• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Get the Latest about New Cars, EVs and More with the Headlight News Podcast
  • Order Up! Tesla Opens Order Books for the Tesla Semi
  • Detroit Automakers Reinstating Mask Mandates as COVID Surges
  • BMW Offers Up Official “Spy Shots” of Plug-In XM SUV
  • Court-Appointed Monitor Sets Schedule for UAW Elections
  • The Rearview Mirror: The Car That Begat Automotive Safety Laws
  • Mercedes Issues “Do Not Drive” Recall for 292K Vehicles
  • Targeting Tesla, VW CEO Says EVs are More Profitable Than First Forecast
  • Toyota Cuts Profit Guidance as Costs Continue to Rise
  • Honda Adds a Sport Trim to Odyssey Line for New Model Year
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • First Drive: 2022 Mercedes-Benz C 300
    • First Impression: 2023 Nissan Z
    • A Week With: 2022 Lexus LC 500 Convertible
    • A Week With: 2022 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Crew Cab
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning
    • First Drive(s): 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate and AT4X
    • A Week With: 2022 BMW i4 M50
    • A Week With: 2022 Mazda CX-5
    • First Drive: 2023 Kia Sportage
    • First Drive: 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automobiles > Elio Brings 84 mpg, $6,800 3-Wheeler a Big Step Closer to Production

        Elio Brings 84 mpg, $6,800 3-Wheeler a Big Step Closer to Production

        Detroit start-up going public, hopes to raise cash infusion needed to launch plant.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        Nov. 19, 2015
        The near production-ready Elio.

        L.A. Auto Show-goers are getting a first look at the production version of the unusual 3-wheel hyper-miler planned by Detroit start-up Elio Motors.

        The company is finally testing a version of the two-seater — which is expected to get around 84 miles per gallon – using its own, unique engine. And it plans to launch production at an old General Motors plant in Shreveport, Louisiana, by the fourth quarter of 2016. But there is a catch.

        Auto Show News!

        Founder and CEO Paul Elio told TheDetroitBureau.com his company has so far locked down only $75 million in funding, a quarter of what it needs to start its assembly line. It thinks it has commitments to bring that up to $100 million, but must yet find the rest of the funding.

        “I think we have legitimate options” to raise the cash, Elio said, adding that “the timeline (for launch) is always in jeopardy. Anything that goes wrong will move that (back) slightly.”

        The 3-cylinder Elio engine is just 0.9 liters and makes 60 hp and 55 lb-ft torque.

        The eponymously named Elio Motors emerged from some high-minded efforts over the last decade to spur development of vehicles that could deliver ultra-high mileage and super-low emissions. While several similar projects have collapsed, the three-wheeler has defied ongoing forecasts of its imminent failure.

        From a legal standpoint, it is actually a motorcycle, albeit one on three wheels and with a wheelbase about as long as a Honda Accord. It features an enclosed cabin in which two passengers will set tandem style.

        It won’t be fast, needing nearly 10 seconds to hit 60, and with a top speed of only a bit over 100 mph. It is likely to be on the noisy side. But it is expected to deliver about 50% better mileage – at a targeted 84 mpg – than the latest-generation Toyota Prius, and with only a gasoline engine under its long, narrow hood.

        An admittedly low-tech cabin.

        (Live from LA! Click Here for full coverage of the 2015 LA Auto Show.)

        The significant milestone marked with the L.A. Auto Show preview is that the P5 prototype of the Elio is now using an engine of the company’s own design. It originally planned to use a powertrain developed for the old Geo Metro sold in the 1990s by Chevrolet. That engine proved unable to meet Elio’s goals and it was forced to find an alternative.

        But it scrubbed an outside search because the price suppliers proposed “would have blown our budget,” said CEO Elio. Besides, there was “an emotional” desire to develop the company’s own powertrain since it would be “the heart of the vehicle.”

        (Honda planning to share Clarity hydrogen car platform with new battery-car, PHEV models. Click Here for more.)

        With a still-soft target for getting the car into production, Elio has nonetheless collected deposits from 47,000 potential buyers. Some have opted for a non-refundable program, others are playing it safe. The average deposit, he said, is $423. That’s a significant chunk considering the final price tag will be just $6,800 – barely half of what a rock-bottom Korean minicar costs today.

        Though legally a motorcycle, Paul Elio promises to meet tougher automobile safety rules.

        The plan is to produce the Elio at a plant in Shreveport, Louisiana that the company bought for a bargain following GM’s 2009 bankruptcy. It is already fully tooled, minimizing a potentially huge capital investment.

        But even with the company largely using off-the-shelf parts for the rest of the 3-wheeler, it will need $300 million to get going, said the founder. It has raised $75 million, and it has a funding effort going that looks likely to generate another $25 million.

        The company feels it has a good shot at getting some more cash through the ATVM, or Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing, program launched by the Obama Administration to encourage alternative vehicle development. The effort was put on hold due to some high-profile failures, such as the collapse of plug-in hybrid maker Fisker Automotive. But it has quietly started back up.

        Meanwhile, Elio is wrapping up a transition from privately-held to public company, and the CEO says he’s optimistic that will option up new lines of cash.

        “I think there’s some opportunity” for Elio Motors to make it, said Joe Phillippi, a veteran analyst with AutoTrends Consulting, though he cautioned that those opportunities are “modest.”

        Elio will have to move fast to take his company to the next level. It now has a virtually complete vehicle all but ready to go. It has some wiggle-room on timing but can’t let things slip for too long.

        (Volvo Concept 26 imagines a world of hands-free motoring. Click Here to see what that means.)

        Recently Published
        Podcasts
        Headlight News Podcast Microphone

        Get the Latest about New Cars, EVs and More with the Headlight News Podcast

        Yesterday

        Order Up! Tesla Opens Order Books for the Tesla Semi

        Yesterday
        An employee in the body shop at Stellantis’ Detroit Assembly Complex – Mack plant inspects the body of a Jeep® Grand Cherokee L to ensure it is within specification before it goes to the paint shop. The Company invested $1.6 billion to repurpose two existing facilities and build a paint shop to create the first new assembly plant in Detroit in 30 years and bring 3,850 new jobs to the city.

        Detroit Automakers Reinstating Mask Mandates as COVID Surges

        Yesterday

        One response to “Elio Brings 84 mpg, $6,800 3-Wheeler a Big Step Closer to Production”

        1. veh says:
          November 20, 2015 at 9:52 am

          I’d drive one of these as a commuter, especially if they keep MSRP under $7K. If they already have their powertrain sorted out, that’s huge. Maybe not a vapor vehicle after all.

          Reply

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2022
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: