Elio Gauge Cluster - Lord Elgin? - Other Options?

[goofyone]

OMG! What if Paul Elio's father had owned a Rolex watch and we were to have a Rolex inspired dash..........would have cost more than the Elio with the Elgin standard. I'm liking the Elgin........goofyone said it was very readable after seeing it up close and personal.

My budget is more Timex than Rolex.

The Elgin gauges are what they are from a design point of view however in my opinion they are not a safety issue and provide perfectly acceptable usability. Today another one of our mods, Joshua Caldwell, was able to see it in person for the first time and he wrote that his concerns had been alleviated as well even if he still plans to replace the dash as he wants a high tech LCD dash that can display navigation and such.

By the way Joshua was able to confirm that the Elgin dash does use standard connectors so any standard replacement dash that fits and uses the same connections can be used.

 

[zelio]

Question? -
How many cars have you bought just because of the dash that was in them?
How many cars have you NOT bought just because of the dash that was in them?

My thoughts exactly. In fact I was noticing as I was driving to Costco yesterday, the dash in my 1999 Camry.
#1 there are no five numbers.
#2 the numbers start with 0 and then are listed in increments of 20.
#3 increments of 10 are heavy long lines.
#4 increments of 5 are lighter short lines.
I also noticed in my home town, population over 7,000, the speed limit down town is 20 mph, the speed limit on the western side of down town is 30 mph, the speed limit on the eastern side of down town is 35 mph. The interestate speed in Oregon is 65 but the speed off the interstate on the way to Costco was 45 then 40 and then back to 45.
My question for all of you is - what is the big deal. If I come to your state I'm sure speed limits will be somewhat different than mine but as long as they don't say something like 42 mph or 57 mph I think I will be able to adapt. I also believe I will be able to adapt to the Elio dashboard. In fact, I can't wait to see it in person. :-) Z

 

[Rickb]

The Timex inspired dash.....lol. Good news on readability.

Paul Elio honored his father by naming both the company and the vehicle after him. He needs the dash too? Very selfish unless he is actually honoring Lord Elgin. lol

 

[Kuda]

Something readable would be nice.

 

[zelio]

The dash did influence my Grand Prix purchase.

If you are trying to convince me that was the main thing in your decision I don't believe you. Do you honestly think you would not have bought if it did not have the dash it has? Come on, Josh, that must be some dash! :-) Z

 

[corvairbob]

only 40 more to make 1000 lets keep this going. lets see what else can we say about the dash oh it is the wrong color i prefer black for the bezels or at least a darker color that will not glare back at me. or maybe they can be backlit as to change colors of our choice? no cost. i'm running out of ideas here help me out. only 40 more.

 

[zelio]

YUK! Z

 

[zelio]

only 40 more to make 1000 lets keep this going. lets see what else can we say about the dash oh it is the wrong color i prefer black for the bezels or at least a darker color that will not glare back at me. or maybe they can be backlit as to change colors of our choice? no cost. i'm running out of ideas here help me out. only 40 more.

It won't glare if it is a brushed texture. :-) Z

 

[ross]

ross you did not like the 58? i thought the 58 impala was better than the 57 but the 55,56 was a good looking car as well. the 57 dash was hideious but if you talk about ugly american cars take the 59 ford that was a sloppy design in my opinion.

Do you know why '58 Impalas are so expensive today? Because they crushed the majority of those ugly things.
Go to any car show today and '55 '6 & '7s are everywhere, '58's are pretty rare. Now I do think '59s are beautiful, Impalas, and especially El Caminos.

 

[outsydthebox]

All this on a dash that you have not seen in operation or in truth how it will look in the finished product......I hope the majority of people do change out the dash, in the future that will only make my elio more valuable for being all original.

Well said!
I agree, the more people that "throw it away" the more iconic and collectible it will be. This dash is full-on "Retro!"...just like the Elio! This vehicle is actually more "past" than "future."
This thread is becoming very similar to..."If we all yell enough we can get the Elio changed into a 3-passenger car"....
You know, the slingshot has a cool dash, why don't you guys just go and buy one of those?