Reservations: 65341 As Of 6/20/2017

[Charlie G]

They could do that however right now the team currently travels in the white four-door pickup tow vehicle and an accompanying black van. They could do as you say and fly the team but that adds to cost and does not really allow for down time for the team between events.

I do believe we will eventually see a stepped up mass marketing campaign, including expanded test drive events meant for the general public and not just reservation holders as well as see more than one tour team, however all this will likely happen after production has started. We have to consider that after production begins EM will still have at least six months months of reservation holder and pre-ordered fleet vehicles to produce before they begin opening retail stores and delivery to retail customers. The last few months before retail stores open up is very likely when we will see the big marketing push.

Questions of increased cost are just a question of translating marketing into sales.
If appearing on the morning news of one city a week prior to an event translates to a 20-car bump in sales for that day, then appearing in 2 cities a week potentially doubles that. I know I wouldn't have seen Elio's spot on the Denver news if I didn't seek it out.

I'm sure they've got this all covered, I'm just saying that unless they don't want more sales/hype - more exposure is good, and more cars will facilitate that.

 

[wayne kemp]

Hands on and seeing in person will sell more that pictures.

Curious goofyone, are you on the payroll (if so, how long) and have you seen the plant in Michigan?

 

[goofyone]

I am, like most people here, just a person who was curious about Elio Motors and started doing research on them. I not associated or paid by Elio Motors or any company or person affiliated with them and I have never been to any facility associated with Elio Motors even though I would like to and hope to someday soon.

I have simply had the time, and the computer skills, to read all I can about Elio Motors and to get involved as a Moderator on this forum. Through my independent research, and my role on this forum, I have been fortunate enough to make contact with a number of people related to Elio Motors and other members of the public who have also developed contacts within Elio Motors and/or their suppliers. This is old-fashioned sleuthing and networking is what has enabled me to also learn a number of details which may not be available, or confirmable, via public sources.

 

[Norahsbed]

As far as I know they are not the same.

The E-series, or E builds, is the first pre-production run of about 25 vehicles which should start with the P5/E0 this fall. These will be built by Technosports in Michigan, who also built the P1-4 prototypes, and will be used to finalize all the vehicle hardware and software ahead of setting up production. Some of these will also be crash tested to verify the chassis performs as designed. These are supposed to be designated serial #'s E0, E1, E2, etc...

The X-series, or X builds, is a series of vehicles which will be built on the Shreveport assembly line both before and after production has officially started. The pre-production X-series should be the first vehicles produced in the Shreveport plant as part of the assembly line testing and worker training program. These will be tested to ensure the production line built vehicles are meeting all the performance and safety requirements and will eventually likely enter the marketing fleet as test drive and show vehicles. The X series will also likely continue after production officially commences, as needed, to verify vehicles are being built within specified tolerance and these could be crashed or tested to their limits. These vehicles are the ones which should receive the xxxxxx or xxxxx1, xxxxx2, etc.. serial #'s.

Thanks for the clarification, Goofyone!

 

[Truett Collins]

Baby has had 6 years to learn to walk. Baby steps don't last that long.

Even after the baby learns to walk he/she can still only take one step at a time........

 

[wayne kemp]

Then goofyone, if I were Paul you would get on the payroll. People who push and enjoy ones product as you seem to do would be on my payroll if for nothing more than PR.
You sure seem to have more time than most for digging up answers.
Good job.

 

[goofyone]

Questions of increased cost are just a question of translating marketing into sales.
If appearing on the morning news of one city a week prior to an event translates to a 20-car bump in sales for that day, then appearing in 2 cities a week potentially doubles that. I know I wouldn't have seen Elio's spot on the Denver news if I didn't seek it out.

I'm sure they've got this all covered, I'm just saying that unless they don't want more sales/hype - more exposure is good, and more cars will facilitate that.

I don't disagree with you at all that more vehicles would likely increase their sales however we also have to consider EM is a startup and they are having to stretch their budget as is to do what they need to do while they raise funds to complete whatever their next project milestone is. This, along with the lack of extra vehicles also caused by not spending extra money building any more vehicles than they need, is why I don't see things changing just yet. It appears that what they are doing now is working good enough for them as it does appear they will not have any difficult reaching their first model year reservation targets without spending any extra money and they still have about a year before production.

As I said I fully expect to see EM roll out a large marketing campaign to make the public aware of their brand however it is my belief this will actually happen in the time between when production begins and the retail stores open. Another huge advantage to this is that by the time the mainstream marketing really picks up EM will likely already have thousands of the vehicles in the hands of, hopefully happy, new customers. In my opinion seeing these vehicles on the road will be what really sells EM to the masses.

 

[goofyone]

Then goofyone, if I were Paul you would get on the payroll. People who push and enjoy ones product as you seem to do would be on my payroll if for nothing more than PR.
You sure seem to have more time than most for digging up answers.
Good job.

Thanks, if you have not already you may wish to read the 'Who Are Our Moderators' thread in the Site News area as you can find out more about me and also that part of the reason why I have so much time is that I happen to be looking for something new to do with myself. I would love the opportunity to work for Elio Motors in any capacity to try and help them make this project a commercial success.

 

[RickD]

Not aiming this at RickD, but I think it is very unlikely that anyone will see THEIR Elio come off the line. It might be made at 7:15 am or 11:30 pm. Are you going to be there for 16 hours? How will you identify YOUR car? I would like to do like Rick says but I don't think it will be possible. What if the line is temporarily shut down and it isn't produced until the next morning? Just being realistic.

Jambe, I am retired and have a lot of time on my hands. I also have family that lives somewhat close by. I feel confident that the Elio people are very willing to work with us and share our excitement. Not only that, how else are we going to get our Elio's? Ship it to us? That's more money and not near as much fun as driving it home. I've always been a dreamer!

 

[RickD]

It wouldn't be hard to get the schedule ahead of time. I followed a couple of S-10s down the line once. We knew their VINs ahead of time. Elio will only be working a shift at first which should be able to produce about 500 per day. It would be simple to identify your Elio as it came out of paint and onto the regular line where you could watch the doors and trunk meet the body and get assembled along with all the other stuff. It really wouldn't be that difficult to get someone there before their car starts its journey. Most would be happy to just watch the last couple of steps and watch their car roll off the line.

Right on Ty! That's what I'm talking about. I also have 3 other family members that "All in"