2025 Update on Elio Motors: I first wrote about Elio Motors, and its sub $7K target price in 2014. As of 2023 Elio Motors still had not begun delivering vehicles to potential customers who made reservations (and stopped taking new reservations). In 2021, it put out a press release claiming that it is focusing on going electric before producing a gas-powered Elio. In 2024, the Elio Motors website (eliomotors.com) redirected to a page that said “eliomotors.com has expired and is parked free, courtesy of GoDaddy.com”. In 2025, the eliomotors.com website appears to be back up with a private registration, but there is no functionality if you click on any of the links. It appears that Elio Motors is defunct, once and for all.
My hope is that Elio returned all of the paid reservations to the 65,000+ people who had made them. All they have now is this glorious image of what was to be…
Looks hideous! I can see the financial benefits but the sacrifice in style is not worth it in my opinion.
I actually think that it looks kind of cool. It’s bound to turn heads.
Being that my monthly gas cost me more than my truck, I would be very interested in something like this. Have already looked into an old small car, but at 30 miles a gallon the car would probably break down before I received any return on investment. My goal with this car, would not have been something stylish, so the looks of this wouldn’t entirely throw me off. Only thing that competes price and gas wise would be a motorcycle.
It makes me think of a better less electric version of the Corbin sparrow. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers_Motors_NmG
Maybe you can put a basket on front for trips to the grocery store.
I would consider it. I see a car as a method of transportation to get me from point a to point b
I wonder if it qualifies as a car or motorcycle. It would be a shame to need a motorcycle license to drive it but most 3 wheel vehicles in states I am familiar with require a motorcycle license.
They are working to change things on a state-by-state level. For all intents and purposes, this is a car, not a motorcycle.
Because of the 3 wheeled aspect, it is classified as a motorcycle. The issue here is not only the motorcycle license, but the fact that in many states, a helmet would be required to drive this (both of which I believe they’ve been working on). Imagine getting in your car and putting on a helmet.
A license really isn’t difficult to get (I had one at 15), but if you don’t already have a bike, borrowing one for the test could be difficult.
Here’s Elio’s Helmet Law map,
http://www.eliomotors.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/helmetlaws.pdf
They say only 5 states will require a helmet. That bodes well for them, because I agree that no one will want to wear a helmet inside their car!
I think it needs a third, and possibly a fourth, seat to meet those sales numbers. For our family of three we need two cars that each seat 3 people so my husband can drop the little one off at daycare, I can pick her up, and we can all go out to the grocery store together. A Scion IQ or Mitsubishi i-Miev is the minimum for us, and neither of those are selling like hotcakes at an average of 200/month and 25/month respectively in US Sales.
http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01/scion-iq-sales-figures.html
http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/
Maybe for a family willing to buy a third car for commuting, or replace their motorcycle, but neither demographic will pull them into the 250,000 sales/year range.
And the Mitsubishi Mirage, mustn’t forget that:
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2014/07/whats-the-most-affordable-car-in-2014.html
Mitsubishi Mirage Car + fuel cost over 5 years estimated at $22,115.
Elio: $6,800 car + $3,295 fuel = $10,095
I have to admit beats the pants off the Mirage and with that savings you could rent a car/get a ZipCar membership for the times you need more capacity.
I guess I’m having trouble with the 2 cars that seat 3 comment. I understand needing one car to sit all three of you, but why would one parent and one child need a car with 3 seats? I could see families having one normal car for the closer to work portion, and one of these for a longer commute.
I’ve been looking at this car for over a year now and we sat in the previous prototype when they were in California. me and my wife agree that the best way to view this is an air conditioned, weather proof scooter. I think I would get one if we ever needed a second car for me to get to work and back. I honestly love the idea of this product but I don’t think enough people will buy them to keep them around.If you look up mini car museum on YouTube you will find a video of hundreds of small extremely fuel efficient cars that promised the same thing but went out of business.
I was actually very VERY close to putting down a payment for a reservation for one of these cars 2 years ago. I was commuting about 85 miles round trip everyday so it would have been perfect for that. Since then, I’ve ended up changing jobs to one where I can take the bus to work instead (or if I have the time, even walk).
I’m glad I didn’t put down the payment for the car since if it’s still not out to the market yet then that’s pretty disappointing. I feel like they must have pushed back timelines on the release date. The only thing that saved me from putting down a pre-payment was because I didn’t like the idea of giving the company an interest free loan for over a year just to stand in line. Whereas if I just invested the money then I would be able to make money with that money while I wait.
