84 mpg fuel economy, 100 mph max speed, $6800 price, 5 star crash rating

Nice design, all the traditional luxuries, low center of gravity, 672 mile range, good traction and American made. If all that is said is delivered, I'll get one next year! Over 10,000 people as of today have registered for the car on the company website.

http://www.eliomotors.com/

If they deliver, I will be getting one. But not next year, I have learned my lesson on buying the first model year.

I heard they were going to be available in the summer of 2014. Really excited about sending less money to the oil companies and saving money! It's a really good commuter product.

We've been watching this company. Some good concrete things have happened. I want one.

It uses a standard front drive styled drive train (An inline, 3 cylinder, .9 liter, 55 HP, fuel-injected, SOHC gas-powered, liquid-cooled, automotive engine. ) which is a big attraction for me , the 3 wheeled cars that we see most commonly are rear drive using motorcycle components making then fall into the motorcycle category for licensing and insurance , which is fine if you already have a motorcycle license but a turn off for those who do not.
I want to test drive one, as a single person i can see a real advantage to this over an standard gas/electric car.

i didn't see it on the website but i wonder if it can run E85 , even better if they make a diesel version

From what I read is that it will use standard unleaded gasoline.

I remember the Corbin folks who made the electric Sparrow were working on something very much like that years ago. I wonder if they are related projects. I hope they manage to meet that price when it actually hits the road. I want one... or two.

They have been very firm on that price with only months to go and registration open so I suspect the price of $6800 is almost certain.

how am I supposed to haul manure and woodchips on country roads with that thing?

Abe Connally wrote:how am I supposed to haul manure and woodchips on country roads with that thing?

Back seat folds down

I couldn't have it as an only vehicle, but as much as I drive for work, it would pay for itself over a used car that gets 30 mpg. I would be building a trailer hitch and a "trailer in a bag" (google it).

Great concept. I love how the vehicle addresses very specific problems. This is good innovation and marketing style.

R Scott wrote:

Abe Connally wrote:how am I supposed to haul manure and woodchips on country roads with that thing?

Back seat folds down

I couldn't have it as an only vehicle, but as much as I drive for work, it would pay for itself over a used car that gets 30 mpg. I would be building a trailer hitch and a "trailer in a bag" (google it).

if you had a trailer and were hauling weight, how much does that reduce fuel economy? I have a little Nissan Tsuru, it gets 40 mpg, but if I load it down with weight, it tends to get closer to 35 mpg or a bit lower (depending on weight and speed). The thing I like about the Tsuru is that it has 4 wheel independent suspension and is higher than most cars, so it travels well on rough, country roads.

If you have paved roads and do a lot of trips with little to no weight, then this car might work. Though, you might make up for that by just reducing the amount of trips you make.

The thing with the "trailer in a bag" is it can ride in the trunk until you get there and then assembled to haul the stuff home. You take the weight hit but not the aero or PITA of towing a trailer in traffic for half the day.

Yes you will take a MPG hit, but hopefully less than using a bigger vehicle all the time.

Amedean Messan wrote:I heard they were going to be available in the summer of 2014. Really excited about sending less money to the oil companies and saving money! It's a really good commuter product.

Last update I read they start manufacturing in December......bummer I wanted one sooner!

I want a green one.

Seriously (well, I was serious), I made a post about this a few months back. I'm pleased to see that momentum is building. It really looks like this will make it to market. I predict (again) that it will be a smashing success, assuming the thing is well engineered and the price doesn't increase substantially. I see a huge market for this kind of vehicle.

I'm in front of the line with $1k all-in from a long time ago. I recommend it still and although they spam a bit, I read each update thoroughly! It is our second company car!

I'm signed up for a $100 all-in reservation. I'm very excited and hopeful that this car will reach production and see some market acceptance. I've been on the hunt for a VW TDI for a long time and it just hasn't panned out well. This would be my daily driver for work but I would be keeping my little S10 and our Jeep Commander. Or maybe I'll sell the S10 and buy a trailer for the Jeep.

I currently drive a Pontiac G6 and if I really try hard I can get it into the 30s as far as MPG goes. I have done some rough analysis on fuel cost and efficiency comparing my current commuter to the Elio Motors car.

I drive a one-way 22 mile commute 5 days a week.

If I change nothing else with my commute but drive the Elio car instead I would save 5.11 gallons of fuel per week (over 20 gallons per month and 255 gallons per year). I would save $19 / week, $77 / month and $970 / year.

I'm also considering changing jobs if the opportunity is there where I could work from home most of the time and in the Elio car I would then spend about $6 per week in fuel ($24/month and $306/year). It would save me $215 in fuel per year and save 56 gallons of fuel per year comparing the Elio at my current commute to the potential future commute.

The other interesting thing I think about a lot as a commuter in the corporate whore world is how much time I sacrifice just driving around the streets in a car (listening to podcasts of course).

Currently I spend approximately 2.6 hours per week (10.3 hours/m, 129.2 hours/y) on my existing commute. If I change jobs I'll spend approximately 1.2 hours per week (4.9 hours/m, 61.7 hours/y).

I think these numbers are shocking and if some people realized how much time of their lives they burn driving around they would open their minds up more to changing their lives. Reflecting on this data just lunges me further into a plan of ditching corporate whore world for "greener pastures".