Elio Motors

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Elio Motors will display cheapest car concept at LA Auto Show

Elio Motors, the Arizona-based experimental vehicle maker whose three-wheel, futuristic-looking prototypes have generated polarizing interest, will introduce its fifth generation vehicle at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show. The vehicle’s CAD renderings detail a similar but update version of the car’s previous concepts. The company, building what it’s touting as the cheapest car in the United States in a former General Motors plant in Shreveport, Louisiana, has collected different levels of reservation deposits online for several years. But Elio Motors and its founder, Paul Elio, have suffered many setbacks and have changed public delivery dates several times. The Elio project has been as controversial as an in the auto industry, with the exception of the the current Volkswagen diesel scandal.

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Elio sputters again, production now in 2016?

The future of Elio Motors and its founder’s vision for a gas-thrifty, inexpensive three-wheel vehicle has taken another detour. And this time, even a diehard believer in the product is uncertain of its future According to KSLA, a television station in Shreveport, La., where the pending car’s manufacturing plant is located, Paul Elio says the company is $240 million short of the funding necessary to begin production. Elio believes the company can now begin production in the first half of 2016. But he could not predict a date. The television station has an interview with Eddie Chavez, a retired General Motors employee who spoke with Elio and then expressed his combined disappointed and remaining hope with the television station. The

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Elio Motors’ woes continue with hometown doubts

Even some of the hometown crowd in Louisiana is beginning to doubt the future of the much-touted and much-maligned Elio. According to a report on the website of KSLA, a television station in Shreveport, La., where the Elio manufacturing plant is located, at least one former proponent of the three-wheel vehicle is now skeptical. Elio Motors initially announced in early 2013 it would build their 3-wheeled cars in Shreveport. Local government officials approved a massive allocation of funds to support the project. But delays, not progress, have been the norm. The company was expected to start production in summer of 2014. Now, the production start date has been pushed to the end of 2015. According to the station’s report, 38,177

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Elio Motors’ scam worries rise after recent woes

Elio Motors, the upstart three-wheel vehicle manufacturer, continues to attract potential buyers willing to place a deposit for an economic and performance wonderment that hasn’t been built. In September, according to the company’s website, more than 34,000 people have pre-ordered the vehicle with a variety monetary commitments, $100 to $1,000, to purchase the proposed $6,800 vehicle. Three months ago, the deposit list total was 28,000. Paul Elio, the company CEO, believes Elio Motors is getting closer the financial goal to make good on his proposed hiring of a production staff of around 1,500 to assist in the car’s manufacture starting next year. Elio Motors months ago purchased a former General Motors plant in Shreveport, Louisiana, where it’s planning to assemble

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Never mind Tesla, Prius, Elio. Buy the Flatula Backfire

Forget the Tesla. Forget the pending Elio. Don’t even consider a Toyota Prius. The most efficient, least expensive and environmentally ideal car is the new Flatula Backfire. The Flatula Backfire runs on natural gas, much like the Honda Civic CNG. But it runs on the natural gas its passengers provide. The manufacturers are marketing the car with catchy slogans that make a lot of sense. “It runs like the wind, but it is your wind,” is clever. But more cleaver is the closing line of the video make to debut the cat to the world: “It’s not just a SmartCar, it’s a FartCar.” The Flatula Backfire has a good range as long as its passengers provide enough gas. But the

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Elio Motors markets fleet sales but still no cars

Elio Motors, the fledgling three-wheel vehicle company, continues to market itself with new ideas. The latest is a fleet sales division to capitalize on what the company describes as increasing interest from businesses, rental car companies and municipalities. Although the launch of the reported $6,800 car touted with a predicted 84 mpg has been delayed and funding isn’t established, Elio has announced Brendan Carey, Vice President of Fleet Sales, a former ADESA (KAR Auctions) employee who joined Elio Motors in 2013, with head the new division, The fleet division, Elio reports, will provide significant cost-savings to companies and government entities that have fleets for rentals, deliveries, service calls, and other travel-related needs. With the average price a new vehicle in

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Elio Motors suffers further setback, debut in late 2015?

The future of the much-discussed Elio Motors three-wheeler has been further delayed — likely for more than a year — according to several website reports. The Dubai-based news portal, AirHerald.com report funding issues have stalled the pending start of manufacturer’s production site in Shreveport, Louisiana. The dilemma may push back the public debut of the vehicle to at least September, 2015. Officials at Elio Motors had hoped production of the $6,800 car would be last March. In addition to funding issues, uncertainly from regulators how three-wheel vehicles should be classified have further complicated the much-anticipated car. According to AirHerald.com, Elio Motors has plans to hire 800 workers in June 2015. Elio Motors reportedly has raised more than $55 million, less

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Elio Motors start date halted after funding delay

The much-hyped, three-wheel Elio has plenty of supporters and perhaps an equal number of detractors. Chalk one up for those who are cynical about the $7,500 car and its heavily touted specs. According to Louisiana news reports,  the previously announced March 2015 production start date at the former GM plant in Shreveport, Louisiana, has been delayed six months until September 2015. The reason: Company founder Paul Elio has announced a funding delay. The News-Star newspaper reported Stuart Lichter, an industrial developer leasing the plant, was set to invest $7.5 million in Elio Motors — in conjunction with the purchase of the facility for the same amount by Caddo’s Industrial Development Board. The proposal was approved in August, but has now

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Elio Motors, Pep Boys establish service deal

If the Elio Motors concept vehicle is launched, its buyers will have a nationwide official service provider, Pep Boys. The automotive aftermarket retailer has more than 800 service centers in 35 states and in Puerto Rico, and it will cover 90 percent of the markets where the start-up Elio Motors vehicles will be sold. Elio Motors will service vehicles at its company owned stores in remaining markets. For more than one year, Elio has promoted its three-wheel vehicle. The company claims it will have a price tag of $6,800, fuel efficiency of 84 miles per gallon and a top speed of 100 mph. “Pep Boys’ rich history, dating nearly 100 years, makes the company a cultural icon, and a well-known

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Elio Motors: 15,000 now believe, but will they build it?