I still think that this market could be large enough for them to survive, but gas prices aren’t rising as fast as they used to be so that’s not in favor of this car. I think it’s when gas prices get to insane levels this car will be much more desired. If electric cars could get some better range and still be affordable then this company might not survive. For now I like it but in 15 years…. I wouldn’t buy stock in this company for the long term is all I’m saying.
I hadn’t seen this before, thanks for posting about it. This would fit my needs perfectly!
Show me the crash test data…then I might buy become a believer.
I reserved one, I love its look, the fuel economy and the fact that it is bold forward thinking American ingenuity. I was (and still am) waiting for Tesla to make a car that I can afford, but until then, this little car will do nicely and get almost double the MPG I get in my 2005 Honda Insight.
Say I average 60mpg. I’m just about 20mpg now, so the 20,000 miles take me 1000gal or about $3500/yr. this car would save me 2/3 of that and quickly pay for itself.
I agree, similar to a short distance electric car, this would make a great second family car.
For me, it’s a question of safety. A highway accident can make me a statistic. I’d rather walk away from a totaled car than get myself killed. Safety, first. I’d have to see how solid this car is.
While I can appreciate the ingenuity behind this and hope that many people use it, I don’t find myself in the target user group. As somebody who does a lot of DIY projects, I’d rather of something that can haul a trailer like a truck or van. Still, I think I can tackle a lot of the same energy issues (and more!) by using 100% ethanol fuel.
Called “Liquid Solar” it has some interesting ramifications including:
– net sequestration of CO2 looking at cradle to grave
– greater longevity of engine life due to cleaner fuel
– dependence on American farmers for fuel source, not middle east
– potentially equal performance (need to educate myself more here), although currently cars are designed to peak performance on gasoline, not ethanol.
Interesting stuff though, I’m currently working my way through a book called “Alcohol can be a gas!” by David Blume. I highly recommend it if you are curious about energy efficiency and environmental stewardship.
Also: http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/alcoholengines.aspx
Ethanol is a net fossil fuel consumer. It costs more to grow, harvest, and process the corn than it would cost if you simply burned the oil in your car!
Ethanol from corn is the biggest scam perpetrated on the American taxpayer by the Farm Industrial Complex EVER!
“Minimalist hipster” haha… I’d most def. test drive it and consider it, primarily as our 2nd car. You paint that bad boy black and it’s like having your own Batmobile!
I would imagine black would be a color. You could put a little bat logo peel-off sticker on the hood!
I’d seriously consider it as it ticks the main boxes.
Fuel economy, while not TOP on my list, has to be good enough to even make my list. The other thing that knocks things off my list is the safety.
As Smart showed, you don’t have to be big to be safe. Smart’s problem was being the baby of a european market where his vehcile prices are the norm.
In fact, without doing research, I’d say you pay the same for a car in $ as you do in UKP, that makes cars in the UK 60% more expensive than the almost identical car in the US. Smarts sell well there because price wise it is comparable.
SO while an Elio would get my consideration, I’m afraid I still wouldn’t buy one, but that’s because not leveraging electrical motors is, in my mind, the single biggest setback for any car emerging on the stage today. 100% hydrocarbons simple doesn’t make sense any more.
I would buy one. I’ve been waiting for someone to carry through on this concept.
The safety issue isn’t a big concern, as it is a far safer alternative to a motorcycle!
I don’t see the point in comparing a Smart to a Versa, and then stating the problem relates to an American stereotype of wanting bigger and faster cars using 2 cars in the same price range as examples. Simply because a new idea is presented doesn’t mean its a good one, and Smart is making a smaller car for about the same amount of money as a bigger one with about the same fuel economy. Bad idea for many people. I do think its a great idea what Elio is doing, and its justifiable purchase compared to a Smart. However, having a bigger car is a preference and the counter argument would be why buy a smaller vehicle with similar features compared to a larger one for the same price?
I like the idea of this car, but I imagine it would be difficult to take through the drive-thru with the distance between the front left wheel and the driver side window.
Drive-thru prevention? Yep, that’s another perk.
I would absolutely buy this as my commuter car. I am moving home to suburban NJ but work is on Staten Island. I’ll have a apartment in Brooklyn that I will be at during work shifts, but driving into, out of, and around NYC for work, I would love a small car like this. The price is right for me to buy one w/ no payments. I like the 3-wheel premise and while I wouldn’t buy it in orange, I would definitely pick this car up as a very cost-effective, fuel-efficient commuter vehicle.
I saw this same car back in the seventies. They would drive it to cities all over America and try to get locals to support it but it was just a scam to get citizens money. My neighbor who was a business owner was solicited but said no thanks as far as I knew.
