Financing Elio Motors Development And Production

[evboy]

Just thinking about helping Paul and all of us reach our dream!

What if the "All-In" believers (at least the 10,000 now) signed up, dedicated $100 per month each and every month toward an Elio Owners Loan Fund, until their Elio is built... Paul would have an operating fund of
$1,000,000 per month guaranteed. Surely this would enable him to start production and get what operating capital he needs to start the plant now!

The contributors would continue until their Elio is built, pay the balance owed minus their contributions, and have their Elio delivered. New fund members would come in as they place their "All-In" order and the fund would continue to grow with each new order. Monthly operating costs could easily be covered by the infusion of thousands of new orders.The monthly contributions are guaranteed by the fulfillment of each Elio order.

As an "All-In" believer, I would gladly pay a monthly payment which lowers my final cost, plus helps get the ball rolling for Paul. EM could handle the Loan Fund as an "Easy Pay Plan".

Well this is just a thought and needs much refinement, but it would get the production end started and let all of us breath a lot easier!

what they should do is offer a pay the whole thing upfront and get 1k off

The answer to this really depends on exactly what Elio finds out during the testing. With extensive modern simulation testing to both the chassis and engine it would be very unusual for EM to encounter an issue serious enough to halt further testing or which would cause a long testing extension while the design is tweaked. Instead the most likely issues will be easily resolved with parts substitutions and/or small design tweaks which would have minimal or no impact on the overall testing timeline.

Elio Motors has spent years on chassis design and gone through several generations of chassis builds including multiple generations of computerized crash simulation testing so the likelihood of a major chassis design flaw at this point is small. It is much more likely that any issue with crash testing will be just a matter of adding more reinforcement in select places to ensure safety. This type of design tweak should not impact other testing areas so those would continue while an updated chassis is prepared for another crash test.

MPG is likely the easiest to solve with the most wiggle room for EM. I doubt EM will do much at all if they are 3-4 MPG short of the target numbers. If they hit 80/45 they would likely just go with those however if they are lower than that then EM always has the option of a more advanced variable valve timing and lift system to help improve those numbers at a bit of extra cost. I seriously doubt they would be more than a few MPG off anyway as this engine is actually being designed so IAV actually plans to detune it for maximum MPG so they have built in wiggle room in the design. MPG optimization can easily happen in parallel with the rest of the testing as this is just a matter of tweaking the ECU settings and installing existing off the shelf components as needed.

Is computer testing so advanced now that they pretty much know what the real thing will do in a simulated crash test with a dummy inside. I know they dont have to officially pass a crash test because its a motorcycle, but if it turns out to be a coffin on wheels, the company will not do well. the first thing people are going to think when they see it is " is it safe" . If they have the crash tests done independently, before sales they can sleep easy. if they sell them knowing the results are horrible, that cant be good for the long term.

 

[Bert]

They certainly will be safer than any motorcycle on the road. I've rode plenty over the years and am a very safe rider. Having said this, I've been knocked off of one twice in my life, both times by cars with uncaring drivers.

 

[JEBar]

I know they dont have to officially pass a crash test because its a motorcycle, but if it turns out to be a coffin on wheels, the company will not do well. the first thing people are going to think when they see it is " is it safe" . If they have the crash tests done independently, before sales they can sleep easy. if they sell them knowing the results are horrible, that cant be good for the long term.

there is no doubt that with positive test results, their position in the market will be much stronger .... there is also no doubt in my mind that EM has known this from day one .... safety via the roll cage, air bags, crumple zones, anti lock breaks, etc, etc have played a major part in their design, not just in their marketing .... the unfortunate reality is, over time a number of people will be injured and/or killed in accidents while they are in an Elio .... that is an unfortunate reality for every vehicle on the road

 

[Edward]

Is computer testing so advanced now that they pretty much know what the real thing will do in a simulated crash test with a dummy inside. I know they dont have to officially pass a crash test because its a motorcycle, but if it turns out to be a coffin on wheels, the company will not do well. the first thing people are going to think when they see it is " is it safe" . If they have the crash tests done independently, before sales they can sleep easy. if they sell them knowing the results are horrible, that cant be good for the long term.

Actually yes. It's a simple matter of physics and physiology, both of which are well understood at this point (at least the parts that apply to daily life - quantum physics don't really play a role in the Newtonian dynamics of a car crash). These known laws and principles and have been simulated with computer modeling for years.
Computer modeling won't anticipate every scenario, but then again, neither does real life crash testing.

