Happy Friday Elio’ers! We moved the blog to its new home at blog.eliomotors.com Click here to be taken there now!
Remember to click the subscribe button on the new Blog and bookmark the new location!
Happy Friday Elio’ers! We moved the blog to its new home at blog.eliomotors.com Click here to be taken there now!
Remember to click the subscribe button on the new Blog and bookmark the new location!
Happy Friday Elio’ers and Happy Fourth of July! We hope you had a chance to spend today with friends and family and are getting ready to take in your favorite fireworks display. The Fourth of July, Independence Day, is the official date of the birth of our amazing country and we hope you are able to celebrate it with fervor and zeal.
Independence Day rings true to Elio Motors in a number of important ways. We are obviously committed to making the US stronger by manufacturing the Elio here in Louisiana as well as sourcing as many parts as we are able to in North America (90%+). The pursuit of freedom is also very important to us. Our vision of freedom is to make it possible for everyone who today may be limited by an unreliable vehicle and/or one that sucks up way too much money through the gas tank to have a viable transportation option. The same thing applies to those that may be limited by public transportation. Some of our cities do an amazing job, but many people in our country can only travel to certain areas at certain times. The Elio on the other hand will give people the freedom to work where they want, when they want and have additional monies to do with which they choose also.
Another way we relate to our early American settlers and the leaders that signed the Declaration of Independence is “fortitude.” The pure dogged determination they showed to create such a great country is a true testament to the will and passion that is America. Most great accomplishments come with some form of pain or naysayers. Where would we be today if we had listened to these famous quotes:
“There is world market for maybe 5 computers” by the chairman of IBM, Thomas Watson in 1943, or
Professor Pachet who said “Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is ridiculous fiction.”
Almost every big invention or advancement has been told that it is impossible/can’t be done/not needed/etc. at one time or another. America and Americans understand that in order to survive and evolve, you need innovation and change. Elio Motors is simple, brilliant, and ingenious and is the next big thing in transportation, that will help keep us ahead of the pack. Much like the famous quote from the president of the Michigan Savings Bank to Henry Ford’s lawyer Horace Rackham (as part of the argument not to invest in Ford):
“The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty—a fad”.
Just envision what transportation would have looked like today if they didn’t believe and Mr. Ford didn’t try?
We hope that you enjoy your Fourth of July holiday weekend (3-day weekend for most!) and get a chance to make a memory!
This week on the Preview Tour:
Today, July 4; Tacoma, WA; Freedom Fair: Parking Lot near Duke’s Chowder House 3327 Ruston Way – Look for “Smoke N Thunder” Jet Car we are there!
Sunday, July 6; Tacoma, WA Freedom Festival – Tacoma Narrows Airfield – Look for “Smoke N Thunder” Jet Car – 11am – 5pm
Next Weekend: Portland OR, times and Location TBD
As always, thank you for your continued support and have a safe and fun holiday weekend.
Happy Friday Elio Friends and Family! We had another great week this week as we had a chance to show off the P3 at the CES show in New York City. We talked to a lot of journalists that loved your Elio and who will be doing articles/blogs/videos about us in the coming days. Spreading the word on a national stage, great fun!
Speaking of great fun, have you had the chance to sit down and do the math on what the Elio will save you when we begin production next year? There was an article today in the USA Today that mentioned that Americans are planning 1.9% more travel this year over the July Fourth weekend. Over 41 million people are planning travel over the weekend, with almost 85% of them traveling by car more than 50 miles each way. This means that 35 million people will jump in their vehicles and travel at least 100 miles (50 out and 50 back) which is over 3.5 billion miles, yes with a B, billion. Wow, that is a lot of miles and a lot of money going into the gas tank!
So we started thinking… what if all of those miles were done in an Elio instead of an “average” vehicle. We know, this is not fully realistic because of a number of variables, but work with us. As it sits right now the 3.5 billion miles driven next weekend will average 21.6 mpg and the fuel would be $3.684. So here is what that looks like:
Then take those gallons times the average cost today in the US**
That’s almost $600 million dollars in gas that will be burned over next weekend alone! So what would that look like if you changed all of those miles to the Elio and the highway mileage of 84 mpg?
