HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Elio Motors is a company founded by Paul Elio in 2009, to design and manufacture a three-wheeled, enclosed autocycle. Since the 2009 conception, the company illustrated and repeatedly delayed a release date for its original gasoline powered vehicle, pivoted to an electric powered concept, collected an estimated $28 million of deposits, has been fined $7.5 million for failing to create promised jobs in Louisiana — and as of May 2022 has not neared production. As early as 2015, The New York Times noted Elio Motors was selling "spots on the waiting list — and, more broadly, a dream."


Concept

Based on a host of speculative
forward-looking statement In United States business law, a forward-looking statement or safe harbor statement is a statement that cannot sustain itself as merely a historical fact. A forward-looking statement predicts, projects, or uses future events as expectations or ...
s, the company's gas-powered three-wheel concept was marketed as the ''Elio P4''; was illustrated to attain a highway mileage rating of up to 84 mpg and was to offer
power window Power windows or electric windows are automobile windows which can be raised and lowered by pressing a button or switch, as opposed to using a crank handle. History Packard had introduced hydraulic window lifts (power windows) in fall of ...
s, a power door lock,
cruise control Cruise control (also known as speed control, cruise command, autocruise, or tempomat) is a system that automatically controls the speed of a motor vehicle. The system is a servomechanism that takes over the throttle of the car to maintain a ste ...
, and
air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
, in an
aerodynamic Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
, enclosed bodywork. The design idea included multiple
air bags An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. Th ...
,
anti-lock brakes An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skid braking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintainin ...
,
traction control A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR (from german: Antriebsschlupfregelung, lit=drive slippage regulation), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicle ...
, steel
unibody A vehicle frame, also historically known as its '' chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car ha ...
frame, and
crumple zone Crumple zones, crush zones, or crash zones are a structural safety feature used in vehicles, mainly in automobiles, to increase the time over which a change in velocity (and consequently momentum) occurs from the impact during a collision by a ...
s and a three-wheeled autocycle configuration with two wheels in front, one in back. Advertisements in 2017 illustrated a base price target of $7,450 for the gas motor version and suggested to achieve up to 84 mpg-US (2.8 L/100 km) on the highway and up to 49 in the city. As of June 2017, basic
test mule A development mule (test mule, or simply mule) in the automotive industry is a testbed vehicle equipped with prototype components requiring evaluation. They are often camouflaged to cover their designs. Application Mules are necessary because ...
s and three validation vehicles (codenamed: E1-A, E1-C, and E1-D) were built to test safety,
aerodynamics Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
, and durability. Even though the E1-C is not used for testing, it was the most up-to-date interior with a cosmetically-evolved engine. Elio claimed the autocycle could be produced using 80% soft-tooling. Elio's marketing suggested that 100 pre-production
fleet vehicle Fleet vehicles are groups of motor vehicles owned or leased by a business, government agency, or other organization rather than by an individual or family. Typical examples include vehicles operated by car rental companies, taxicab companies, ...
s could be built at its Shreveport, Louisiana manufacturing facility if additional funds are secured. By 2018, nearly all funds had been depleted, with nearly in outstanding debt, and a projected required to reach production. The vehicle's design was illustrated to include air conditioning and heating (projected to be manufactured by RedDOT), AM/FM
stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
, power windows/door lock, cruise control, three airbags, a reinforced steel
roll cage A roll cage is a specially engineered and constructed frame built in (or sometimes around, in which case it is known as an exo cage) the passenger compartment of a vehicle to protect its occupants from being injured or killed in an accident, pa ...
, side intrusion beams, stability control, and
disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...
s with ABS.
Continental AG Continental AG, commonly known as Continental or colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company specializing in tires, brake systems, interior electronics, automotive safety, powertrain and chassis compo ...
has designed a
tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...
specifically for the Elio. Elio designs could meet motorcycle standards as a three-wheeled autocycle, within the U.S. government's motorcycle classification. The company lobbied in most states, to alter regulations that would otherwise require drivers to wear a helmet and, in many states to remove the requirement for operators to have a motorcycle endorsement on their
driver license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...
. The design targeted a
curb weight Vehicle weight is a measurement of wheeled motor vehicles; either an actual measured weight of the vehicle under defined conditions or a gross weight rating for its weight carrying capacity. Curb or kerb weight Curb weight (U.S. English) or kerb ...
of ; three-wheel anti-lock disc brakes; an inline 0.9-liter three cylinder (designed especially for Elio by
IAV IAV GmbH Ingenieurgesellschaft Auto und Verkehr, (literal ''Engineer Society Automobile and Traffic''), abbreviated to IAV GmbH, is an engineering company in the automotive industry, designing products for powertrain, electronics and vehicle ...
), engine; and
front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longit ...
, with a top
speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...
of and an
acceleration In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by the ...
of in approximately 10.8 seconds. The vehicle design has an overall length of 160.5 inches (4.08m) and an overall height of 54.2 inches (1.38m). The front track is designed to be 66.8 inches (1.70m) with a
wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
of 110 inches (2.79m). The trunk space is designed to be 27 × 14 × 10 inches, enough for one airline carry-on bag or
golf bag Golf equipment encompasses the various items that are used to play the sport of golf. Types of equipment include the golf ball, golf clubs, and devices that aid in the sport. Equipment Balls Originally, golf balls were made of a hardwood, s ...
with the rear seat folded down (47+ inches). In September 2021, Elio Motors announced that a new electric motor design was the company's focus, to be later followed by a gas motor option. The projections, which did not include range, cited a possible $15,000 price.


