have a great week-end..and good nite!

 

[bowers baldwin]

That's my plan. I don't care what my car looks like as long as it gets me to work and keeps the costs down. But that brings me back to my point. I'm an exception to the rule, surveys show that most people do care about what their vehicle looks like and feel like the car makes a personal statement about them. I guess in a way, it does for me, my statement is just that financials are more important than looks.
The overwhelming consensus here is that the Elio looks good, but this forum has a bias of only people already interested in it are coming here. The general population won't have that overall bias and is probably going to balk at the looks.


My first car was a '68. Baby blue, until a fender-bender and I decided to have the whole thing repainted bright orange instead of trying to match a 30 year old paint job.
Here's the thing. The demographics of the country are a lot different now then they they were 50 years ago. Manufacturers keep making larger vehicles because that is what sells. A friend's 2004 Corolla has the same wheelbase as my 1991 Camry did. That's a size creep of an entire class of vehicle.


Gas pump yes, HOV lane, no. Our HOV lane is 8 whole miles with no exits in the middle, and I need to get off the highway 3 miles after it starts.

Who would paint a VW some crazy bright color? that's just silly.
Besides I don't think they sold more than a few hundred of those anyway. Bad on gas, hard to drive, broke down all the time, no aftermarket parts anywhere. Just a horrible car all around.

 

[Dustoff]

Who would paint a VW some crazy bright color? that's just silly.