Which would cost:
So, in the most extreme case we could save American drivers over 4 million dollars next weekend! How much fun could you make with an extra $443 million lying around?
Have you done the math on how this will positively affect your life and pocketbook? It is fairly easy to compute, all you need is your total miles driven, your current miles per gallon and how much you pay for gas. The numbers will vary for each person depending on what vehicle you drive now, your mileage etc. but in every case against a car or truck, you will save money with Elio.
We spoke with a reservation holder Lindsay in Oregon about her situation and this is what it will look like for her: Miles driven a week to work and errands: 350 – 400 Current MPG (Chevy Equinox) 23 mpg (“guesstimate”)
400 miles per week ÷ 23 miles per gallon = 17.391 gallons X $3.959 = $68.85 per week in gasoline cost X 4.33 weeks a month = $298.12 a month. When she gets her Elio, that number looks like this: 400 miles per week ÷ 84 mpg (we are using 84 hwy for consistency with above example, it is not the EPA blended rate for miles per gallon) = 4.76 gallons X $ 3.959 = $18.85 week X 4.33 weeks in a month = $81.60 for the month. That means in this example Lindsay will save over $2,000 a year!
Take the time to do the math, you will be amazed on the money you can save on gas!
The Elio Preview Team is heading West, see you in Tacoma next weekend.
Thank you for your continued support and have a great weekend!
Happy Friday Elio’ers! Friday is the best day of the week, and do you know why? Yep, Elio blog day! OK, maybe there are other reasons, but we can dream right?! Here at Elio Motors we believe in the credo that “the only dumb question is the one that is not asked” which is why we will continue to do Comment Reply Friday to make sure we address the questions on your minds. The challenge here is finding the balance between new fans that find us every day and their questions and our loyal friends and fans that could practically write the Elio story by themselves. We will answer some new along with more popular repeat questions to make sure that both sides are represented and that everyone can be an Elio expert as quickly as possible! Let’s go:
– From hundreds of readers in the last month: How many does it seat?/Can it set 2 people?/Is it electric?/What kind of Gas?/Where do I put my stuff?
– From 50 or so readers this month: What about cruise control?/Stereo upgrades?/Rear view camera?
– From Klassic55 -” when are you going to be in southern California??????” and from Ken S. – “When are we going to see the cars in California? I have my name on your list and would love to see and sit in it. I live near San Francisco but will drive to where ever it is,” plus many others with different city requests.
– Randy B. asked – I went from $500 all-in to $1,000 all-in. How long will it take to get my number and how will I be informed?
– From Dan S. – Once again, I’d like to ask, is the trunk/bonnet/hatchback part of the package or is it an “accessory” that we will have to pay for? Please respond to this question and thank you for doing so. ” In since the beginning.” San Diego, CA.
That is it for today. As always thank you for your continuing support!
Happy Friday Elio friends, fans and family! In this week’s blog we are going to answer a couple of popular questions and share the great coverage we have received over the last couple of weeks. Here are the three most popular questions from the Customer Experience Team from this week:
1.) I didn’t pick my color or transmission with my reservation, why not?
2.) What is the address to your dealership in XXXX?
3.) I made a refundable reservation and want to move it to all in, how do I do that?
Elio has received some incredible coverage over the last couple of weeks! This coverage has been key for us to get the word out and has led to many new reservation holders. We are including the links below so you can click on them (the more people click on them increases the likelihood that even more people will see them)!
Here we go:
These articles and interviews have all happened in the last two weeks or so. Momentum is building! Please click on the links and share them with your friends and family.
This weekend is Father’s Day so make sure you celebrate the day with/for him. If you haven’t gotten a gift yet it is not too late to get Dad a reservation for an Elio. You can order in minutes and the t-shirt will be a second reminder of what an amazing son/daughter you are when it arrives in a couple of weeks. Click here to go to the Father’s Day Promotion (Genuine T-shirt).
The Preview Tour schedule:
This weekend: Chicagoland – Woodfield Mall, 5 Woodfield Mall Rd, Schaumburg, IL, we will be there during normal mall hours
Next Week: June 18th – Special Showing for Elio followers! Homewood Suites by Hilton/Columbus Airport, 2880 Airport Dr. Columbus, 3pm – 9pm – this is a special showing, the P4 will be there for one day only.