This is a different car though and its time is here.
I am for saving fuel.
I drive for a living and this would be good for high mileage workers.
The car from 1975 looked very very similar.
Same three wheel design.
I would buy if I needed low volume cargo work.
It’s kind of a neat idea, and if I lived in a less rural area, I might consider buying one myself. Alas, I do live in a very rural area and I know that not only would I be considered “crazy” for owning one, it truly wouldn’t be very practical for driving up and down country roads, nor would it fulfill all my vehicle/space needs. But again, a good idea for those in a different situation.
Well it looks kind of cool to me. I am sure I would get some looks but with that kind of MPG and price I would definitely purchase it. I think as the years pass, we will get away from so much luxury and cars we may be use to and instead go the frugal route. Thanks for sharing.
I remember driving my friend’s Honda, the fir car Honda made. It was satirically described as a motorcycle with a really big helmet attached. After one trip in that cramped little thing, I never got in one again until Honda made cars larger. On the other hand, I was often on a Honda motorcycle.
This seems like it might be a good choice for someone who would want the MPG of a motorcycle without having to worry about weather. It is also a much more visible item for other drivers to see.
While weight and engine size are often pointed out as factors in MPG, in city driving the hybrids and electric cars have the functionality of regenerative braking. Regenerative breaking would help any car’s fuel economy, not just electric. Since this car would quite often be used as a local commuting vehicle, it would be nice to see regenerative braking, which could be some technology other than electric. The 84 MPG on the highway is mentioned often on the company’s web page. I don’t see a city estimate for MPG.
On the highway, the amount of front facing surface (total of width by height) determines the amount of air the car has to push out of the way to travel. This vehicle reduces that by being only one passenger wide. Needing less power to push less air out of the way is a big factor in the smaller engine size.
I have been driving a 95 civic dx for a few years and average around 45mpg highway and city combined. The worst mpg I have got with it was 40, so I am pretty happy with it, However my concerns in a smaller car is always “What happens if I get hit” or anything like that. The size and safety concerns me most on the Elio car, I love the idea of over 60mpg and find the cost well worth it, but around here we still have to travel on 2 lane roads semi-frequently and there are alot of those excessively oversided ford, chevy, dodge and toyota trucks. I figure if I got hit by one of those it could be the end of me and anyone else in the car, that is definitely my biggest concern.. If there were small-car only roads I would likely buy that in a second.
Residing in MO the helmet law question still got me on the side line. I did pose the question by email on how the handling if the back tire has a blow out. The Honda Civic that runs on CNG, except refueling on the road is a joke.
This thing could do exactly what it purported to do, so why hasn’t one of the worlds member of the billionaires club just go ahead and bankroll this project and get it to the masses already. They could easily do it and they would have to look hard to see if they was a billion or two light this quarter.Big oil once again or worse our own government putting the kiabash on it?? Lets hope not, and just let we the people have something for us for a change.
You know what this would be perfect for? People traveling in an rv and just wanting wheels once the rv is parked. I work out of state months out of the year. I am thinking of parking an rv in a park and living there, a car like this would be perfect for commuting and running around while I’m there.
Dead end, over 10 years in the making and nothing at all to show. A few prototypes to demo to the press. The debt load for this company is now dooming it. I hope you didnt invest here. Its actually sad because it had such promise. I would have actually considered owning one -but my wait and see approach turned out appropriate
Would be nice to market a version for delivery services like grubhub, pizza hut or eatstreet.
Don’t put in a non-refundable reservation. Not until they actually get funding. Google Elio Motors and you won’t see anything new. They are on hold for now. The Elio Motors blogs are just repeats from years past. Also nothing new. Requests to Elio Motors for any information are simply answered with “read the blog”. Paul Elio always remains silent and has disappeared from public view. For more info see the elioowners.com website.
Agreed.
YES… cash in hand , just make it.
When a bigger car or a pick up truck hits into it in an accident, who’s going to have minor scrapes on the fender, and whose car is going to be totaled with the driver getting severe injuries or death? I wouldn’t risk my kid’s life with this car, no matter what the cost savings.
Well, I am sure this has been already
Considered, but if they sold these with
An attached stock option to the first
Buyers to raise the additional 160 million
Could speed up the funding and spread
The risk over a wider base. Food for
Thought. Johnny Cooper Albany, Oregon
Website is back up: https://www.eliomotors.com/
Website is back online, but Elio is still a zombie company.
Thank you for updating us in 2024!
The thieves need to give us our money back!