ELIO Motors

YES! I want one.

Leave the SUV at home for the soccer moms

90% of the driving that I do, I am alone. I just need enough room for a 12 pack.

I like it.

I also like the idea that the PEP Boys will be providing service. This quickly solves the support infrastructure problem a new car company must deal with.

Good little commuter vehicle, but I wouldn't want to hit the interstate in one....

When i get mine i am heading from Texas on a trip to SC to take the grand kids for a ride (one at a time). I took my Honda 1100 cc bagger on the trip and with this i will at least have AC. I can not see any reason to not run on the interstate.

That's only because you have never been on I-95 during rush hour traffic in South Florida...

If I had one I would add this as an engine....@400 hp

http://www.gizmag.com/nissan-zeod-rc-engine/30611/

The possibilities are almost endless.

I guess that you have never been on I-93 in Mass in rush hour traffic. This would have enough HP with a top speed of 10 MPH.

Or better the Southeast Expressway around Neponset Circle.

Or Rte. 3 heading down towards Marshfield. A road my best friend refers to as "The Trail of Tears" when he was commuting into Boston every day.

A fair assessment and personal opinion on this vehicle. No successful vehicle is meant to be all things to all people. Many years back the Toyota Corona challenged and beat a jet powered vehicle to a race, and won. The critical criteria can be skewed to serve any opinion.

a sure- fire flop

I am willing to bet it wont be. Want to make a wager?

you can park next to this

Again , one more time. Want to make a wager?

They made 3/4 of a million of those over the years it was in production. Intro into the US market was late in it's production run. Still quite a few on the streets in Europe.

3/4 of a million vehicles sounds more like a narrow niche successfully filled instead of a flop to me.

from wiki...ompany has begun taking reservations with a deposit on its website; as of September 1, 2014, more than 33,000 had been made

"was in production"??? its a start-up

You just said that you made a $1000 wager.

As much as I love the concept of this vehicle, I am not about to make a deposit on some future delivery. I have a few concerns:

1. Although they claim to have more than 30,000 pre-orders, will their sales at $6800 be enough to cover their start up production costs? I don't want to shell out $1k (non refundable) for the 35,00th place in line only to find out they went under before they completed the 34,000th.
2. Like any new product, I am sure that there will be issues with their early production models. I will wait until these issues are discovered and resolved before I put my money down for one.
3. There is a yet to be resolved issue about how some states (and insurance companies) classify this vehicle. For some it is an automobile, for others it is a motorcycle. I want to wait until this is uniformly resolved.
4. I want to drive one before I buy one. Does it handle like a regular automobile, or is there a learning curve?

I also have looked at this vehicle. Now that Aptera has paved the way with a lot of the financial issues before it closed it's doors.

The motor cycle which this is did not fall in a category for low interest government loans. Which are being given out for designs of high mileage vehicle. Aptera worked to have that changed but too late for that company.

Also Elio management has address another issue state by state. Most states have a motor cycle license also helmet laws. This has been address by the company in most states.

The 84 mpg sounds good to me. At $6,800 US I don't think they will have a problem selling. At that price I see many being bought just for the commute to work or that quick jaunt the store as a second vehicle.

competitionhttp://www.gizmag.com/aptera-independent-production-us/27868/

From the link you gave: price @ $50,000 competition??? Even a tree hugging California yuppi might choke at this.

It's just a dumbed down underpowered version of one of these...

http://can-am.brp.com/spyder/spyder/spyder-rs.html

If the same safety standards that are regulated for automobiles were to be forced on motorcycles, this is what you would end up with.

youtube.com/watch?v=Jxyk4p-CKI4 classified as a motorcycle

It's been done:

• From:
• http://www.3wheelers.com/
• 
  

At least that one was cool lookin'...This Elio looks like somebody chopped up a Tata...

Now the Aero 3S looks cool, but it costs a little more.....ok a lot more...

http://www.aero3s.com/

These three wheelers, two widely spaced wheels at the front and either a single or a dual system at the back have been around for almost 80 years (from memory) in the UK.

They recently revamped it and it has become their best selling product EVER!!

(A search using either Morgan or Triumph 3 wheeler on Google will reveal many links)

See here:-

http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20140706-top-mog-the-3-wheeler-triumphant

3 wheels, yes, nut not enclosed.

"NUT"?? BUT?

What difference does it make enclosed or not?

I am willing to learn always, so please help me to understand your comment better......

Modern copies may make changes, all cars are more aerodynamic than they were, don't forget how old these designs are......

Thanks in advance.

I found some details of 11 others, if anyone is interested here:-

Three-wheelers-group-test

There looks to be some fun machines, some of them being sold as kit cars....

the bottom line is people see..80MPG CAR FOR 7grand, it is not a car! its a motorcycle, it will NEVER, I repeat, NEVER be a mass market success in the US market. the Mustang and Accord have nothing to worry about. its flimsy and will never match the hype its currently enjoying,

The Morgan versions are relatively simple and are selling like Hotcakes....crash resistance I have no idea.....maybe someone else with better knowledge could chime in?

I like the idea of such vehicles, but thats just me.....I liked them as a kid many years ago too.....

I never liked the ones with the two wheels at the back from several other companies, one wheel at the front, they were a pain to steer as there was no opposite castor angles to help hold the car in a straight line, you had to hang both hands on the wheel all the time, tiring.....and we in the UK have made a few of those over the years.....not good. Some could get to almost 90MPH if my memory serves me correctly....no thanks!!

I also believe that braking was not as good due to a single front tyre, probably as good as an overloaded Motorbike might be for example? e.g. UGH!!! Only a personal take, not fact!!!

This doesn't pass my sniff test. A basic 1000cc mass-produced Honda CBR1000RR costs $14K and does not have an enclosed body or doors. Yet for $6800 Elio is going to produce a much more complex 900cc three-wheeler with airbags.

The CBR1000RR advertises 41MPG. However the much wider and heavier Elio advertises 84MPG.

I'd buy one in heartbeat if they became a reality. Hope I'm wrong but it ain't gonna happen. Say goodby to your deposit.

Time will tell.

Corbin Sparrow anyone?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers_Motors_NmG

http://autoweek.com/article/car-life/corbin-sparrow-was-clown-car-tomorrow

Try this three wheeler.

My favorite episode of Top Gear "Rolling a Reliant Robin"

http://youtu.be/QQh56geU0X8

Plenty of people have done it themselves in the UK.

I have not heard of it happening to 3 wheelers where the two wheels are in the front, or probably better said, it happens a lot less....

Even 4 wheelers are not immune!!!

I found this really simple and easy to understand "3 wheeler rolling and why" website. Both types of 3 wheeler are discussed here with easy to understand diagrams and text:-

3-wheels and stability