Next Week: Columbus, OH Eastland Mall, 2740 Eastland, Columbus, OH – Mall Hours – Showing P3 (prototype 3)
Happy Friday Elio’ers. We had another great week in the constant progress toward making the next big thing in transportation. Not sure if you saw this or not, but we got some huge coverage this week that has really helped spread the word. As a start-up you are in an unpredictable spot when it comes to media coverage; create as many opportunities as possible and when they come up, do them! Media outlets pick us and we are very grateful for each and every opportunity! This week we had two amazing opportunities for coverage and they really advanced the Elio Motors mission! The first one was a video/article on Yahoo Finance and the second one was a great spot on the show Countdown to the Closing Bell with Liz Claman on Fox Business with our CEO Paul Elio. The combination of these two events really set the website on fire! It was truly an amazing week for us and for introducing new groups of people to Elio.
In case you missed it: click here for the Yahoo Finance piece and click here for the link to the Fox Business interview. Great stuff!
This brings us to the free stuff portion of this week’s blog. This idea came from you, our loyal fans, and we love it! You asked us for a way to share the story of Elio with the people who you run into on a daily basis so we created a piece and it is now available on our website. Here is what it looks like:
And to make it super easy to use, we have made it a downloadable file that you can download and print right from your computer! Here is the link to the file on the website: (click here). It will also be available on the website from now on under the Why Elio Tab, under specs (below the box on the right side).
To use this simply click on the link and a new window will open. From there you can right-click on the picture and choose print. Then it is up to you! Print a lot and hand them out. Send a copy to your friends, electronically or in print. Or just print a copy and use it to tell the Elio story. Your call, we will appreciate anything that you do!
Additionally, we are making available the ability to download images from the photo section of the website. Again, this came from your requests to provide pictures that can be used for screen savers on your phone/tablet/computer and to print for your desk or wall. Those are available now at eliomotors.com (or click here) under the photo tab. Here is what it looks like:
Upcoming Preview Tour Stops:
This weekend: Boston, MA – South Shore Plaza, 250 Granite Street, Braintree, MA we will be there mall hours
Next week: Jun 13, 2014 – Jun 15, 2014 – In Chicagoland – Woodfield Mall, 5 Woodfield Mall Rd, Schaumburg, IL, mall hours
Thanks always for your continued support.
Happy Friday Elio family and friends! We trust that you have had a great week and are ready for summer fun to hit full stride, we know that we are. This week we are going through the top questions from the last month that came through our website inquiry emails. Some of these may be a repeat from the Comments or Readers Choice blogs, but know that they come up all the time and recently too. We have a lot of new fans, partly because you are all doing such a good job sharing the Elio vision and partly because of the great coverage we continue to receive. So here we go, in no particular order:
How durable will the Elio be?
How many can fit in the Elio? Does the Elio seat one? Are there plans to make a 2-seater?
Can I get an automatic transmission, and if so how much?
What is the top speed/0-60/quarter-mile?
What is the Elio body made of, will it rust?
When will you stop taking reservations?
Upcoming Preview Tour stops:
This weekend!! May 30th – June 1: Stamford CT at the Stamford Town Center. The hours are Friday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm; Saturday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm; and Sunday 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
June 6 – June 8: Boston, MA in an area mall. We will be there mall hours Friday through Sunday
June 13 – June 15: Chicago Area – Times and Locations TBA soon
June 21 – June 22: Columbus OH, in an area mall. We will be there mall hours Saturday and Sunday
Thanks as always for your continued support.
Happy Friday Elio’ers! This Friday is a special one because it leads into a 3-day weekend for most people and is the Friday before Memorial Day. Have a safe and fun holiday weekend and please remember those that have helped make this country great.
The Elio Preview Tour continues spreading the Elio word around the country almost every day. The last month has been a whirlwind of driving as we have traversed the country attending three big media events. The events have gone very well and really help in getting us out there to groups that haven’t had the opportunity to see us yet. We are committed to doing large attendance events and the top 60 markets that we have yet to visit. We are also going back to some stops in public places like malls and parks so that you can see the Elio on a more open schedule.
Here is what the schedule looks like moving forward for the next month:
Today: NYC – Media stops – some really neat media opportunities today in the city. We will be sharing these with you as they become available.
