Elio again - Saabkyle04 did a video

Saabkyle04 is a YouTuber who manages to do really in-depth reviews of cars. He nerds out, really. They're not really reviews in the traditional sense. Most of the videos are about reviewing statistics and shooting every possible feature and angle of the car while it's parked. There is often a little driving, but that's seldom the focus of his work.

This is the most detailed footage I've seen of the Elio.

Anyhow: https://youtu.be/LGUO8AucxhQ

Looks like a nice car and I wish them the best, but if they're still relying on going from zero to sales-superstardom in under 3 seconds at launch, they're still not going to make it. Especially with cheap gas now, nobody saw that coming.

Gas is getting more expensive again... and there is going to be less and less of it as time goes on.. so maybe their time is coming

This thing would be perfect for me as work transportation, especially if I end up getting the new job I'm looking at. Wonder what a diesel would do for mileage. Not very optimistic, but hopefully they succeed. This video makes it seem far more real, less vaporware than the other stuff I've seen about it to date.

It blows me away that people are still talking about this like it's a real thing. Unbelievable.

In reply to Zomby Woof:

We'll see. I'm still cautiously optimistic. A friend is one of the 40K who placed a deposit/order, so we spent a good amount of time at their display at the NY show. It was mobbed with people. Would I buy one? Difficult to say. I already have a fairly high-MPG vehicle (TDI) that is already paid for, so even at 80 mpg, an Elio would be a hard pay-back for me.

They seem to be taking their time to make sure the car is as ready as possible. I see this is a good thing, but I can also see how a lot of folks would translate the slow development as being "vaporware" in our very impatient "gotta-have-it-NOW" world.

I just can't get with this thing. I understand the appeal and people will buy it. It's just not for me.

I could see this as a good city car.

I've been watching this for years and was planning on buying one if/when they go on sale. But I just changed jobs, lopping 82 miles off my daily commute. I'm less optimistic today though. Doesn't seem like I've seen anything new in well over a year. Let's get that Geo motor out of there and put the real drivetrain in there Paul.

I have been keeping my eye on these and am really heavily considering buying one. Cool to finally see a full review of one that's detailed. Thanks for posting this.

Really want to see a "closer to development" review though. Still, cool.

Prototype 5 will be out soon. It will have the elio engine and a manual. At that point it is supposed to be very close to the production version. If things go well and on schedule I'll be putting a deposit down by the end of the year.

neon4891 wrote: If things go well and on schedule I'll be putting a deposit down by the end of the year.

That's what I said a year ago.

I would take mine with a 1.0 ecoboost.

I see the whole thing is still a pipe dream and a half.....

Did anyone else notice that it is using a vintage air setup for hvac? Or what really looks like a neon instrument cluster?

And yes, im still waiting to walk onto a lot and test drive before buying.

It's a Geo Metro cluster. Probably came from the same car as the motor and trans.

I don't think it will ever come to fruition. And even if it does, I can't work it out where it makes sense financially. You're well past the point of diminishing returns on gas mileage. Even in Europe with their gas prices I don't see it except in the most claustrophobic cities.

In reply to mtn:

Not to mention, in Europe, motorcycles are seen as normal transportation.

In reply to mtn:

Did you watch the video?

Zomby Woof wrote: It blows me away that people are still talking about this like it's a real thing. Unbelievable.

Whoa. I'm driving this here mahindra truck and urrrr....

I still think it’s going to be vapor ware. I really think they want to make this, I don’t think it’s a total scam, but I just don’t believe they have any real backing or a viable business case. Remember they’ve been showing this thing in one form or another since 2008 and it’s still not in production. Think about it, some vehicles are now on their third redesign since then.

The car in the video is obviously a very worn car (yet the odo shows 0 miles!!!) Look at the state of the interior panels, very very well worn kit car type panels with acres of panel gap on painted hard panels. They are still using an old Geo engine. It really looks like an average to poor kit can and maybe that’s it’s best bet for production.

mad_machine wrote: Gas is getting more expensive again... and there is going to be less and less of it as time goes on.. so maybe their time is coming

Gas is still stupid cheap in this country and inflation adjusted still cheaper than in 1982. Look, in Europe gas is more than twice as expensive as here and they have a lot less space for driving and parking. There are lot's of smaller fuel efficient cars there, but no Elio's. I just don't see a market for something like this here or there. I think you'll see smaller Mk SMART car or Renault Twizy type thing rather than Elio

Ian F wrote: In reply to mtn: Did you watch the video?

Yeah, what about it? That is a single vehicle using what appears to be drivetrain and interior bits from a 20 year old car.

Why in the world did they spend any time on that engine? It's not even close to one that would be put in that car. Well, other than the fact that it will burn gas.

Makes me wonder if they are going to cheat the emissions by being a motorcycle. Well, cheating it that it will meet the rather lax motorcycle rules vs. car rules. Which will change if this car sells anywhere near where they want it to.

And I still don't see how they can make that for sub $7000 price. The parts that this does't have vs. a 4 seat, 4 wheel car don't cost that much (and I compare to a 4 seat car because this has front/rear seating and a hatch AND all of the cheap cars are 4 seaters these days). $12k if they can sell 100k a year, maybe.

mtn wrote:

Ian F wrote: In reply to mtn: Did you watch the video?

Yeah, what about it? That is a single vehicle using what appears to be drivetrain and interior bits from a 20 year old car.

Then watch it again. Ignore the review of the car (which is pointless) and pay more attention to the interview with Elio.

Ian F wrote:

mtn wrote:

Ian F wrote: In reply to mtn: Did you watch the video?

Yeah, what about it? That is a single vehicle using what appears to be drivetrain and interior bits from a 20 year old car.

Then watch it again. Ignore the review of the car (which is pointless) and pay more attention to the interview with Elio.

I will after work (I'm on the train right now and my connection is too shaky for video).

But I really don't believe anything he says. At the end of the day, I don't see how he can produce this for something that is significantly cheaper than a real car, and I also don't see how it has any real advantage over a real car unless he can do it for a good price. Do we really think it would be better than a Chevy Spark at $13,000? I doubt it. So what advantage does it have? At current prices--actually, even at European prices--it doesn't have near enough gas mileage advantage, unless it can somehow do an electric engine and battery for really cheap.

(For my gas mileage claims, see here, keeping in mind how many miles one of these would likely be driven every year: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/spreadsheet-i-made-showing-diminishing-returns-on-/69195/page1/ )

I'm just not buying that this makes sense.