If someone told you that you could have a safe, one person car to get around town with for less than $7,000, what would you think? There are car companies that are racing to the drawing board to come up with a design that is going to give Elio Motors a little bit of competition. After all, competition is not a bad thing, however, right now Elio Motors has the one person car market nailed and they did not even make one car yet.
It terms of production, Elio Motors is looking for about $240 million to get the production line moving. The company has raised about $65 million of that right now and is still hoping to have the first production run for sale in 2016. Even though that seems like a hefty goal, it is one that can be overcome by a company like Elio Motors. The company was founded in 2008 by Paul Elio and is based in Phoenix, Arizona. The car maker is hoping to open the first production facility in Caddo Parish, Louisiana.
The first of the three-wheeled cars is currently under development. The design puts on wheel in the back and that has brought it plenty of attention from the media. The attention does not stop there, however. The three-wheeled car is made with an eight gallon fuel tank and is reportedly going to be priced at just $7,000. With just eight gallons of gas, consumers are thinking that it must get great miles per gallon and they would be right.
According to numbers from the company, the three-wheeled car will get you 84 miles per gallon of gas. This makes it perfect for getting around town when the other option is walking, biking or public transportation. The car is small and weighs just more than 1,000 pounds, but the safety features that are built in are comparable to that of a full sized car. According to reports, the can will feature air bags, reinforced roll cage, side intrusion beams, seat belts and ABS braking system. As far as the other features, the car will have a heater, air conditioning, power windows and locks, two person seating, stereo and windshield wiper.
After a successful supplier summit in Michigan, it looks like Elio Motors is going to build a fifth prototype called the “P5”. The P5 is the car that the company is hoping to bring into production at some point in 2016. The company is working with some of the most respected suppliers and according to the CEO, they also have a voice in the development of the P5. That makes sense from a development standpoint and is something that those same suppliers would not have with the other car makers in the country.
The coming Elio looks a lot like my 2000 Honda Insight, but with one less seat. On the highway, 63mpg was common. The engine was 3 cyl also with about 1 liter displacement with electric motor boost when needed.The Insight also tips the scales at 1800 lbs on a more stable 4 wheel structure with air conditioning, manual or auto trans, and full safety cage construction.
The Elio engine is very similiar to the Honda (might it be the same???)