Elio In Indianapolis From June 3-5

[Indiana Dave]

I went to see and sit in the elio on Saturday night. I was truly impressed with the space that the seating actually provided, both front and rear. Although I did not pay enough attention to it, If I remember correctly, the shifter (or whatever you want to call it) seemed kind of far from reach. Another thing I noted was that with the elio being made possible for the average joe to work on their own car, the alternator and other parts that will fail are in slightly difficult to reach spots. The representative that I discussed this with also informed me that the current side panels are not removable... so have fun wiggling that alt out of there..

I also noticed that it would be difficult to remove the alternator..hopefully you would never have to.

 

[Jeff Porter]

Arrived a little before 10:00 am, Sat. just as the crew was removing the cover. There were eight or so people already there. First let me say I Really, Really Do Not Like Red cars. The Elio is absolutely STRIKING, STUNNING. Pictures of it are a total injustice. When this hits the market they will have a hard time meeting demand for a couple of years at least, just on looks alone. I am not over stating this.

The crew was top notch, just like the Elio. Talked to Jermaine the most. Thankfully he was ever so patient and never hesitated with an answer or to say he didn't know. The Elio is much quieter than the norm with one wheel "inside" the body vs four, the cruise control will be in the steering wheel as usual; rear brake is disc; rear speakers with upgrade, wheel are 4 bolt but didn't know diameter. So many details are still "liquid" at this point like rear dome/map light, how the rear cover will come off / open up for tire access or where, exactly, the rear frame (bumper) was and I Really tried to finagle that one. When asked about a Roush "S" (be still my beating heart!) and the lateral traction of 0.89g, he corrected that to 0.85g and said he "personally" couldn't imagine Roush won't consider it; that the computer says 1.09g (I'm pretty sure that's right) is where the Elio could roll, but it would not have the power to do it on it's own (nor the tire traction either - my opinion). He also said the engine in the P5 was the same as seen on the dyno footage and was well under 55hp as it was the proof-of-concept (baseline) and not yet managed for power; and, he said (kinda proudly) that, coupled with the fact the Elio was several hundred pounds heavy from the fiberglas panels etc. it still managed to top out at 88mph.

Complaints? Not really. I'm 6' and fluffy too, as one fella puts it and getting in and out of the back seat is about like any coupe, a handle could be handy but not necessary and the seat belt was no real hindrance. The rear seat might get a little skimpy on headroom (for the shortness-impaired) once better cushioning is addressed - my opinion. Visibility is better (again just me) in the back seat cause both windows are right there. I guess isolation will be on par with any rear seat, still researching an intercom-thru-speaker device though. With front seat all the way back it just touched my spouses knees (5' 7").

I needed to scoot the front up 3" or so from full aft to be at my driving position. The front seat was very, very comfortable and hope it stays. Hands and feet fell to all controls very much like our Honda Fit but perhaps with a bit more elbow room. The right A-Pillar will take some adaptation as it is "right there" in the Elio and not "over" there. I was relieved to be able to see the rear 1/3 or so of the fenders to know where they are to avoid hitting something, especially being used to the left wheel sitting just ahead of my left foot and not 20" farther out but then again the right is in closer. Side mirrors will need the small convex mirrors added to provide better rear view / side (blind spot) view.

Okay, the Elgin: It's fine. The best? No, but the last Good instrument panel I had was in a 1974 Fiat 124 Sport Coupe. Full set of "needle" gauges with additional idiot lights for oil and gas. The Elgin will serve my purposes well enough. Please, don't hate me for this I am just a simple man with simple needs.

Well that's all I got.

Awesome review EH, thanks!

 

[Marshall]

So far, I'm option free. But if a handle for the driver and back seat passenger is offered, that might change.

 

[AJ Maxey]

Super late to check this thread but I was so excited to finally see the P5! Lunch with Mike and his wife was great and I'm glad to me other enthusiasts.

I will be posting up pictures in a separate thread later because I took many! I also got word from the Elio crew that the Camaro steering wheel will be a Viper steering wheel in the production model! It's smaller in diameter and the flat bottom accommodates more leg room. As far as the exhaust goes, they said the E-series will have the completed exhaust. It doesn't sound like the P5 will receive much more than it has.

