Gearhead Stuff

[Joshua Caldwell]

The left door is simply due to familiarity, most drivers are used to getting in from the left door. Not sure how that could be considered a safety related design defect as every vehicle I know of has left doors.

The visibility of the fairings IS a concern, the Elio is exempt from all but motorcycle regulations, however this is a good question for someone to ask Jerome at the next event.

 

[Dustoff]

When I sat in the Elio in B-Ham the fenders were clearly visible to me.

 

[DWR]

When I sat in the Elio in B-Ham The fenders were clearly visible to me.

Hey Dustoff. From your new avatar, it looks like you're ready for snow! Kinda funny. Us, in TN, LOVE the snow. A couple of states north of us hate it.

 

[Jeff Porter]

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.

Neal, VERY well done!

 

[Jeff Porter]

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.

Hi Mr. Bowlsby, welcome! Neal did a great job on tackling your questions, I'll add a few more bits...

For the lights being placed on the fairings, you have to run wires out to them, and that could pose a problem since they now need to be covered and protected completely. Agreed on reflectors, we're hoping Elio Motors will choose to put some on the fairings on the front, back, or both.

The door is on the left because: 1) the gear shift is on the right, as you said this is a USA-thing; if the door were moved to the right side, the gear shift and all that implies would need to move to the other side too; 2) safety is not an issue since the front wheels will extend beyond the body, so opening the door from the left side of the Elio is safer than the left side of an existing car, which has the door even with the outside of the front wheel, if that makes sense.

Again, welcome Jeff!

 

[Jim H]

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.

Jeff, welcome to the forum. As you can see from the many responses we are an active, helpful, friendly group. We try to keep the forum informative and entertaining. Enjoy the experience in being involved in this historic movement in personal transportation.

 

[Jambe]

A pro-electric turbo article...

https://autos.yahoo.com/news/electric-turbochargers-forecast-boom-gas-mileage-gains-150005366.html

"Valeo--which says it will supply an electric turbo to an unnamed automaker beginning in 2016."

Naw, it's probably not Elio.

 

[Music Man]

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 aboard, Jeff! ALWAYS great to see new members!

 

[Sr.MailMan]

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.

Here you go... 2015 Polaris Slingshot | 3 Wheel Motorcycle - Reverse Trike

All you need is a roof & lots of $$$$$.

I jest, of course but Elio is all about economy.