All In At $1000.00? Really?

[DWR]

Just a thought, but wouldn't it ensure a better built vehicle if you weren't one of the very first ones to get one? In my younger days (48 now) I worked some production jobs, and there is always a learning curve. Now we're talking about new factory equipment and new employees building the cars for the folks that went all in for $1000.00. JMO, but I think all in at $200.00 or $500.00 would be a better choice. The way I see it, The new employees will be learning thier jobs building your Elios and by the time they get to mine, they wil have learned exactly what to do. The "tricks of the trade" if you will. Any thoughts?

 

[Grumpy Cat]

You can be "all in" for $100...

 

[goofyone]

There very well may be a number of valid reasons for waiting to receive your vehicle and this is a forum for discussing just these types of questions.
Having said that I also believe how much money anyone decides to put down, if any at all, is a very personal choice with a lot of factors involved. Some people may not be able to afford to put anything down at all, which is fine, and others need to be first to receive a new toy and can risk putting down, or even losing, $1000 without affecting their own financial situation. My advice to everyone I tell about Elio Motors is to study things as much as you can and decide what you feel comfortable putting down, if anything, and whether you are willing to take the risk on a non-refundable reservations vs a refundable one.

 

[JNR]

Just a thought, but wouldn't it ensure a better built vehicle if you weren't one of the very first ones to get one? In my younger days (48 now) I worked some production jobs, and there is always a learning curve. Now we're talking about new factory equipment and new employees building the cars for the folks that went all in for $1000.00. JMO, but I think all in at $200.00 or $500.00 would be a better choice. The way I see it, The new employees will be learning thier jobs building your Elios and by the time they get to mine, they wil have learned exactly what to do. The "tricks of the trade" if you will. Any thoughts?

In general, I agree, but if you go all in now for $1000 the # is over 3000, so less risky to be guinea pig now.

Disclaimer, I'm only $100 all in.

 

[Craig]

Just a thought, but wouldn't it ensure a better built vehicle if you weren't one of the very first ones to get one? In my younger days (48 now) I worked some production jobs, and there is always a learning curve. Now we're talking about new factory equipment and new employees building the cars for the folks that went all in for $1000.00. JMO, but I think all in at $200.00 or $500.00 would be a better choice. The way I see it, The new employees will be learning thier jobs building your Elios and by the time they get to mine, they wil have learned exactly what to do. The "tricks of the trade" if you will. Any thoughts?

A product is designed and manufactured with one goal and one goal only and that is to achieve Six Sigma.

Unfortunately, there are humans involved and the more there are the lesser your chances are of achieving Six Sigma. That is were Quality Assurance comes into play.

At first, most if not all of the cars will be inspected by QA personnel to insure the first customer gets the same level of quality in his purchase as the person 10 years later gets in his. This will not be that difficult considering all most all of the items used to build this car have all ready been manufactured thousands of times and the only real issue is compatibility.

Non-compatibility will show immediately and like Johnny Cash said:
“with the help from an a-dapter-kit ” it will all work out in the end.

It is just my opinion you will be standing on a sidewalk for a year watching us drive by, wishing you had yours. JMO

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma

 

[goofyone]

I am sure they will start the line slowly and ramp up as everyone gets comfortable with the process but this design is purposely very simple to keep costs down which also has the side benefit of reducing places where mistakes can happen. Any major issues are more likely to be individual component failures than problems with final assembly. This is actually where using as many proven parts from other vehicles benefits them even more as not only are these parts cheaper but they have already proven themselves reliable in other vehicles.

 

[DWR]

I am sure they will start the line slowly and ramp up as everyone gets comfortable with the process but this design is purposely very simple to keep costs down which also has the side benefit of reducing places where mistakes can happen. Any major issues are more likely to be individual component failures than problems with final assembly. This is actually where using as many proven parts from other vehicles benefits them even more as not only are these parts cheaper but they have already proven themselves reliable in other vehicles.

I just found out about this vehicle a week or two ago and am just starting to research it. I love the concept, but at my age I've learned if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Until this post of yours, I didn't know they were using already proven parts. Truth is, I'm still a little skeptical and will find out everything (good and bad) I can before jumping in.

 

[Ty]

Another thing, the plant is hardly new, a lot of the existing components will remain (the main line, some handling fixtures, etc), the car is quite simple, and there will probably be quite a few employes from the days back when GM was still a company worth working for.

 

[goofyone]

I just found out about this vehicle a week or two ago and am just starting to research it. I love the concept, but at my age I've learned if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Until this post of yours, I didn't know they were using already proven parts. Truth is, I'm still a little skeptical and will find out everything (good and bad) I can before jumping in.

Some skepticism does not hurt, you are obviously interested as you would not be here if you weren't, so enjoy reading through the forums and learning all you can before deciding how much you want to put down on your own brand new Elio.

 

[Brainmatter]

Just a thought, but wouldn't it ensure a better built vehicle if you weren't one of the very first ones to get one? In my younger days (48 now) I worked some production jobs, and there is always a learning curve. Now we're talking about new factory equipment and new employees building the cars for the folks that went all in for $1000.00. JMO, but I think all in at $200.00 or $500.00 would be a better choice. The way I see it, The new employees will be learning thier jobs building your Elios and by the time they get to mine, they wil have learned exactly what to do. The "tricks of the trade" if you will. Any thoughts?

I agree in principle. But after 1500 or so I think they'll have all assembly stuff worked out. Since most of the parts are 'off the shelf' they have been vetted already so supplier issues and new parts problems will be minimal.
But... And it's a big but... Of these types of companies the ones that make it typically don't long term. It's an unfortunate truth. I think Elio will make it to production, and I want one. How long they will be able to maintain production is another huge question mark altogether.