Illustrated production

Elio Motors is located in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
, and projected in 2017 that manufacturing could take place at a facility in
Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...
, using a portion of the former
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
3.2 million-square-foot plant. Production would have employed upwards of 1,500 people at the Shreveport facility plus an additional 1,500 at the supply base, but will not be occurring. In addition, Elio Motors projected that 90% of parts for its vehicle could originate in North America. The idea of 100 pre-production fleet vehicles was teased in December 2016, however social media replies on Nov 1, 2017, from Elio Motors said, "We are targeting the start of production in 2019". The potential
service provider A service provider (SP) is an organization that provides services, such as consulting, legal, real estate, communications, storage, and processing services, to other organizations. Although a service provider can be a sub-unit of the organization t ...
for Elio Motors is
Pep Boys Pep Boys is an American automotive aftermarket service chain. Originally named Pep Auto Supply, the company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1921 by Emanuel (Manny) Rosenfeld, Emanuel "Manny" Rosenfeld, Maurice "Moe" Strauss, Jack J ...
. The company started accepting
customer In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea - obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or exchange for ...
reservations on its website in January 2013 and stopped accepting reservations at 65,341 in 2017. On August 3, 2017, Elio filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to have an initial public offering (IPO) for its common stock in order to raise $100 million in capital. In the filing, it said that their vehicle would not be capable of production until approximately 76 weeks after securing enough funding to begin.


Criticism

Elio Motors has continuously delayed the release date, which was originally in 2012. Since then, the date has been pushed back each year. In December 2016, the date was announced to have moved to 2018, and on Nov 1, 2017 in a Facebook reply, Elio Motors mentioned the start of production aimed for 2019. These dates have made automotive analysts question the company's ability to bring a product to market. Critics have drawn comparisons to the Lit Motors C-1 and
Aptera Motors Aptera Motors (formerly Accelerated Composites) is an American startup high-efficiency car company based in Carlsbad, California. The original company, Aptera Motors, Inc., was founded in 2005 and liquidated in 2011. In 2019, Aptera Motors w ...
, which had similar production schemes requiring more funding than was attainable, while updating production timelines to give the impression that a product was deliverable. In an effort to secure a
Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...
loan, Elio offered advance reservations where the buyer can reserve a spot in line to possibly purchase a vehicle for a base price of . By the end of 2017, Elio had only in the bank, and deficits of . Elio's own estimate was that an investment of plus an additional in reservation deposits would be necessary in order to go into production. Throughout 2018 and beyond, reservation deposits remained closed, and there was no concrete plan in place to raise the nearly half-billion dollars to proceed. Despite a lack of transparency as to their path forward, Elio announced a December 2019 production date, which passed with no progress. In January 2019, Elio stated: "The production date is estimated to be 76 weeks from the timely and successful completion of our current and subsequent fundraising efforts. The timing and availability of the funds can move and we will do everything we can to keep the project moving forward by utilizing each piece of funding received, as we receive it." This lack of an actual product over a near-decade long span has caused critics to call their car
vaporware In the computer industry, vaporware (or vapourware) is a product, typically computer hardware or software, that is announced to the general public but is late or never actually manufactured nor officially cancelled. Use of the word has broade ...
. The Elio web site blog and press release areas were not updated between December 2019 and September 9, 2021, when a redesigned website emerged and announced the company's intention to produce an electric motor version of their three-wheeled vehicle at double the cost. The Elio Motors Facebook page was similarly left without updates between April 2019 and September 9, 2021.


See also

*
Nobe GT100 The Nobe GT100 (pronounced ''no bay'') is a zero emissions concept vehicle with two forward wheels and a single trailing wheel, each electrically powered. Originally designed as an enclosed two-door coupe, and subsequently rendered also as a two ...
*
Microlino The Microlino is a proposed all-electric lightweight four-wheeled quadracycle marketed by Micro Mobility Systems, designed for urban mobility. Noted for its front-opening door recalling the bubble cars from the late 1950s, the Microlino has t ...
*
William Garrison (geographer) William Louis Garrison (1924–2015) was an American geographer, transportation analyst and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. While at the Department of Geography, University of Washington in the 1950s, Garrison led the " quan ...
– studied concept of narrow vehicles *
List of motorized trikes List of motorized trikes is a list of motorized tricycles also called trikes, and sometimes considered cars. There are three typical configurations: motorized bicycle with sidecar; two wheels in the rear, one in the front (aka trike); and two in ...
*
Three-wheeler A three-wheeler is a vehicle with three wheels. Some are motorized tricycles, which may be legally classed as motorcycles, while others are tricycles without a motor, some of which are human-powered vehicles and animal-powered vehicles. Overv ...
*
Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation The Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation was an American automobile company started by Geraldine Elizabeth "Liz" Carmichael, in 1974, incorporated in Nevada. The company's flagship vehicle was the Dale, a prototype three-wheeled two-seater ...
*
Vaporware In the computer industry, vaporware (or vapourware) is a product, typically computer hardware or software, that is announced to the general public but is late or never actually manufactured nor officially cancelled. Use of the word has broade ...


References


External links

*
Elio Motors took millions in customer deposits...never delivered
{{Automotive industry in the United States Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2009 2009 establishments in Arizona Manufacturing companies based in Phoenix, Arizona Car manufacturers of the United States Three-wheeled motor vehicles Compact cars Front-wheel-drive vehicles Car brands Companies traded over-the-counter in the United States