What Is The Latest Start Production Date?

[Coss]

Does anyone know who the hell is actually making the new Powertrain?

I thought Roush integrated & adapted the powertrain only and we were speculating that the Ford Ecoboost might be the powertrain.

It was stated in one place, a Fortune 500 company, and for some reason a bunch of people figured Ford.
I don't know where they got Ford from, but that seems to be the general opinion.
Personally, I don't know for sure, but I'll wait till Tuesday or Wednesday and I'll call down and ask.

 

[Travelbuzz1]

If you went to all 25 states west of Mississippi, then they were blind! Have that sticker in red hot... on the frig!!

Okay, I counted them and I went to 21, but some I went through twice which where Arizona,Texas and Wisconsin. So, do you think we can sell these?

 

[RSchneider]

It was stated in one place, a Fortune 500 company, and for some reason a bunch of people figured Ford.
I don't know where they got Ford from, but that seems to be the general opinion.
Personally, I don't know for sure, but I'll wait till Tuesday or Wednesday and I'll call down and ask.

Probably because of Roush and their long standing relationship with Ford. Roush makes a whole line of performance parts for the Mustang and F150. Roush has always raced Fords even way back when he had the Maverick in NHRA and still does today with him racing in NASCAR and IMSA (Jack Jr races a Mustang GT4).

I know Roush developed the Hydrogen powered Fords that our local company Air Products used. On the other hand Roush develops and modifies the Chevy spark into the new Dominos delivery vehicle called the DXP. So the Chevy Spark powertrain could be an option as it uses a 1.4l Ecotec engine that makes 98hp. Plus GM sells the powertrain used in the Slingshot and Vanderhall. So it seems that GM doesn't mind selling powertrains to other companies for use in their cars. There's a 1.0l 3 cylinder Chevy Spark engine for the Korean market (the car is made in Korea). Since Chevy pulled out of the European market in 2016, there's probably a good incentive to sell something somewhere else. A Spark Powertrain might be the ticket. Plus the Mexican version of it is called The Beat and it sells for $8,700 there. So the powertrain has to be pretty cheap. It's that the powertrain is not made in North America (just like the Ford is not made in the US either) and I wonder about the 90% North American content rule for Elio.

Another option might be the Fiat 500 engine. Fiat stopped selling the non turbo version in the US for 2018. It's a 1.4l 101hp motor. The only small engine I can think of that's made in the US that would meet Elio specifications (contrary to popular belief, all Fiat 500 engines for the US market are made in the US). Then Aisin makes both the manual and automatic (made in Japan). Downfall is that FCA is not a US company and not on the Fortune 500 list for the US but there's nothing in the press release that mentions the Fortune 500 list for Global companies. Plus Fiat sales are in the toilet, thus FCA has to be interested in selling that engine.

Then, if you've ever been to Roush, they do work for just about everyone in the automotive industry. So, they have more knowledge than just about anyone as to what would work and who to call to find out if it can be bought. My guess right now is that they are in the phase of studying what will fit and work to make sure the mileage and cost requirements are met. This makes perfect sense as the production requirements for Elio will be high, so someone needs to be able to meet those requirements.

As you can see, Ford has the lead, Chevy a good 2nd and then FCA could come in if NAFTA requirements need to be met. All three would have excess manufacturing capabilities. Honda would be great as they build lots of engines in Ohio but I don't see them supplying a separate company and they are pretty much maxxed out in manufacturing.

 

[Ty]

• That last statement could be the biggest... capacity is going to be one factor to look at.
• FCA made what, 27,000 cars total last year? They probably couldn't/wouldn't be able to produce 100,000 engines a year more.
• Ford VERY recently announced they were no longer going to produce small sedans. So, they have extra capacity there.
• Roush and Ford have a good relationship in building and tuning engines.

 

[Coss]

Ok, I finally heard back from the "powers that be".
And they said the following:

The Elio Customer Experience Team (Elio Motors)

Oct 10, 11:51 EDT

Hey Coss - Elio Team here - the debate will have to continue as the answer is still a "Fortune 500 company" for the time being. We will communicate the details in the future, for now the speculation will probably continue....

Make sure to check out our blog at www.eliomotors.com/blog

Thank you,
The Elio Team

So there is your "official" answer from the source, can't get much higher then the people making it.
Sorry, it's the best answer that I can get.

 

[RSchneider]

• FCA made what, 27,000 cars total last year? They probably couldn't/wouldn't be able to produce 100,000 engines a year more.

The FCA engine you are talking about is made by this company:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Engine_Alliance

 

[RSchneider]

Ok, I finally heard back from the "powers that be".
And they said the following:

The Elio Customer Experience Team (Elio Motors)

Oct 10, 11:51 EDT

Hey Coss - Elio Team here - the debate will have to continue as the answer is still a "Fortune 500 company" for the time being. We will communicate the details in the future, for now the speculation will probably continue....

Make sure to check out our blog at www.eliomotors.com/blog

Thank you,
The Elio Team

So there is your "official" answer from the source, can't get much higher then the people making it.
Sorry, it's the best answer that I can get.

Sounds like Ford or Chevy then.

ECOBOOST
or
ECOTEC

Take your pick.

 

[Officespaced]

I pray that it's not the Fiat/Hyundai/ platform. The Firefly N4 engine, an I-4 and being 100 HP, fits in the "nearly a 100% increase in Horsepower" profile. It's made in Brazil. The smallest EcoBoost 3 is 99 HP. I'm hoping for Ford, bring on the Germans! I may be wrong, but I don't see any current EcoTec engines that would fit this sub 110 HP profile. I don't think any diminutive engines of this size are currently "Made-In-America"...

The internally sourced Elio engine was rated at 55 HP. Although I'm guessing the non-turbo guts of the Fiat would be less expensive than the EcoBoost 3; guess we'll see what Rousch delivers...

Why are you so secretive Elio? Give us money, but we are "shhhhh...."

I drove a Fiat 500 at an auto show and was not impressed, granted it was outfitted with a bigger engine, 1.4L/135 HP. I also drove the Fiat Spider w/160 HP, essentially a Miata, which was quite fun! I've also rented a 1.0L EcoBoost Fiesta, which was a joy.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

I pray that it's not the Fiat/Hyundai/ platform. The Firefly N4 engine, an I-4 and being 100 HP, fits in the "nearly a 100% increase in Horsepower" profile. It's made in Brazil. The smallest EcoBoost 3 is 99 HP. I'm hoping for Ford, bring on the Germans! I may be wrong, but I don't see any current EcoTec engines that would fit this sub 110 HP profile. I don't think any diminutive engines of this size are currently "Made-In-America"...

The internally sourced Elio engine was rated at 55 HP. Although I'm guessing the non-turbo guts of the Fiat would be less expensive than the EcoBoost 3; guess we'll see what Rousch delivers...

Why are you so secretive Elio? Give us money, but we are "shhhhh...."

I drove a Fiat 500 at an auto show and was not impressed, granted it was outfitted with a bigger engine, 1.4L/135 HP. I also drove the Fiat Spider w/160 HP, essentially a Miata, which was quite fun! I've also rented a 1.0L EcoBoost Fiesta, which was a joy.

A Fiat 500 weighs 2,366 lbs. An Elio is ~1,200 lbs. Less weight = more fun.

 

[BBGeer]

It's getting to the point where I am embarrassed to tell my friends and coworkers about Elio. Some of our brothers and sisters here at Elioowners.com have passed away waiting. At this point I am starting to get pissed. NUF SAID