[img]http://i.imgur.com/srUSyNk.jpg[/img]

Above is a shot of the "open wheel" design. I liked it better.

Below is the new, modified design. You can also see that they moved the headlights.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/yFH7nGM.png[/img]

One other thing they've done is got rid of the back window. Apparently the way the side mirrors are, the view overlaps in the back and there's really no need for a rear window. You couldn't see out it with a passenger back there anyway.

Elio has a couple of "mules" built with off the shelf parts that they are driving around the country right now. In those they put a 3-cyl engine out of I believe a Suzuki Swift. Over the past few months I have heard that the production engine will have somewhere between 55 and 70hp.

Right now they are claiming a 0-60 time of 9.6 seconds. According to Car and Driver, that blows the doors off of my old Yugo (0-60 in 14 seconds) and Geo Tracker (13.5) and puts it closer to my old Ford Festiva (10.1). That being said, this may be the only time anyone discussing the Elio uses the term "blows the door off". The Elio will be available in either a standard or an automatic; I'm guessing the standard will be slightly easier to merge.

Obviously the low HP and low weight (combined with aerodynamics) are what give you the high mpg. I'll bet you within a couple of years someone makes a kit where you can swap in a Hayabusa engine or something else a little more fun. You can say bye-bye to that 84mpg, but it'll be a hell of a lot more fun to drive at that point.

I do know the aerodynamics have a lot of to do with the mileage. The early shots of the Elio had the front wheel assembly "open" and it looked a lot cooler (to me). The newer ones have big boxy cowls surrounding the front wheels to cut down wind resistance.

I would like some more insight into how a vehicle that is essentially a largish motorcycle engine pulling a HUGE motorcycle is twice as efficient as any actual motorcycle. Is it because they haven't built anything yet and everything is speculation? Let's also be fair, is it because it's geared like an endless after-school detention?

I contacted Elio. They said you are correct and that they are firing their entire legal and marketing departments and replacing them with mentally deficient notaries.

The server is still nulling my posts in this thread.

[quote="Flack"]
I am sure Tdarcos is right and Elio is wrong about what their vehicle is classified as.[/quote]

They're referring to what Federal Law defines a motorcycle for federal safety and tax classification. What the vehicle is actually [i]registered[/i] as, or the class of license you need to operate it, is a matter of state law.

If a state does not set a maximum weight limit, then the 3-wheeled car would constitute a motorcycle. But the state can exempt it from motorcycle operator licensing. In California, if you own a 3-wheel motorcycle, any motorcylcle over 1500 pounds, or one with a side car, it is registered, tagged and licensed as a motorcycle, but the operator doesn't have to have a motorcycle license or motorcycle endorsement to an operator's license.

[quote="Tdarcos"]WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? I POST A MESSAGE OF 8 LINES AND IT'S BLANKED OUT! IF MY COMMENTS ARE UNWANTED THEN TELL ME.

If the manufacturer originally issued a title for it in California as a motor vehicle other than a motorcycle, under the "full faith and credit" clause of the US Constitution, any other state would have to honor it and accept it as a non-motorcycle.[/quote]

Not sure what happened. I didn't blank your post and neither did anyone else. It might have been a server hiccup.

All that shit with people getting on you about your posting, that is in the past now. To do it again would be tedious, sir.

[quote="Tdarcos"][quote="Flack"]Legally the Elio is considered a motorcycle since it has less than 4 wheels,[/quote]

Wrong.[/quote]

"Fully enclosed like a standard automobile, the vehicle's three-wheel design falls under the US government motorcycle classification." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elio_Motors

"Q: Is Elio a car or a motorcycle?

According to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) “Motorcycle” means a motor vehicle with motive power having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground. So if it is less than four wheels it is a motorcycle." - http://www.eliomotors.com

I am sure Tdarcos is right and Elio is wrong about what their vehicle is classified as.

[quote="AArdvark"]Re: Snow vehicle

I was thinking more like getting out of a driveway with four inches of that heavy wet snow after the street plow has pushed it a foot deep near the end. I guess not driving it on those few days wouldn't break the gas budget.

Does it have A/C?[/quote]
The Elio comes standard with air conditioning!

As for the deep snow, I dunno. According to the Elio website, the Elio has a ground clearance of 5.75". The ground clearance of my car, a 2013 WRX STI, is 5.9". The ground clearance of our Honda Crosstour is 8.1" and my truck is 8.6", so it seems more likely we would take one of those out if the weather's bad.

