Elio Motors @ Sema 2014

[CompTrex]

Ok, I am back from sema, and asked Jerome a few questions. I asked him how long would it be until the engine was tested, in the car, and have official mpg ratings to publish. He said around June. I asked him would that be in the p5 and he said there probably wont be a p5 and they will go straight to production. I asked him why they cant offer as many colors as possible, and what would the cost be to the company. He said they only have 7 bays and cant use more than that BUT he said they will probably swap out colors for a new color like yellow, or even purple, which is what I told him I wanted. My guess was they will have a promotion for a new color for a certain amount of time and then try another one, but they must get rid of one to add a different one. .... The best part was getting in the elio. It was pretty roomy for one person, but I wouldnt want to be in shotgun for a extended trip. btw, the big news wasnt that exciting. something about having sensors around the whole car and tracking your car. The guy said the complete option would be about 1500 but they might have just back up sensors as a cheaper option.

Any more info on the 'sensors around the whole car and tracking your car'? What's that about? and is this the option that the moderators were teasing about?
This is great info!
Thanks for reporting.

 

[wayne kemp]

And you didn't ask about the BIG NEWS?
If they were still on target for fall of 2015?
You didn't ask him with all the room at the GM building WHY only room for 7 bays since they haven't DID ANYTHING INSIDE YET?

 

[goofyone]

You didn't ask him with all the room at the GM building WHY only room for 7 bays since they haven't DID ANYTHING INSIDE YET?

We already know this answer. EM has told us they are simply reusing the existing GM paint shop. They have said that using the existing state of the art paint shop is one area where they are saving a huge amount of money as these areas are very expensive.

We also know that the that the paint shop is designed to be more flexible when it comes to colors however the least expensive way to operate it is by not having to change colors all the time.

 

[evboy]

the sensor thing was the big news. When he said 1500, i kind of tuned out. Im not spending that kind of money. ....I gave you guys a chance to post some questions for me to ask and there were none. dont bitch now because I am not going back. I got busted the first try and sneaked in on the second try. There was no way i was going to be denied getting in to see my elio.

 

[CompTrex]

the sensor thing was the big news. When he said 1500, i kind of tuned out. Im not spending that kind of money. ....I gave you guys a chance to post some questions for me to ask and there were none. dont bitch now because I am not going back. I got busted the first try and sneaked in on the second try. There was no way i was going to be denied getting in to see my elio.

Atta boy!

 

[goofyone]

the sensor thing was the big news. When he said 1500, i kind of tuned out. Im not spending that kind of money. ....I gave you guys a chance to post some questions for me to ask and there were none. dont bitch now because I am not going back. I got busted the first try and sneaked in on the second try. There was no way i was going to be denied getting in to see my elio.

Glad you were able to see it and have a chance to chat with them for a bit. Thanks for the information.

 

[evboy]

We already know this answer. They have told us they are simply reusing the existing GM paint shop. EM has said that using the existing state of the art paint shop is one area where they are saving a huge amount of money as these areas are very expensive.

We also know that the that the paint shop is designed to be more flexible when it comes to colors however the least expensive way to operate it is by not having to change colors all the time.

Yes, but he did say they will swap out colors once in a while. I guess to increase sales for people that want purple or yellow.

 

[Kuda]

Yes, but he did say they will swap out colors once in a while. I guess to increase sales for people that want purple or yellow.

Simple way to do that is to say: Black is normally available but is on back order for X while we do yellow,,,,,,,,,

 

[goofyone]

Yes, but he did say they will swap out colors once in a while. I guess to increase sales for people that want purple or yellow.

Simple way to do that is to say: Black is normally available but is on back order for X while we do yellow,,,,,,,,,

I am glad to hear about them considering more paint options which will make their future customers even happier.

From what we have heard about these paint systems changing colors is designed to be easy even if it is less efficient. Personally I think the compromise would be to have some of the painting bays dedicated to the most popular colors and also have a couple of bays set up to rotate colors more often. Of course I don't know the details of how much extra cost would be involved in doing that so it very well could make the most financial sense to do it the way Jerome was discussing with swapping one color for another every once in a while.

Balancing what customers may want with the realities of what things costs is a challenge all businesses face and I personally would hate to be the one having to make some of these decisions.

 

[evboy]

this is the color i want http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-z/