May 24-26 – NYC – Random stops in the city – we will communicate these through twitter (@eliomotors) for those of you in NYC
May 30th – June 1: Stamford CT at the Stamford Town Center. The hours are Friday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm; Saturday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm; and Sunday 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
June 6 – June 8: Boston, MA in an area mall. We will be there mall hours Friday through Sunday.
June 13 – June 15: Chicago Blues Fest, Grant Park, 11:30 am – 9:30 pm daily (Click here it see the Blue Festival website, awesome event!)
June 21 – June 22: Columbus OH, in an area mall. We will be there mall hours Saturday and Sunday.
Remember to check the website at http://www.eliomotors.com under the news tab (click here and bookmark it) for changes – all times/dates are subject to change and we will communicate it via the website first!
If you haven’t seen the vehicle in person yet, you have to come on down! Every person that has seen it live loves it more and has a much deeper appreciation for the overall size and awesomeness than they had looking at it online alone. Coming down to see it is worth the hours people drive ( I believe the record is still 12 hours specifically to see the prototype!) Come on down!
Thanks as always for your continuing support!
Happy Friday Elio friends and fans! Today we are going to discuss the helmet and licensing progress that the Elio Team has made and continues to make as we move toward production. Licensing and helmets are an important step in our progress and we have a team dedicated to making it happen. The Governmental Affairs team is led by a long time Elio man, Vice President of Governmental Affairs Joel Sheltrown. Before Joel joined the Elio team he served as a State Representative in Michigan. Joel brings the necessary skills to this important role and a great understanding of what the process is and how to get things done.
The licensing and helmet laws in the US are not driven from the Federal level but instead they are decided on a state by state basis. This makes the job a little more challenging by having to go state to state to affect change. Statutes in a state can be confusing and even contradicting. One group will take a statute literally while another will go by the “intent” of the language. In some instances different departments interpret different sections differently (yes, that was written like that on purpose!). The team works with the individual state departments to help them get the correct statutes and promulgated rules in place and to drive positive outcomes.
The timelines from start to final legislation can vary widely as well. Many states have existing legislation (CA, NV, WA, plus many more) which takes no time. Some states react very quickly like Colorado which went from meeting to passing in both chambers in 30 days. Others, well, take longer. We’ve had one piece of legislation get all the way to the Governor only to get vetoed for unrelated items that are added into the language (note that this will be rectified shortly, no worries).
Today when it comes to helmets, you can drive an Elio in 45 states without a helmet. We are still working with Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Mississippi and West Virginia on their current helmet legislation. Below is the US map as it sits today for helmet laws. This is always available on the website as well. Click here
Licensing is treated separately from helmets in the law. A two-wheeled motorcycle requires an endorsement to your license or a separate license to ride. For the Elio, we are about split with the states that will not require a license or endorsement and those that will. This is more challenging to find in the statutes in that it can have many different names or types (e.g. trike, reverse trike, enclosed cabin, automotive controls) and can be held in a completely different piece of law from cars and motorcycles.
Another major item that the team has been able to accomplish is to get a positive endorsement from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). AAMVA is an organization whose members are administrators from every state and whose goals are to address issues such as three-wheel requirements and recommend best practices back to the states. AAMVA has “strongly urged” states to modify legislation for vehicles like ours to require a regular driver’s licence and provided other direction on items like license plate size etc. States will use these suggestions to modify their current laws.
Many of you have emailed and asked if you can help. Yes! We have called on Elio supporters in a couple of states already to help us out, and your letters and calls have really made a difference. We are using a targeted approach when the need for help arises. We will send messages through Facebook to our fans and by email to our reservation holders for a particular state that we are working with. This has been effective (MO) and we will continue to call on our Elio’ers as we move forward. Thanks in advance for your help!
As you can see the team has made great strides (with your help!) so far, including two states passing legislation in the last week removing helmets and licensing requirements (CO and IL). This creates great momentum so that no state wants to be “that state” that doesn’t jump on board. We are confident that all of the necessary laws will be in place for the entire country before the Elio rolls out in 2015.
Elio Motors Preview Tour stops this coming week:
May 19 – 22: Internet Week, New York Headquarters: Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street. Hours: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm (Open to the public, the event will charge for entry)
Thanks as always for your continued support.
