Part Car, Part Motorcycle, All Eco-Friendly

Part Car, Part Motorcycle, All Eco-Friendly Part Car, Part Motorcycle, All Eco-Friendly Part Car, Part Motorcycle, All Eco-FriendlyIt may sound counterintuitive for a technology-driven startup to include no new technology as one of four carved-in-stone design principles to be followed, but thats exactly what Paul Elio did when he founded Elio Motors.A few years back when Elio, an engineer and automotive enthusiast, looked at the lay of the land, he vowed to come up with a highly fuel-efficient car that everyone could afford, and the company welches born. That was 2008. Today, Elio Motors expects its three-wheeled, two-passenger Elio, classified as a motorcycle but designed and equipped like a car, tolaunch in the fourth quarter of 2016.Elio started the company with four must-haves as part of his vision affordability (now pegged at $6,800), high fuel efficiency (84 mpg), the highest safety ratings, and no new technology.We strongly believe that technical risk for a startup is a death knell, says Hari Iyer, Elio Motors COO and a board member, because solving technical issues will take months longer than planned and be costly. Even with a commitment to no new technology whenever possible, funding has been one of Elio Motors biggest challenges.Paul Elio and his car. Image Elio MotorsWe do have innovation, says Iyer, also an engineer. Its architectural innovation, which he said Paul Elio likens to wheels on luggage, taking two known technologies and coming up with something different. Its the same thing with our vehicle. Whenever possible, the vehicle uses proven technology.When you work with a large kollektiv, it is easy to lose focus of goals. Engineers being engineers, they love to do new stuff, Iyer says. Its very important to harness and channel all the creative energy of engineers and go in the same direction.However, Its easier said than done to stay true to the no new technology canon, he admitted. Elio Motors learned the hard way. Engineers came up with the idea for a door they called a scissor door that would rotate out a little and then swing up to avoid little dings when in a tight space. Only after the engineering was completed did it become apparent that the door had a lot of complexity, meaning a greater technical risk and cost. While it solved the door ding problem, it created other issues of which the kollektiv hadnt thought For example, howwould the scissor door open inside a garage without hitting the garage ceiling?We knew the canons of the project vision but we couldnt help ourselves, Iyer says. When you have smart engineers, thats a natural trap of the process.After that, the team re-committed to the no-new-technology principle. It was challenging to work so disciplined, Iyer says. We had to go through the process to completely internalize that goal. Its not that we dont want really cool ideas. Its about taking technical risk and which ones have technical risk or not.There were many other, smaller examples, but the team f igured out how to assess risk quickly, such as with a windshield wiper. One idea was to use an inexpensive, off-the-shelf water bottle and put the assembly motor for pumping the fluid on top. In concept that sounds like a great idea, but when we did the economics, most of the cost is not in the bottle but in the motor, so being able to integrate the motor into an existing model was not as risky and thus less costly, Iyer says.These issues had to be addressed because of unique aspects of the vehicle, for example, the height being the same as other vehicles but only half the width. In order for the windshield wiper to have the right coverage, it had to be the same length as a standard wiper but provide half the coverage on width. We were able to overcome this with help from our suppliers, Iyer says. He says major supplier-partners contribute in a big way to the global optimum solution. Typically, Elio and suppliers meet regularly as a team to resolve issues.The Elio will feature a 55- horsepower engine. Image Elio MotorsAnother challenge was to find a powertrain. Trying to use as many off-the-shelf items as possible, the engineers looked at various options. But if the vehicle used an engine designed for the smallest existing car, it would be 30% less efficient on the Elio because the vehicle is half the weight of a subcompact. Operating conditions for a lighter vehicle are different from a heavier vehicle, Iyer explained. A decision was made that the best solution would be for powertrain systems developer IAV to design an engine specifically for the Elio.Paul Elios vision also incorporated his desire to have a positive energy/environmental impact and a socioeconomic impact. We feel we have a better green story than electric vehicles, Iyer says. If the Elio sells the volume we expect it to sell, it will reduce in a five-year period U.S. fuel consumption by 0.35%.Its very fashionable to talk about electric vehicles, but at 84 miles per gallon, we are 85% of the way there, and were doing so at one-fifth to one-tenth of the cost of the vehicle. Which will have a bigger impact?As for its socioeconomic impact, Iyer says its Shreveport, LA manufacturing facility and supply base will provide 3,000 jobs and an estimated 18,000 additional jobs indirectly. We feel good about having that kind of impact as well, Iyer says.Nancy S. Giges is an independent writer. For Further DiscussionWe strongly believe that technical risk for a startup is a death knell.Hari Iyer COO and Board Member, Elio Motors