Elio
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- Flack
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The Elio comes standard with air conditioning!AArdvark wrote: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?
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.
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- Flack
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"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_MotorsTdarcos wrote:Wrong.Flack wrote:Legally the Elio is considered a motorcycle since it has less than 4 wheels,
"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.
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- Ice Cream Jonsey
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Re: Continued
Not sure what happened. I didn't blank your post and neither did anyone else. It might have been a server hiccup.Tdarcos wrote: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.
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.
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- Tdarcos
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The server is still nulling my posts in this thread.
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.
They're referring to what Federal Law defines a motorcycle for federal safety and tax classification. What the vehicle is actually registered as, or the class of license you need to operate it, is a matter of state law.Flack wrote: I am sure Tdarcos is right and Elio is wrong about what their vehicle is classified as.
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.
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- Flack
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- The Happiness Engine
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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?
- Flack
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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.
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 failed a savings throw and now I am back."
- Flack
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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.
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.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."