Caddo Parish Commission - May 20th 2014 Meeting Minutes

[pj rogers]

Nope, I have been here since august or September, a huge supporter of EM, actually expected my elio to be on the assembly line in the next few months. But due to the complete and utter failure of the management team, I slowly began to stop hearing the music from Elio's flute...looing at the numbers, beginning to see the lack of interest from the investor groups..i see the possiblility of the elio never being built.
I do have to admit that I watch the shark tank on my TV and yes it is a 95" high def, and 3D., and put ole Paul elio in the group of people who come on the show asking for money. He probably would be removed quickly.
From Mr. Elio 1st design, to the current P4, I see progress but they cannot even put a muffler on the P4 on the tour...shows lack of attention to details by the design team led by Paul Elio. Not very professional at all...
No, Tom3rd, just extremely disappointed that in almost 1 year we are at the point of depending on the federal government CAFE credit program to possibly survive. When my friends who I shared the elio with in sept and October, ask what happened to your trike, I just say they are working on it..i am just plain embarrassed...to tell them the truth.

 

[Jeff Porter]

Hi gang. Not sure I understand a sentence in the minutes of the meeting. Can some of you shed some light? :-)

"... Mr. Lichter said that Mr. Elio is selling approximately 65% of the cars in the nation."

Also, what are CAFE Credits and Greenhouse Gas Credits. I plan to google on these later today.

Also, a comment: Aptera chased after the ATVM loans for a few years and could never get the loan. I know it's a different landscape now, probably 4-5 yrs later after Aptera tried and failed. Will be fun to watch and follow, will be rooting for Elio to get that loan.

 

[JNR]

Is this 3-Card???

petulance: check
poor punctuation, spelling, and grammar: check
negativity: check
poorly thought out arguments and observations: check

I don't know if it is him, but the big 3 negative users on this site sure seem to exhibit all the same character traits, and all 3 never post at the same time.

 

[Jeff Porter]

Another question on the minutes...

"... Answering a question from Ms. Baker regarding to the start of the hiring process, Mr. Elio stated that it depends on the signing of the contract. He informed the group of the stakeholders: Racer Trust, Elio, and Komal that are working on the contracts."

What is the contract that is mentioned? As to the question of when is the hiring process to start, is it as simple as knowing the project start of production date and working backwards 2-3 months from that? So maybe the hiring process starts in June or July 2015?

 

[Lil4X]

It appears that the hiring for the production line will ramp up as the start of production nears, and all of the process issues are settled. With experienced manufacturing engineers now on board, hiring supervisory people for the line should probably begin, as Jeff states, about this time next year. As the start-up date approaches look for more assembly personnel to be selected so that as new employees are trained, they can move quickly onto the line to lead the production schedule by several weeks. The idea is to staff the line by hiring in advance of need to allow time for training.

Just a WAG, an engineering term for Wild-Assed Guess.

 

[RMClubfitter]

Hi gang. Not sure I understand a sentence in the minutes of the meeting. Can some of you shed some light?

"... Mr. Lichter said that Mr. Elio is selling approximately 65% of the cars in the nation."

Also, what are CAFE Credits and Greenhouse Gas Credits. I plan to google on these later today.

Also, a comment: Aptera chased after the ATVM loans for a few years and could never get the loan. I know it's a different landscape now, probably 4-5 yrs later after Aptera tried and failed. Will be fun to watch and follow, will be rooting for Elio to get that loan.

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

From that Link: Aptera Motors' initial application was denied because its product was a three-wheeled vehicle; the wording on the program was modified to allow high-mileage three-wheelers and Aptera reapplied, however the company went out of business before the DOE responded to their second application.

3 wheelers are eligible for the loans now (Think I read that on the facebook page also).

 

[Lil4X]

Aptera, like most other "independent" automakers failed, not because of a poor design, but for a number of practical reasons related to manufacturing in volume. They grossly underestimated their start-up costs, and without government funding or loans the nifty little road-guppy was stillborn. Trashing around for a vehicle design that would please more people in Washington, going from gas, to hybrid, to electric power, they lost sight of their original goal, to build a high-mileage vehicle that could compete directly with conventional automobiles. Elio has imposed some rather lofty goals over and above those of Aptera, low cost, safety, and high domestic content.

 

[Lil4X]

One additional source of funding for Elio: It looks like some of the suppliers are working to cut costs and actually support the brand with serious financial aid for start-up. Partnering with your vendors is a win-win for everyone. The front-end costs may be high, but the benefits of funding your own market are far greater (and less expensive) than "chasing smokestacks" (industry term for knocking on doors) for new sales.

 

[Rickb]

Aptera, like most other "independent" automakers failed, not because of a poor design, but for a number of practical reasons related to manufacturing in volume. They grossly underestimated their start-up costs, and without government funding or loans the nifty little road-guppy was stillborn. Trashing around for a vehicle design that would please more people in Washington, going from gas, to hybrid, to electric power, they lost sight of their original goal, to build a high-mileage vehicle that could compete directly with conventional automobiles. Elio has imposed some rather lofty goals over and above those of Aptera, low cost, safety, and high domestic content.

The overall design may have been efficient, but awkward looking if not parked on a runway and it wasn't that appealing to the average driver...........not only design and performance, but MSRP as well.

 

[Craig]

One additional source of funding for Elio: It looks like some of the suppliers are working to cut costs and actually support the brand with serious financial aid for start-up. Partnering with your vendors is a win-win for everyone. The front-end costs may be high, but the benefits of funding your own market are far greater (and less expensive) than "chasing smokestacks" (industry term for knocking on doors) for new sales.

I'm sure a lot of connected business will sleep a lot better knowing that 50 or 60% of their annual sales are locked in.