Also. "Three wheeled motorcycles or a motorcycle with a side car require only a

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuukk

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? I POST A MESSAGE OF 8 LINES AND IT'S BLANKED OUT! IF MY COMMENTS ARE UNWANTED THEN TELL ME.

If the manufacturer originally issued a title for it in California as a motor vehicle other than a motorcycle, under the "full faith and credit" clause of the US Constitution, any other state would have to honor it and accept it as a non-motorcycle.

[quote="Flack"]Legally the Elio is considered a motorcycle since it has less than 4 wheels,[/quote]

Wrong. The qualification is either weight or engine size. California defines a motorcycle as having at least a 150cc engine (below that, it's a scooter, which does not require a Class M license or endorsement.)

But the key is either the weight. A "motorcycle" is defined as weighing less than 1500 pounds (in California). If it's above 1500 pounds, even if it has less than 4 wheels, it's a motor vehicle, meaning you can drive it on a Class C license, which allows operating anything under 20001 pounds that isn't a motorcycle.

I think something has been stuck in here, if my post goes over a certain size it is nulled out.

Re: Snow vehicle

I was thinking more like getting out of a driveway with four inches of that heavy wet snow after the street plow has pushed it a foot deep near the end. I guess not driving it on those few days wouldn't break the gas budget.

Does it have A/C?


THE
108 DEGREES
AARDVARK

[quote="Garth's Equipment Shop"]And how is this "safe" again? I'm really surprised this was not among the questions already asked despite their quality.[/quote]
THIS is a GOOD QUESTION.

01. The Elio is designed not to tip over on flat ground. The company states that it cannot be done. That sounds more like a challenge, but...

02. Under the body, the Elio is built more like an airplane than a typical car. It's more like a roll cage with a skin, from what I understand. (It also has airbags.) Based on Elio's tests they expect the Elio to have a 5-Star crash rating. You can't actually get that rating until a production version of the car is tested by the NTSB, but that's what they are expecting.

To to be completely honest and not sugar coat anything, I expect that in anything more than the lightest fender bender, the occupants of the vehicle will survive and the rest of the car will be smashed to shit. That front end does not look like it would do well if Bubba's 4WD truck ran into it.

Also, for reference - crash ratings:

Front impact:
5 Stars = 10 percent or less chance of injury
4 Stars = 11-20 percent chance of injury
3 Stars = 21-35 percent chance of injury
2 Stars = 36-45 percent chance of injury
1 Star = 46 percent or greater chance of injury

Side impact:
5 Stars = 5 percent or less chance of injury
4 Stars = 6-10 percent chance of injury
3 Stars = 11-20 percent chance of injury
2 Stars = 21-25 percent chance of injury
1 Star = 26 percent or greater chance of injury

Roll over:
5 Stars = 10 percent or less risk of rollover
4 Stars = 10-20 percent risk of rollover
3 Stars = 20-30 percent risk of rollover
2 Stars = 30-40 percent risk of rollover
1 Star = 40 percent or greater risk of rollover

Three or four airbags, roll cage construction (the structural integrity of the "cab" in reinforced to resist damage), etc. The safety of the thing against anything say a head on collision with a tank doesn't appear to be in doubt, though these are computer simulations: the real crash test stuff should be coming early next year,

And how is this "safe" again? I'm really surprised this was not among the questions already asked despite their quality.

[quote]Would someone else point out to ICJ that riding anything except a bicycle half a mile is more than a little embarressing? Please? I really don't want to be the bad guy this time around.[/quote]

[quote="Flack"]Can't help ya, RR; I drive a golf cart out to the end of my driveway to check my mail. LIKE A BOSS.[/quote]

Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

You have no power here, Retro!

Ahhh hahaha aha!

Can't help ya, RR; I drive a golf cart out to the end of my driveway to check my mail. LIKE A BOSS.

Would someone else point out to ICJ that riding anything except a bicycle half a mile is more than a little embarressing? Please? I really don't want to be the bad guy this time around.

I ran the numbers on getting to my new job, Flack. I get 55 miles to the gallon, and I now work 0.5 miles away. So that is one mile a day. That means that with the two gallon tank on the motorcycle, that's ... roughly 110 days before having to get into the reserve tank.

I like this future where the two of us have skullfucked Big Oil ("oil") and we just unleash a stream of dino come at them! I like it a lot!