Lil4X
Elio Addict
If you were going to build ONE Elio - as a custom trike with all of the basics, it would be an expensive proposition. At some point you'd still have to purchase all of the components, but it's the development process that gets them all working in harmony that's time-consuming and expensive.
Hand-forming the body and chassis would be expensive too, but even that would be subject to change as the design changes to accommodate running changes in the drivetrain, cockpit, and performance goals. You end up with a juggling act, trying to keep all of your initial design criteria in the air while adding features you find you want.
Then, you have to build a couple hundred a week. All of a sudden a whole flock of changes arrive on your doorstep as the realities of mass-production settle in. You don't just build 250 custom trikes a week, but develop a repeatable design that can be manufactured efficiently in a few hours. If you skipped that last step, new Elios oozing off the assembly line would be priced at about $70K and the whole idea of a low-cost, efficient commuter goes out the window and your market disappears before your eyes.
So the process of development is necessary,
After a trip down that rabbit trail, you go back to square 1 and start over. There are some features you can't have to achieve your goals of fuel economy and purchase price. (Your Elio won't float or fly.) At the same time, you'll find tiny changes that can add value without violating your original criteria. The best way is to develop a solid platform to which options can be added to suit the individual buyer. That requires a good deal of forward-thinking to provide flexibility in the basic design for those who want aero (styling) packages, a turbo, or a moonroof at some point down the road.
All that has to be considered up front - and that's why product development is expensive. You can work out a lot of the problems in CAD, subject the virtual product to finite element analysis to determine what elements need to be beefed-up to handle the increased stress of a more powerful engine, or what can be lightened to reduce weight and improve economy. Still, when you get down to prototyping, you're going to find other things you can do "in steel" that escaped your notice on the virtual model.
Nobody builds ONE prototype, but as evidenced by the generations of Elio vehicles, there is a distinctive trail of progress from P1 - P5. We are reaching the point where we begin manufacturing a series of "early production" models - ones that are identical - for testing and certification. What EM learns from those will go into the "first production" models that will serve to work out the kinks in the manufacturing and assembly process and set the line. At that point, real production can start - but until this point, you haven't sold a single vehicle. Once the demo vehicles have been completed and the line begins a slow but sustainable rhythm, you and I can start anticipating our Elios for delivery and EM can start anticipating cash flow.
That's going to be a while yet - but I for one would rather see any design/manufacturing problems solved on the front end rather than keep hauling my Elio back to the dealer for recalls. A friend bought his wife a new Land Rover, but it spent more time on the back of a wrecker than it did in his driveway. You'd think for the price he paid, it could at least hold itself together through a week of grocery shopping. He sold it within 60 days - having had it in his garage less than a week. Elio can't afford that, especially with a ground-breaking product. As a start-up, they're going to have to be perfect, right out of the box and as reliable as a hammer. That takes development . . . and that takes time. Ask Mr. Porsche.
Hand-forming the body and chassis would be expensive too, but even that would be subject to change as the design changes to accommodate running changes in the drivetrain, cockpit, and performance goals. You end up with a juggling act, trying to keep all of your initial design criteria in the air while adding features you find you want.
Then, you have to build a couple hundred a week. All of a sudden a whole flock of changes arrive on your doorstep as the realities of mass-production settle in. You don't just build 250 custom trikes a week, but develop a repeatable design that can be manufactured efficiently in a few hours. If you skipped that last step, new Elios oozing off the assembly line would be priced at about $70K and the whole idea of a low-cost, efficient commuter goes out the window and your market disappears before your eyes.
So the process of development is necessary,
- to work out critical compromises in the design to reach your Big 4 goals.
- to make it reliable and easy to service.
- to make it fast, cheap, and easy to manufacture.
- to determine if your plans can be fulfilled "in steel".
After a trip down that rabbit trail, you go back to square 1 and start over. There are some features you can't have to achieve your goals of fuel economy and purchase price. (Your Elio won't float or fly.) At the same time, you'll find tiny changes that can add value without violating your original criteria. The best way is to develop a solid platform to which options can be added to suit the individual buyer. That requires a good deal of forward-thinking to provide flexibility in the basic design for those who want aero (styling) packages, a turbo, or a moonroof at some point down the road.
All that has to be considered up front - and that's why product development is expensive. You can work out a lot of the problems in CAD, subject the virtual product to finite element analysis to determine what elements need to be beefed-up to handle the increased stress of a more powerful engine, or what can be lightened to reduce weight and improve economy. Still, when you get down to prototyping, you're going to find other things you can do "in steel" that escaped your notice on the virtual model.
Nobody builds ONE prototype, but as evidenced by the generations of Elio vehicles, there is a distinctive trail of progress from P1 - P5. We are reaching the point where we begin manufacturing a series of "early production" models - ones that are identical - for testing and certification. What EM learns from those will go into the "first production" models that will serve to work out the kinks in the manufacturing and assembly process and set the line. At that point, real production can start - but until this point, you haven't sold a single vehicle. Once the demo vehicles have been completed and the line begins a slow but sustainable rhythm, you and I can start anticipating our Elios for delivery and EM can start anticipating cash flow.
That's going to be a while yet - but I for one would rather see any design/manufacturing problems solved on the front end rather than keep hauling my Elio back to the dealer for recalls. A friend bought his wife a new Land Rover, but it spent more time on the back of a wrecker than it did in his driveway. You'd think for the price he paid, it could at least hold itself together through a week of grocery shopping. He sold it within 60 days - having had it in his garage less than a week. Elio can't afford that, especially with a ground-breaking product. As a start-up, they're going to have to be perfect, right out of the box and as reliable as a hammer. That takes development . . . and that takes time. Ask Mr. Porsche.
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