PHUKET: If you thought Thailand’s three-wheeled Tuk Tuks were cool, wait till you have a look at the new American designed and manufactured Elio eco-car. It may look like funky-looking futuristic concept car ornament for car shows, but this one is already assembly-line ready for pilot on the American market; manufacturing of the three-wheeler eco-car is set to begin this spring from Elio Motors’ base in Shreveport, Lousiana, in the Southern US.
According to its website, 90 per cent of the automobile’s content will be sourced in North America. It does not specify where the other 10pc will come from.
Super specs
At only 4 meters long with a wheel base of 2.8 M (Two wheels are in front, and a single wheel in the rear, see photo), the Elio can seat two in tandem, and is apparently designed to seat 95 per cent of men – tall and heavy – and thus women should have no problem getting comfy.
It is touted to be able to achieve up to 35.7 km per litre of petrol (84 mpg), and go as fast as 160 kph (0-100 in just over 9 secs) – all this with only 1 litre of displacement via a 3-cylinder, 70 HP engine. With a 30 litre fuel tank (8 gallons), this means it would theoretically be able to make it to Bangkok from Phuket on one tank, or roughly B1,000!
Even with city driving, it’s purported to be able to achieve 20kpl fuel economy.
And the best part of all is its starting price tag of just $6800 (B223,000)! Even at Thailand's current automobile import duties and excesses – 187.47pc for cars that have engines not exceeding 2,000cc according to Thai Customs website – a vehicle like this would pay for itself here in Phuket pretty quickly, especially comparing what you can get currently on the market for less than B500,000.
And unlike many of the entry models of local cars, the Elio was designed with a full Safety Management System, that includes air bags and roll cage, among other features.
Indeed, the traditional Japanese order of motors dominating the market have a lot of marketing and design homework ahead of them, that is if they want to maintain their stranglehold on the local market. But only time shall tell.
For more info about the Elio, see http://www.eliomotors.com/