A while ago, Elio Motors applied for a rather substantial federal loan, asking for $185 million in funds for their business. The US government has quite the strict application procedure for such laws, which involves several complex stages of evaluation and assessment. And now, reports have it that Elio Motors’ application has already gone through the first three stages of its review, and it’s reaching its final stages of completeness.
The company already has a clear plan for what they’re going to do with their loan, as they want to start producing a fuel-efficient vehicle in 2015. The car is a rather interesting solution, a step away from the traditional design of a personal vehicle, and features three wheels instead of the standard four, a very efficient gas mileage (84 mpg is not something to ignore if you’re conscious about your gas use), and it’s also going to be offered quite cheaply.
The car will start at $6,800, according to Elio Motors, and what’s even more curious is that it’s not even a car in legal terms – due to its design, legally it falls under the category of motorcycles. This isn’t a random coincidence, however – the company has intentionally designed the vehicle in this way, as having a motorcycle classification carries different requirements for testing and pre-evaluation. The situation is going to save the company money in releasing the car to the market, although they have been quite adamant in reassuring people that they are not compromising safety in any way.
In fact, the new model is going to get a five-star safety rating, if Elio Motors fulfill their promises, and it would be interesting to see how exactly they are going to approach the car’s design in order to do that. Some skeptics have pointed out that, as good as the car looks for a budget model, it also looks like it has some obvious safety issues, and the company should definitely take their time and evaluate their design carefully before pushing it out on the market. The low price is sure to attract many customers, especially when the gas mileage is factored in, and it’s critical that this car is properly designed and tested.
This is already evident, as the company claims that 35,000 people have pre-ordered the car so far. The company is offering the option to reserve a car as it becomes available, for a rather low price ranging between $100 and $1,000 depending on the desired details of the deal. Those who’re interested can go place their pre-order now, as it looks like the company is going to obtain its loan and start active production very soon.