Elio. They are STILL trying to round up orders for their cars. Price is now $14,900, it’s supposed to go 110 mph and go 3 days without charging.
The low-end market is dead. Everyone knows that. A lightly used Bolt is half the price of a new Elio and 4 times the vehicle. And Chevy killed the Bolt because of low sales.
3 wheeled vehicles are what they always have been. A weird thing for weird people. Boomers that are too out of shape to ride a motorcycle, weird English professors with tweed jackets, Guys that co-play Batman on the weekend. They are still impractical on normal roads, if nothing else because the center tires are always sitting on the grease dropped by a couple thousand cars with gasket leaks.
Actually, any manufacturer that isn’t making an SUV that can carry 8, tow, 10,000 lbs and outclimb a mountain goat is likely heading towards problems. As we transition from ICE to EV, there isn’t a huge operational cost difference between an EV version of a Mirage and a Hummer EV. Since EVs should be good at lasting a long time, then the risk of getting more than you need, just in case is low.
We are very much a fractured market today. The Haves can get giant vehicles that can do way more than they ever need and are excellent at showing off their wealth. The Have Nots can buy these excessive vehicles from the Haves and end up with a vehicle that checks every box, for less than a bargain new crapcan. Any manufacturer trying to make a new car for the Have Nots is barking up the wrong tree in today’s market.