 

[Stephen Workman]

Super late to check this thread but I was so excited to finally see the P5! Lunch with Mike and his wife was great and I'm glad to me other enthusiasts.

I will be posting up pictures in a separate thread later because I took many! I also got word from the Elio crew that the Camaro steering wheel will be a Viper steering wheel in the production model! It's smaller in diameter and the flat bottom accommodates more leg room. As far as the exhaust goes, they said the E-series will have the completed exhaust. It doesn't sound like the P5 will receive much more than it has.

This is a Googled pic of a 2013 VIPER SRT wheel

 

[Marshall]

Did anybody notice that the P5 is taking the next tour stop off? I wonder why? Could it be an update or modification? Maybe a new (more comfortable) rear seat?

 

[Frim]

I just got back home from a great day at Greenwood Park Mall

We met with our very own board member AJMaxey and his lovely wife. My bride and I had lunch with them at BJ's Brewhouse and then we were off to the Elio display

Being early Friday afternoon, there was NO crowd and we were able to get some "hands (and butts ) on time" and talk with Ty, Jermaine and the rest of the Elio team.

I was VERY impressed with the fit and finish over the P4. I have had seat time in the P3, P4 and now the P5 and this is by far the best !

As I've mentioned before, in other threads, I'm an old, arthritic geezer ()...."big boned and fluffy"

I'm 6'4", with a 36" inseam. I "easily" fit in the driver's seat AND in the rear seat !!! It was actually the first time I got in the back, and with the extra 1 3/4" head room made by dropping the seat, I was AMAZED at how much room there is back there !!!!

I got to talk to the crew for a couple of hours and there are going to be LOTS of options available in the future !!!

The one thing I will share is that for those of us that would like the "automatic" (for whatever reason) there WILL be a paddle shifter option (that's all I'm allowed to say on that subject )

All in all it was an exciting time and even though we are taking "baby steps" towards production....we ARE moving forward. I'm looking to have my Elio by next summer

Thank you to AJMaxey, his wife and the entire Elio team ............... see you all on the flip side !!!

I'll post some pics tomorrow

Please describe a "paddle shifter". How does it function? W/WO a clutch? ?

 

[Frim]

To those of us who were fortunate enough to attend the Greenwood Park Mall Event this weekend: I was there Friday morning, and it seemed to my wife and I that the vast majority of folks who were drawn to the display area were (I'll try to put this nicely) of an older persuasion. I'd venture to say 55-70+ was the age group my wife and I observed from 10:30AM- noon. My wife (jokingly I hope) referred to the Elio as an "ORB Magnet". ORB in her verbiage an acronym for "old retired bastard" - not meant as a negative - just an observation on her end. I guess I will sooner than later fall into that category....
My question is, to those who attended at a later time or on the weekend, was the crowd's age demographic again on the older scale or were more young whippersnappers enthusiastically drinking the Elio in? I mean, Elio will benefit EVERY age group. I hope it was simply a timing thing. My wife, on the other hand explained "kids want a car that's fast, one they can impress their friends with, haul them all around and (get this...) have a backseat for whoopee"!
I guess I forgot about that last one....must be getting old....

My Thought: ORBs have the time and money to go to the events they want to see. Such as, Elio displays. Younger people are still working 40 hour weeks and mowing the lawn on Sat. I believe the Elio appeals to a much broader base of commuters and single people.

 

[NSTG8R]

My Thought: ORBs have the time and money to go to the events they want to see. Such as, Elio displays. Younger people are still working 40 hour weeks and mowing the lawn on Sat. I believe the Elio appeals to a much broader base of commuters and single people.

I think you hit the nail on the head there, Frim!
[typed on my work computer during break].

 

[Rob Croson]

.. a Viper steering wheel in the production model!

So does anyone wonder what Dodge thinks about this? Will they get mad because the supplier is selling their steering wheel design to EM? I'm not talking about the legalities of this. I'm pretty confident that EM and the supplier have done their due diligence to ensure that this is legal. (Not that it would stop Dodge from suing EM anyway, hoping to get them to cave in instead of paying the potentially ruinous legal costs.) But could it backlash on the supplier and cause them to lose business from Dodge? Seems odd to just expect all these big companies to sit back and let an upstart like Elio brag about how the parts for their budget car are the same ones used in expensive sports cars.