Happy Friday Elio’ers! This week in Three-Wheeling we’ve picked some comments you’ve submitted here on the blog. We’ll do the same thing every couple of months moving forward to keep everyone in the loop.
The comments section for Three-Wheeling is a very active area as witnessed by the significant comments in the last two months alone. We read every one and have incorporated them into our various communication tools (Tech Talk, Blog, Facebook etc.). Let’s dive in:
This is a very common question/comment. There are two ways to do this: go to the website and click on the Make your Reservation button (top right). From there, choose the third option down “Make an Upgrade” and follow the directions. For a short cut, click HERE to be taken straight to the Upgrade page. Remember – this option is only available if you currently have an All In reservation for $100, $250, or $500.
For those of you that want to move from a refundable Want In reservation to an All In reservation all you need to do is send us an email requesting a refund of your refundable reservation. In the email, note that you are moving to the All In category. You can then go in and make your All In reservation and we will credit the same card you used to make your first reservation. Easy!
One of our guiding principles is simplicity and ease of use. Changing the oil, and most every other maintenance item, will be straightforward and more like a car than a motorcycle (we have an automotive engine and transmission). Additionally, we are working to use existing technology/parts where we can so that the parts you will need are readily available.
We are fired up about it too! As we discussed last week, this is a very good starting point and Pep Boys will be a great Official Service Center. This is an excellent solution for 90% of our customers and we are committed to finding a positive service solution for all.
We still get vehicle specific questions that come up now and again that are not answered in every forum that we cover. So, here are a couple that came in over the last few days. As far as the rear seat reclining, no it does not. Really, there are very few seats in cars that do move at all and we are no exception. The rear seat does not recline but it does fold down for more storage! As for the mirrors, there is great geometry in play for the side mirrors on the Elio. When you sit in the driver’s seat the side mirrors cross within a foot or so of the rear of the vehicle. So, the vision to the rear for parallel parking or backing into a spot is great. For those of you that want to see more (like many of us here at Elio) there will be a back-up camera option available. As for the spare tire and jack, we will have a “flat repair kit” available.
Love the way you think and can’t tell you how much we dig the support! Our reservation program is set and the $1,000 All In reservation is the highest level we have. Once you get there, you have reached the top. You can upgrade to $1,000 all in (see above) whenever you would like. (Oh, on a semi-related note, please send account, t-shirt and similar questions to our email address tellmemore@eliomotors.com. Sometimes comments and Facebook posts get lost in the shuffle and we want to make sure that you are taken care of. So shoot us an email and we will get back with you as soon as possible)
Thanks Andrew and the other folks that left similar comments. We anticipate having many different financing options available for our Elio customers. The process should be very similar to buying a car today (except much easier and more pleasant). You choose your vehicle and go to “check out.” There you will have options available to finance your vehicle from paying cash to financing. We will work with our banks and partners to find the best solution for you. The other option that we have talked about is the credit card program. The details have not been finalized yet (minimums, interest rates, terms etc.) but the concept is still viable. Elio is the only one that can pull this off because of our economics. Here is how it works: You come get your Elio and a Elio credit card. Then, you go buy gas and let’s say it costs $20. You will see a charge of $60 on your credit card on the monthly statement. Of that $60, $20 goes to pay the gas company and the other $40 goes toward your loan amount. So, if you drive enough miles, you can pay off your Elio without feeling it in your pocket because you are already accustomed to paying $60 or more every time you fill up. Plus with Elio you will fill up less to drive more! Simple and brilliant! Stay tuned for details.
Syracuse, NY – May 14- 16 – Location and Times TBA
The next “Spot in Line” will be mailed Monday night – get your upgrades and All In $1,000 reservations in this weekend to be included in the next mailing! For those that may not know about this yet, the “Spot in Line” email goes out to the top-level reservation holders, only the $1,000 All In group. The email is to make the reservation holder aware of their spot in the line (number) they get when we start production. This means if you get your spot in line email and it says congratulations you are number 4,999, you get the right to buy the 4,999th vehicle produced!
OK, that is a wrap for this week. But before we go, special shout out to Dave K. for nominating Elio Motors for a blog award. Thanks so much!
Thanks for your continued support and Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mom’s out there!