I Couldn't Wait

[Hog]

After a 2-3 year wait I can sympathize with those who are getting antsy because of the delays, I am facing similar concerns. I think I can hold out till summer or fall, after that, I need something else.

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

I think I can hold out till summer or fall, after that, I need something else.

Need or want?

We know for-sure right now there will be no Elio this Summer or Fall so you may as well start shopping.

 

[Coss]

It really surprises me that people feel almost guilty about buying a primary car.
Elio is supposed to be an "and" car (AutoCycle).
But I suppose some have no choice but to make it their primary vehicle.

I've always had multiple vehicles; at one point I had 9; so having just one vehicle is foreign to me.

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

It really surprises me that people feel almost guilty about buying a primary car.

I think for everybody who doesn't have their own super-PAC, the $8000+ it's going to cost to get an Elio home and on the road is not pocket change. If you are going to go buy a primary vehicle for $20k-50k another $8k on-top is a sizable hit. That's a semester of college for one kid. Even if you got it for free there is still the steady annual load of insurance and registration for every vehicle whether it's used or not.

For other folks whose primary concern is the environment. Any car at all, no matter how efficient, is unsustainable for the planet. So having two is even more damaging. That may engender some guilt.

I understand about multiple cars. I have three running and registered (not cheap in the DPRM!), a registered car trailer, one race car, and a handful of derelict vehicles out behind the barn. I can afford an Elio, but sensibly only as a replacement for one of the three road cars.

 

[Sethodine]

Don't tell anyone, but that Chevy Volt is a pretty amazing vehicle and the fact that they seem to depreciate about 50% in the first 3 years makes them fairly affordable on the gently used market.

My wife and I ran into similar circumstances when we bought our previously-leased 2012 Nissan Leaf (25k miles for $14,000). I think the depreciation is not to do with the technology per se, but simply because the used car market is still really cautious about buying into EVs. I did a LOT of research before we bought the Leaf, and even then my wife was tentative about it for a while. But she's come to really love it, as have I.

 

[W. WIllie]

But, would you have bought it NEW?

 

[Sethodine]

But, would you have bought it NEW?

EVs are still too expensive for anybody in MY wage bracket to ever consider buying new. But lightly-used, I think they are a wonderful option for people who don't need to commute long distances.

But then again, I've never considered buying ANY car new; the Elio will be my first!

 

[Triangles]

After a 2-3 year wait I can sympathize with those who are getting antsy because of the delays, I am facing similar concerns. I think I can hold out till summer or fall, after that, I need something else.

Even if Elio got the ATVM loan today, they still have to tool up the factory and then ramp up production. That would take at least a year. Assuming they've already done some tooling at the factory they might get a few elio's out the door by the end of the year. I'm a mechanical engineer and I've been involved with starting up new production lines. I don't see Elio doing much with the production line plans until AFTER all goes well with the E-series vehicles. Assuming they had access to all the cash they needed I'd be shocked if they started production less than 9 months after E-series testing. If the E-series testing reveals design flaws then you can tack on an additional 6-12 months to fix design flaws. Granted my experience is not in vehicle production but I don't think I would be that far off.

Not trying to rain on anyone's parade but just trying to provide some perspective. I'd be ecstatic to be proven wrong and bring my Elio home for Christmas but I'm not holding my breath. I'm hoping I actually get mine mid 2017 but I'm not optimistic about that date either.

 

[Coss]

I think for everybody who doesn't have their own super-PAC, the $8000+ it's going to cost to get an Elio home and on the road is not pocket change. If you are going to go buy a primary vehicle for $20k-50k another $8k on-top is a sizable hit. That's a semester of college for one kid. Even if you got it for free there is still the steady annual load of insurance and registration for every vehicle whether it's used or not.

For other folks whose primary concern is the environment. Any car at all, no matter how efficient, is unsustainable for the planet. So having two is even more damaging. That may engender some guilt.

I understand about multiple cars. I have three running and registered (not cheap in the DPRM!), a registered car trailer, one race car, and a handful of derelict vehicles out behind the barn. I can afford an Elio, but sensibly only as a replacement for one of the three road cars.

I don't have a super PAC; as a matter of fact I live on a fixed income from SSD, and we didn't get our cost of living raise this year. But I knew the Elio was going to be here by a certain time and managed to tuck away enough money to pay cash for it with accessories. You just have to be very locked in to a budget; including the "emergency" piggy bank.
I also don't think a lot of the people I was referring to (the one that felt guilty about buying a primary) were college students.

Even if Elio got the ATVM loan today, they still have to tool up the factory and then ramp up production. That would take at least a year. Assuming they've already done some tooling at the factory they might get a few elio's out the door by the end of the year. I'm a mechanical engineer and I've been involved with starting up new production lines. I don't see Elio doing much with the production line plans until AFTER all goes well with the E-series vehicles. Assuming they had access to all the cash they needed I'd be shocked if they started production less than 9 months after E-series testing. If the E-series testing reveals design flaws then you can tack on an additional 6-12 months to fix design flaws. Granted my experience is not in vehicle production but I don't think I would be that far off.

Not trying to rain on anyone's parade but just trying to provide some perspective. I'd be ecstatic to be proven wrong and bring my Elio home for Christmas but I'm not holding my breath. I'm hoping I actually get mine mid 2017 but I'm not optimistic about that date either.

You need to do a search on recent discussions about the roll out date; this has been discussed to a point that it is no longer something to make assumptions about unless you have some type of inside knowledge about the goings on at EM.
The roll out date, as stated by Elio motors, and as they have it posted on their website, and in the SEC filing is Q4 of this year.
Doing "chicken little, the sky is falling" is really getting old.

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

The roll out date, as stated by Elio motors, and as they have it posted on their website, and in the SEC filing is Q4 of this year.

Elio has been 100% wrong for every one of the half-dozen or more roll-out dates they have published since 2008. Why would that date be correct? We'll be very lucky to see them by mid-2017. No Chicken Little, just proven history.