Lots of car buyers can’t wait for the three-wheel Elio Motors vehicle. And lots of detractors think the concept of a 84 mpg, 100 mph, 55-horsepower machine will never come to fruition. But since the idea debuted about a year ago, Elio Motors has continued to market the $6,800 vehicle it expects to launch in 2015. And  it appears there are more believers willing to place reservation deposits than there are non-believers. In early February, the website announced reservations had reached 10,000. Six weeks later, the reservation total approached 13,000. The number of reservations by mid-April was more than 15,000 Deposits from $100 to $1,000 are accepted with different levels of “bang for your buck” if and when the Elio

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Elio Motors gets last gas as cow fart criticism backfires

The automotive car culture website Jalopnik is often a clever read. It makes fun of the car industry when it’s well-deserved. However, it’s been overtly skeptical of Elio Motors. Its writers have posted often that the plans of company owner Paul Elio to introduce in 2015 a $6,800, three-wheel car that gets 84 mpg and can accelerate to 100 mph are dubious at best. The latest sarcasm by Jalopnik about Elio Motors occurred on Earth Day, April 22. The site poked fun at Elio’s press release that touted the car’s latest attribute. Elio, obviously with tongue firmly planted in cheek (but also with a degree of seriousness) announced its car is “cleaner than cow farts.” Jalopnik wrote Elio Motors was

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3-wheel Elio interest soars, 3,000 more reserved

It’s still a year away from its projected public debut, but interest in the Elio Motors’ three-wheel vehicle continues to flourish — at least according to the manufacturer’s website. In early February, the website announced reservations for 84 mpg, 55-horsepower machine had reached 10,000. Six weeks later, the reservation total is approaching 13,000. Deposits from $100 to $1,000 are accepted with different levels of “bang for your buck” if and when the Elio becomes available. Refundable and non-refundable options are available. A non-refundable reservation provides customers with an additional discount worth 50 percent of the initial deposit (a $1,000 deposit would receive an additional $500 toward the price of a vehicle at the time of purchase). Although refundable deposits can

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God is good, but it’s no name for the Elio three-wheeler

Elio Motors is named after Paul Elio, an engineer who’s now the CEO of the company that makes the three-wheel vehicle. He has extraordinary plans for the high-mileage, low-cost machine as well as expectations for a superior safety rating. The $6,800 vehicle is scheduled for public availability in 2015. One potential issue (but a good issue to have) is what it will be called. Perhaps Elio and company insiders already know the name. And maybe some of the 11,700 interested buyers of the “autocycle” who have made deposits ranging from $100 to $1,000 to own the three three-wheel wonder, know the pending name. But certainly the name isn’t public yet. And thus, what about a campaign? It seems unlikely the

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Three-wheel vehicles like Elio: Who makes the rules?

With all the recent news of the pending debut of Elio Motors’ three-wheeler, the rules and other considerations governing three-wheel vehicles of all types has also been rekindled. Are three-wheelers legal? How are they registered and titled? What kind of license is required to operate a three-wheeler? Who makes the rules? Do they have airbags? Can they be operated on the freeway? Last November, the American Association of Motor Vehicles Administrators (AAMVA), a national authority on best policy for all state DMVs and Licensing Bureaus, recommended the Elio be driven with a standard driver’s license. In that regard, The AAMVA released their new “Best Practices” policy on licensing and registration of three-wheel vehicles certified as motorcycles by the National Highway

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Elio Motors: To reserve or not? Nearly 12,000 say yes

Interest in the yet-unnamed Elio Motors’ $6,800 three-wheel vehicle, scheduled for delivery in 2015, continues to steadily increase. According the the company’s website, nearly 12,000 prospective buyers have paid deposits from $100 to $1,000 and with refundable and non-refundable options. A non-refundable reservation provides customers with an additional discount worth 50 percent of the initial deposit (a $1,000 deposit would receive an additional $500 toward the price of a vehicle at the time of purchase). Although refundable deposits can be made, more than 80 percent of customers have opted for the non-refundable reservation Overall, the reservation options are varied and are offered with and elaborate formula. Here’s the link: Elio Motors Reservations The vehicle, according to the manufacturer, will achieve

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Fact or Fiction? 3-wheel, $6,800 Elio praised, panned

Reservations for the Elio Motors‘ three-wheel, $6,800 vehicle have surpassed 11,000, according to its website, with varying levels from $100 to $1,000 as the manufacturer  continues to market the futuristic concept around the country. Paul Elio, the company owner and CEO said in recent press release the increasing interest means the public is “clamoring for the new type of transportation.” Touting the unnamed vehicle’s estimated 84 mph in highway driving and hopeful 5-star crash test safety, Elio said: “The vehicle is perfect for individual commuters looking for an inexpensive and fuel efficient mode of transportation, but who also yearn for a unique expression of their passion for driving.” However, the pending machine, with an expected public release in 2015, has

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