RSchneider
Elio Addict
One of my bigger concerns for three-wheeler acceptance in general is that some fly-by-night company takes advantage of all the loopholes they can find to make a fast buck selling some cheap death trap, giving three-wheelers in general a bad reputation. As soon as that first fatal accident occurs, and we all know it will, there will be a lot of scrutiny on things. And the more loopholes that are used to get something on the road, the greater pressure there will be for regulation, which is bound to be over-reactive and far too heavy handed.
That is a concern. Elio will have to futureproof their design because it's a matter of time that someone will get killed in a trike and one rule change can kill the trike industry. In addition to that, I seriously doubt that the insurance industry is going to allow something like an Elio to get insured like a motorcycle either. I know that insurance rates have gone up for many slingshot owners once the IIHS got one and tested it. Plus all of the accidents they have been in. With the Elio, they won't have that performance level but will be making it up in miles driven per year and that you can drive them anywhere in the US under any weather conditions. My nephew is an actuary for an insurance company and I talked to him about the Elio. He agrees that since it's just like a car, it would be insured just like one. Maybe not in 2019 but definitely in 2020.