(April 22, 2014) TROY, Mich. — Elio Motors claims its new car is more environmentally friendly than cow farts. The company’s revolutionary three-wheeled vehicle will launch in 2015, will sell for $6,800 and get an astounding 84 miles per gallon.

With Earth Day today, Elio Motors' CEO Paul Elio challenged his team to put into context the vehicle’s positive environmental impact.

Of course, the team came up with some compelling information. Driven 15,000 miles annually, the vehicle will save its owner $1,500 in fuel costs. Over 10 years,  the vehicle could save American drivers 4.7 billion gallons of fuel a year and reduce CO2 emissions by 91 billion pounds.

The team also found an interesting fact to put the vehicle’s environmental impact in every day terms. Elio Motors’ vehicle will be more environmentally friendly than a year’s worth of one cow’s farts. Here’s the science:

    One cow produces 242 pounds of methane a year through burps and flatulence.  Methane traps 20 times more heat than CO2 over a 100-year period. (SOURCE: Get Green Living) In a year, the average cow will emit 4,840 pounds of CO2 equivalent greenhouses gases.
    Elio Motors vehicle, driven 20,000 miles, will emit only 4,500 pounds of CO2. So… the Elio is more environmentally friendly than cow farts.

“I’ll admit, it’s not the most conventional measure for environmental efficiency,” Elio said of the cow comparison. “But, when you realize that we are more environmentally friendly than something found in nature every day, we are clearly on the right path. The internal combustion engine is going to be part of the transportation industry for many years into the future. The key will be for companies such as Elio Motors to come up with revolutionary vehicle designs to use existing technology in a more Earth-friendly way.” 

The Elio is propelled by a 70-horsepower 1.0-liter inline three-cylinder engine. It claims a 100-mph top speed and 672-mile range. There are two seats in tandem configuration. The second seat can be folded down and used for storage.

Elio concedes that there are other futuristic technologies such as electric vehicles and hydrogen propulsion that will eventually reduce emissions even further. But, consumer demand and infrastructure needed to support these technologies might keep them from the mainstream for another 20 years. In the meantime, he sees the Elio Motors vehicle as an important bridge to the future – an affordable, efficient vehicle that meets consumer demand and can hit the road right away.

In fact, Mr. Elio has his own “Cash for Clunkers” plan, aimed at getting rid of some of the 95 million “clunkers” on America’s highways today. Most people drive a low-mileage, low-price clunker because they don’t believe they have any other option. With a vehicle from Elio Motors, clunker owners can get a new vehicle for a low price that is under warranty, inexpensive to insure and provides significant fuel savings.

“Many people simply don’t believe they can afford a new vehicle,” Elio said. “But, we are providing a transportation option that can get literally thousands of people into a new vehicle who couldn’t afford one before. A good outcome from this will be getting a lot of inefficient, gas guzzling vehicles off the road.”

Initial customer enthusiasm for Elio Motors is high, as more than 14,000 people have made reservations for the vehicle. The company already has more than 100,000 fans on Facebook and is averaging more than 250,000 unique visitors per month to its web site this year.

About Elio Motors: Founded by car enthusiast Paul Elio in 2008, Elio Motors Inc. represents a revolutionary approach to manufacturing an ultra-high-mileage vehicle. The 3-wheeled Elio will attain a highway mileage rating of 84 mpg while providing the comfort of amenities such as power windows, power door lock and air conditioning, accompanied by the safety of multiple air bags and an aerodynamic, enclosed vehicle body. Elio’s first manufacturing site will be in Shreveport, La., with plans for the first production vehicle to roll off the assembly line in 2015 and significant production, sales and distribution during the next two years. For more information, click here.