 

[Ekh]

That is an excellent question. Since I wrote that in mid September, hard to believe it was 3.5 months ago already, I have actually had several opportunities to chat directly in person with Elio VP Jerome Vassallo and as a result my understanding of the process has been clarified. It is now my understanding that the entire process can be completed in six months from the time the first vehicle is completed to when testing is over and vehicles can roll off the line.

The way I understand it is that the six months of vehicle testing remains the same however what changed is my understanding about the three month parts lead time as this will apparently happen concurrently and not in addition to the vehicle testing period. Three months is apparently the maximum lead time that a part could require however EM is planning testing to complete all their requirements while at the same time completing the testing enough to make the required parts selection decisions.

So with this new understanding of the time-frames required it appears to me that if EM has a running engine and the money for the plant by mid year they could very well get into production before the end of the year. Of course any development advances made ahead of this time, such as running pre-production prototypes, would make getting into production sooner a possibility.

If EM does make the money they expect from selling off the plant equipment they have said they can complete the vehicle development process and at this point I really do not have much doubt they will be able to do that before the end of next year one way or another.

The big question to me is still the $120+ million it will take to finish outfitting the plant for production. The timing of the ATVM loan decision matters and if that does not work out the timing of private funding then comes into play. If the ATVM loan does not work out my guess is that investors will want EM to complete the vehicle development process before they commit to funding the plant which could easily push the production timeline past mid 2016. We all hope the ATVM loan works out as this would be 'easy' money for EM however if this does work out the timing also matters. If the ATVM loan is approved in the first half of they year then I would say the deciding factor in 2015 production will be any delays in vehicle development however the later this decision comes in the year the less likely it is EM can have the plant ready for production in 2015.

Lucid as always. I want my Elio!

 

[Catia]

They certainly will be safer than any motorcycle on the road. I've rode plenty over the years and am a very safe rider. Having said this, I've been knocked off of one twice in my life, both times by cars with uncaring drivers.

I agree Berto_O

 

[ecdriver711]

there is no doubt that with positive test results, their position in the market will be much stronger .... there is also no doubt in my mind that EM has known this from day one .... safety via the roll cage, air bags, crumple zones, anti lock breaks, etc, etc have played a major part in their design, not just in their marketing .... the unfortunate reality is, over time a number of people will be injured and/or killed in accidents while they are in an Elio .... that is an unfortunate reality for every vehicle on the road

EM is serious about safety. People won't die in an Elio more than most four wheeled cars. Ever since I started following the Elio, safety has been at the top of Paul Elio's must have list.

 

[nthawk68]

EM is serious about safety. People won't die in an Elio more than most four wheeled cars. Ever since I started following the Elio, safety has been at the top of Paul Elio's must have list.

I have a feeling a majority of the initial Elio owners are going to be Motorcycle owners, I know riding a motorcycle has made me a much more defensive driver which makes any vehicle I am driving a safer vehicle. I think Safety is Job 1 at Elio (Did that used to be Fords slogan) and it will definitely be safer than a motorcycle. I amnot worried about the safety rating.

 

[Smitty901]

I have a feeling a majority of the initial Elio owners are going to be Motorcycle owners, I know riding a motorcycle has made me a much more defensive driver which makes any vehicle I am driving a safer vehicle. I think Safety is Job 1 at Elio (Did that used to be Fords slogan) and it will definitely be safer than a motorcycle. I amnot worried about the safety rating.

That would be a safe bet IMO. I am a farm boy and x- infantry soldier. If the ELIO aint perfect so what I can drive it. If it don't ride like a caddy , I will still be ok with it. I am not expecting a prefect auto/car. I just want to see ELIO make it.
If ELIO had a system where we could throw down some investment cash, I would sign up. Not looking for a return in cash but in the future. It is time to start putting America back on the charts. I still think this country is special , we are not done doing great things yet.

 

[Catia]

That would be a safe bet IMO. I am a farm boy and x- infantry soldier. If the ELIO aint perfect so what I can drive it. If it don't ride like a caddy , I will still be ok with it. I am not expecting a prefect auto/car. I just want to see ELIO make it.
If ELIO had a system where we could throw down some investment cash, I would sign up. Not looking for a return in cash but in the future. It is time to start putting America back on the charts. I still think this country is special , we are not done doing great things yet.

Amen for that!