Gearhead Stuff

Will the Elio be metric or English based? Or mostly one or the other with just soft conversions? (Hardware, chassis dimensions...etc)

To maintain the warranty will we HAVE to use PepBoyz?

Why must the Elio have power windows and door locks? Seems like an unecessary expense for the concept. More to go wrong and increases the price. Would not manual crank windows be more appropriate conceptually? I prefer their simplicity and bulletproofness personally.

Will the engine be designed for easy swaps? I can see hot rodders already drooling...I wonder what else will fit? Suby? Hayabusa? V6? Rotary...hmmm.... The ability to fit other engines/trannys out of the box as optional upgrades could be very appealing. Plain vanilla rolling chassis could be sold to customizers...

What about mounting the headlights on the wheel fairings?...Then they could turn in the direction of travel, just like the Tucker. The fairings could look sexy like a '40 ford front end, only in a 21st century vocabulary. Will there be a need for, or the ability to provide running lights, turn signal or reflectors on the front wheel housings? I think they should be mandatory for safety reasons - outrigger wheels that cannot be seen at night could be a significant safety problem.

Driving/foglights as optional equipment?

I vote for a Bright Yellow available color....call it Lemonade....

Really like the pushbutton dash idea for the auto trans, cable shifter would be easy like bicycle technology. It also opens the possibility for a right side door which makes tons of sense from a safety viewpoint even though its not intuitive in the USA.

Will the windows be tinted or clear?

I am into raw, basic sports cars - basic interiors, good mechanical engineering - the Elio fits that precedent if it does not get too carried away and keeps with its concept. Love the convenience of A/C though, that will be important for those hot days pretty much anywhere.

Looking at the chassis design, I can easily envision a Targa design with a removable roof panel above the driver like the Porsche, and an integral to chassis roll bar as a safety feature - may give it even cleaner lines if executed correctly.

Welcome Jeff! Lots of questions that you may find answers to as you browse the various threads and posts.

Rickb said:

Welcome Jeff! Lots of questions that you may find answers to as you browse the various threads and posts.

Click to expand...

He did browse. It looks he took all most every thread in the forum and turned them back into questions again. Even the the title to the thread has been used.
http://www.elioowners.com/threads/question-to-all-the-gearheads.4030/#post-56616

Hi Jeff, welcome.

Yes, all of those questions have been discussed at some length in not too distant threads. Some of them probably at too much length. Without wanting to be disrespectful, I'd say don't be too surprised if some people seem a little abrupt in their answers.

Hi, and welcome, Great questions and concerns, which many of us too keep juggling around New to the site, and with a growing amount of responses, and of the threads that easily go off topic, we share our enthusiasm to see this project through. Give yourself some time to browse, and you'll notice in many cases excruciating detailed threads were devoted for example to which side the door should be on, the gas cap location was and many others. But many in here are very specific and detailed.
There are many folks who know many things- but remember
1. No one has driven an Elio 100mph
2. Nobody has gotten 84mpg
3. Nobody has bought one for $6800
So we're all on the same level when it's all said and done. I find this very therapeutic as I have issues with deferring gratification!!

Welcome to the forum Jeff.

Jeff Bowlsby said:

Will the Elio be metric or English based? Or mostly one or the other with just soft conversions? (Hardware, chassis dimensions...etc) Not sure on this one

To maintain the warranty will we HAVE to use PepBoyz? I don't beleive so, since there are not Pep Boys everywhere. But, Elio has stated that they are working with other companies to fill in where there are no Pep Boys

Why must the Elio have power windows and door locks? Seems like an unecessary expense for the concept. More to go wrong and increases the price. Would not manual crank windows be more appropriate conceptually? I prefer their simplicity and bulletproofness personally. Beleive it or not, Elio has stated that electric windows and lock are no more expensive. In fact, for the windows it is less expensive. Something to do with the fact that very few automobiles use crank windows anymore and because of the low volume, they are more expensive.

Will the engine be designed for easy swaps? I can see hot rodders already drooling...I wonder what else will fit? Suby? Hayabusa? V6? The ability to fit other engines/trannys out of the box as optional upgrades could be very appealing. Plain vanilla rolling chassis could be sold to customizers... Not sure about this (not an auto guy, lol) I are trying to add an option for turbo, but this car is not being built to be a sports car. It is an econimcal, high MPG car

What about mounting the headlights on the wheel fairings?...Then they could turn in the direction of travel, just like the Tucker. The fairings could look sexy like a '40 ford front end, only in a 21st century vocabulary. Will there be a need for, or the ability to provide running lights, turn signal or reflectors on the front wheel housings? I think they should be mandatory for safety reasons - outrigger wheels that cannot be seen at night could be a significant safety problem.Any additional lighting would be after market. It's been discussed here that lights on the whell fairings would be difficult only because it would not be as stable as it would be on the body of the car. The lights would be "jiggling" all over the place, for lack of a better word.

Driving/foglights as optional equipment? Optional

I vote for a Bright Yellow available color....call it Lemonade....That is on a lot of people's wishlist. However, Elio has stated yellow will not be an option. After market paint job or wrap

Really like the pushbutton dash idea for the auto trans, cable shifter would be easy like bicycle technology. It also opens the possibility for a right side door which makes tons of sense from a safety viewpoint even though its not intuitive in the USA. This one is over my head. lol Although a right side door would not only be awkward in the USA, but would add weight with door hinges and the like

Will the windows be tinted or clear? Clear, with tinting as an option

I am into raw, basic sports cars - basic interiors, good mechanical engineering - the Elio fits that precedent if it does not get too carried away and keeps with its concept. Love the convenience of A/C though, that will be important for those hot days pretty much anywhere. Agreed (accept for the Elio being a sports car) A/C is important for the average buyer of the Elio who is using it as a commuter car or daily driver. Comfort is a must

Looking at the chassis design, I can easily envision a Targa design with a removable roof panel above the driver like the Porsche, and an integral to chassis roll bar as a safety feature - may give it even cleaner lines if executed correctly.

Click to expand...

Hi Jeff Welcom to the site! Glad to have you aboard. I'm no gearhead, but I'll try to answer a few of the questions. See reply above. Again, glad to have you here, enjoy the ride.

Hi and welcome from Oregon, Jeff Bowlsby. You have a lot of reading to do but you will find most of the answers in more detail than Neal has managed to provide briefly (good job Neal!). There are many gear heads here who can answer your more technical questions. I hope you will take the time to read and enjoy this exciting journey to Elio production and ownership. Z

Thanks all. I am liking the interaction on this forum already. I actually have spent quite a bit of time on other threads before my first posting...the threads can get pretty long with lots of rabbit trails OT, which is why I posted my thoughts. Maybe the answers were buried too deep in the threads? Thanks for the great replies...I'll keep reading.

I had posted this in the General Discussion Forum...had to search to find it in the Introduce Yourself Forum...Why was it moved?

My comment about a right side doors, was in lieu of a left side door as awkward as it might be at first. No weight penalty, same-same. Awkward yes, but I thought safety was important? Elio's first lawsuit for design defects that they control may change their minds...

Also the lighting on the front wheel fairings... again a safety concern...I am pretty sure that least front turn signals, rear reflectors and front running lights are vehicle code requirement for road-going vehicles that I have not seen on the prototypes yet? Or is the Elio exempt in some way?

Believe me, I am on board for wanting this vehicle to succeed...these comments are meant to be constructive.

Welcome Jeff. You came to the right place. Every question has been answered here on the forum. Enjoy.