I appreciate all the comments, especially Wahlberg. However owning a 1969 Ford for too many years - sad to say I've developed many skills that I never imagined that I'd know at this age.. Cool thing about NASCAR is they have dimension rules and this vehicle won't exceed 750Hp (torque does wonders to a frame) so the basics of frame construction is the "easy" part - it's more difficult for the skin (outer shell).
Patience isn't the real concern - Ford, GM, & Chrysler they are the concern. First to market is always the pace setter. A little known fact Ford registered the Falcon name mere hours before GM and the Falcon was the first Mustang (frame and drive line)
What Paul has done is identify a market and a true niche. The big 3 are paying attention and they have the resources to make this a posibility. If they chose this option they could place a demand on the market for materials which could (more than likely based from greed) raise the price of the raw materials to create the Elio.
People got to think big picture and what really exist - the Elio could put a hurt serious hurt in the used car market. The "and" car concept will allow the "weekend or pride car" to remain at home while the "and" car is the primary driven vehicle (motorcycle or car - still will exceed)
"Pride" car stays newer longer, more used cars on the market equals less new car sales..
Remember 1976 US automakers were still producing big cars with terrible fuel milage and then there was this little Honda Cvcc.. Then 1982... As Paul Harvey would say "The rest of the story"..