Any Updates On Production

[Kuda]

I'm not familiar with any car company that provides an alternative dash for their production cars. Can you site one that does? If not, then why should EM be considered stubborn and short sighted?

EM prides itself on thinking
outside of the box. What
others do or don't isn't the
point. None of this is rocket
science. Adding an optional
dash that would make them
money would seem to make
sence......

 

[W. WIllie]

Just "KISS". I'll use my discount to get the anol. gauge set up.

Willie

 

[Jeff Miller]

They do offer options; but it's very limited. The dash in a car with navigation/touch screen is very different for a car that doesn't have it. That is a viable option in almost ever car made today.
Plus car companies will spend a lot of time and money doing R&D with focus groups and development groups on the dash and the controls before they release it.

I've come up with a digital dash replacement, but how many people are going to be interested in spending $600.00 on it?

Yes, I have seen options to accommodate nav and also seen other car companies provide different options for stereo (which EM said they will do) but I don't believe I have ever seen optional instrument clusters with the one exception of cars that came with heads up instruments as an option. Other than that I don't believe any car manufacture offers a choice of digital, analog, choose your option instrument cluster.

Per Kuda's suggestion that EM should think outside the box and infer that EM should provide choices of instruments clusters I think that is asking a bit too much. The added logistics and costs of maintaining multiple instrument clusters is just yet another thing that would keep the price of the elio going up when EM is desperately trying to get the cost down.

 

[Coss]

Yes, I have seen options to accommodate nav and also seen other car companies provide different options for stereo (which EM said they will do) but I don't believe I have ever seen optional instrument clusters with the one exception of cars that came with heads up instruments as an option. Other than that I don't believe any car manufacture offers a choice of digital, analog, choose your option instrument cluster.

Per Kuda's suggestion that EM should think outside the box and infer that EM should provide choices of instruments clusters I think that is asking a bit too much. The added logistics and costs of maintaining multiple instrument clusters is just yet another thing that would keep the price of the elio going up when EM is desperately trying to get the cost down.

Car companies have been working on analog or digital dash offerings since 2010. It's not mainstream yet, but it is becoming more and more common place. The variable is how it "appears"; it is an "all glass" dash that lets the driver choose which template they want. The newer prototypes even offer font sizing options. These are only in the higher end cars for now, but as they get them finessed they will begin to trickle down to the majority of the other cars.
Here's a decent article on it All Glass Dash

 

[Kuda]

Car companies have been working on analog or digital dash offerings since 2010. It's not mainstream yet, but it is becoming more and more common place. The variable is how it "appears"; it is an "all glass" dash that lets the driver choose which template they want. The newer prototypes even offer font sizing options. These are only in the higher end cars for now, but as they get them finessed they will begin to trickle down to the majority of the other cars.
Here's a decent article on it All Glass Dash

Sweet
http://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/RangerRoverVirtualInstrumentCluster.jpg

 

[Coss]

would a replacement with dials in the mode of the one in the P4 be more or less than expensive

I haven't looked into the pricing on that option.
Some of it would depend on the types of gauges you would want, and layout.
It could be more, less or the same price; but being custom it's not going to be a large difference.
Part of that price is the labor and martials needed for building it.
Dashboards are an area that not a lot of people want to play in.

 

[JEBar]

I haven't looked into the pricing on that option.
Some of it would depend on the types of gauges you would want, and layout.
It could be more, less or the same price; but being custom it's not going to be a large difference.
Part of that price is the labor and martials needed for building it.
Dashboards are an area that not a lot of people want to play in.

understood, info appreciated

 

[Kuda]

Bespoke dashes for the Elio
aftermarket looks like an
opportunity waiting to happen.....

 

[Coss]

View attachment 6810

I think I was looking those same dash modules; they are very nice and very complete and very (at least I thought so) expensive; coming in around $1,000.00 to $1,300 without the senders.
I like them and wouldn't mind putting one in but at that cost it's outside my budget allowance.

 

[Jeff Miller]

I think I was looking those same dash modules; they are very nice and very complete and very (at least I thought so) expensive; coming in around $1,000.00 to $1,300 without the senders.
I like them and wouldn't mind putting one in but at that cost it's outside my budget allowance.

So that begs some interesting questions. If that type of dash is coming to you at that price what does the manufacture have into it? At 100% mark up it would be at least $500. Now what does the elio dash cost EM? I'd bet it is a mere fraction of that cost, and if so, it is certainly not something EM can entertain when they are already struggling to find $300 to cut out of the cost of the elio.

If there is money to be made with alternative dashes than I'm certain the aftermarket folks will come up with something. For those that truly hate the elio daash they will need to bear the cost of that alternate dash but in the meantime EM will be able to stay closer to its $6800 goal.