Some people were getting a bit skeptical about Elio Motors lately, as the company had gone quiet and stopped releasing any news about their progress. And while some were convinced that there were problems behind the scenes and we’re about to get news of a delay – or worse – a recent announcement by Elio Motors made those fears vanish.
In a new video, we can see a prototype of Elio’s first engine running smoothly, so the company has obviously been making some serious progress in their work. Judging by what we can see in the video, the engine works pretty much perfectly, so Elio should be able to move on to the other stages of the vehicle’s production at this point.
And according to Paul Elio, the company’s owner, the engine was pretty much the biggest hurdle his team had to overcome, as now that they have a running prototype, they can actually get started on the main production stages of the new car. So, in a few months, we might get to see how the vehicle performs on the road, and if the super-budget new model by Elio is going to take the market by storm like many are expecting it to.
Why did the engine take so long to complete? Many were claiming that Elio actually had to develop some advanced new technology to make it possible, but the truth seems to lie elsewhere – Paul Elio stated that while the new vehicle uses only technology that already exists, many of the components required additional tuning in order to make them more useful for Elio’s vehicle.
On the other hand, the company still has some work left on the legal front, as they have been fighting hard to push a new category of vehicles in the books. The problem for Elio right now is that some states would classify their new model as a motorcycle (due to its three-wheel design), which in turn would mean that drivers will be required to wear a helmet. Which, in the context of an enclosed vehicle, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
If Elio are successful in their efforts though, we should soon have a new category of motor vehicles which their first model will be categorized under, and interested buyers won’t have to worry about any silly helmet requirements. There are only a few states left to go, according to the most recent reports, so soon the market should be ready to accept the first release of Elio Motors. Hopefully, it will see the success that people are expecting from it, as it could very easily set new trends for the market as a whole, and redefine the way we see personal transportation.
I predict that the market for this car is HUGE, HUGE – as a second or commuter car, as the only car for the zillions of singles out there, for
retirees on fixed incomes, for those in the lower economic classes that could never afford a new car and never had a warranty, for those looking for very low operating costs (fuel, insurance, maintenance – tires and brakes will
last forever). This car is, far and away the most revolutionary vehicle since the VW Beetle. And it will be a WHOLE lot better car than the crappy Beetle ever was.
the MAIN problem for Elio is under-capitalization…. they still need to raise $230 million before they can even tool up to produce the vehicle.
“a recent announcement by Elio Motors made those fears vanish.” The fears of Elio Motors never reaching PRODUCTION, are still very real. They also announced that the still need $230 million, after 6 years of development and ‘fund raising’. NO MONEY; no vehicle.