I've Actually Sat In The Elio And Here Is One Thing I Would Change!

[Ty]

Got it
Someone else in said:
High mount 3rd brake light
"Stylish" rear wheel cover
Markers/turn signals for back of front fenders
Fog lights / Marker / Turn signals for front of front fenders

What else?

Oh yeah, HUD
I've thought about a 3/4 steering wheel; the kind where the top of the wheel is chopped off and paddle shifters

The "stylish" rear wheel cover is already listed as an option on Elio's home page. Well, depends on your definition of "stylish", I suppose.

 

[Ty]

A lot of previous research has been investigated RE: pizza delivery-
the facts-
"the width of the "trunk" is not wide enough for any pizza box over 14"- , that's the box, not the pizza which in P E talk is a" tall"
with a slight "tilt" a 16" ( P E is a Grande )will be at an angle that the cheese will pool towards the lowest slice.

Conclusion, skip the box and just curl up the edges of a large., or get a square pizza- problem solved
(BTW pizza is one of the most unhealthy take-out foods, i.e. fat, salt and sugar + a heap of calories

YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!! YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!! PIZZA IS THE BEST TAKEOUT YOU CAN EAT!!! HAS MY LIFE BEEN FILLED WITH DECADENT LIES? CAN MY FAVORITE FOOD REALLY BE BAD? NEVER!!!! NEVER!!!! NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Frim]

Right when I am happiest with my creamcycle some pragmatic individual inserts some logic and practicality into my dreamcycle. Then I am bounced back into the reality of paying for the base model on retirement income. You have got to love the forum. When we finally get our autocycles, I really want to see one really tricked out. No doubt there will be an owners club.

 

[Coss]

Right when I am happiest with my creamcycle some pragmatic individual inserts some logic and practicality into my dreamcycle. Then I am bounced back into the reality of paying for the base model on retirement income. You have got to love the forum. When we finally get our autocycles, I really want to see one really tricked out. No doubt there will be an owners club.

"....No doubt there will be an owners club......." Ummmm the Forum Name is Elio Owners; I guess you could call us a "club"
And Hey!! You're already a member! Way to Go!

Sorry, but I couldn't resist ..

 

[bowers baldwin]

"....No doubt there will be an owners club......." Ummmm the Forum Name is Elio Owners; I guess you could call us a "club"
And Hey!! You're already a member! Way to Go!

Sorry, but I couldn't resist ..

Wouldn't a better description be "Elio T-shirt Owners Club"?

 

[Coss]

Are there safety issues with the "aircraft yoke" type steering wheel?

Other than some people would be totally confused by not having a full circle; no problems I'm aware of.
But this is why it would be after market; you only add it if you want it.

 

[Coss]

I'm not sure what "Starz" was -- different from Skyzmatic (I hope)?
Trailing edge mud flaps for all wheels would be a nice option. I put these on my Forester and on muddy roads they did make a difference.

That's what I meant; the Skyzmatic. It just slipped my mind when I was typing that last night.

 

[Trusting]

Are there safety issues with the "aircraft yoke" type steering wheel?

You bet there are! Aircraft type steering wheels are designed the way they are to be used with much less turning than an auto steering wheel. In a plane you make much more subtle adjustments than in a car. If you have one in a car and had to make a sudden radical maneuver you might find yourself reaching for the bottom of the wheel and coming up with nothing but air. In my opinion it's not a good idea.

 

[Lil4X]

Been away for a few days, upgraded OS to W10 . . . now that I've got ('most) everything working again . . .

agree .... I do have a nagging concern .... in an emergency where the driver may be incapacitated, I'm concerned about the ability of the person in the rear seat to exit the vehicle ....

That is a consideration - the first-gen Toronado and Eldorado put a second inside door handle at the rear of the door armrest, in reach of a backseat passenger.

That green is the last color I would choose. It's too metaphorical. Like "Look at me, I'm a hippie green person driving my 84mpg autocycle!". I always love blue though. I just hope the true blue is a bit darker than what it appears to be in the CAD pictures.

The particular tone makes all the difference. I've owned several cars in "Green Velvet Metallic" or whatever the manufacturer wanted to call it . . . a dark pool table green with a little metalflake thrown in. Had a couple cars repainted in this color too. It was really nice, especially with a light tan interior. The "Red Hot" might be good or bad. If you look at Chevrolet's color chart there's a "Flame Red" that's just a bright red, and "Victory Red" that is a slightly darker color - with a tiny blue note that makes it a sort of Ferrari-like "Rossa Corsa" a blood red that's also seen on the current Fiat. Now that's really nice!

Good concern. I have been thinking about it....If the driver was incapacitated (but not dead), You would need to wait for help to carefully remove the driver. So, the passenger would use the cell phone and call 911.
But, (I am pretty sure) there will be situations that do result in death.

Long doors can be a real problem for exiting the vehicle in a tight parking space - although the reverse-trike configuration might give you a bit more space to wriggle through when someone parks too close. The other problem with long doors - experienced with the aforementioned Toronado and Eldorados was cantilevering that long door resulted in rather short-lived hinges on early models.

But there is a hazard with those long doors too that I'd never thought about. They're quite a bit heavier - and carry the weight well aft of the driver's seat. A friend broke her leg when she parked at the curb on a crowned street - and the door, unable to hold itself open on its detent brace, suddenly slammed shut in response to gravity and caught her left leg as she was exiting the car. Thankfully she was a nurse and had just parked a few feet from the hospital entrance . . . where several doctors were witnesses.

I see the Elio as a unique pizza delivery vehicle. I'm sure some modifications will be needed to support this concept.

Auburn, Duesenberg, and several other luxury sports cars of the '30s had a popular feature - a small hatch aft of the doors that provided accessible stowage for your golf clubs.

That would be a nice option for Elios in fleet service that wouldn't degrade the vehicle's structural integrity, would be easy to work into the build without modifying the frame, and if sized to take a stack of large pizza boxes and heated with a blanket similar to that on the heated leather seats, would make it a popular pizza delivery vehicle.

I'd change the sun visor from the normal upholstered one to a tinted version with wings that could swing to either side. When I sat in it I thought if one stopped too close to a stoplight with the visor down, it would be hard to see the light change. Just my opinion and this is a modification that is on my to do list.

[Broken External Image]
A prism, once a popular accessory of the '50's that allowed the driver to see a traffic light above his direct view.

I posted the pic of the Elio with the gull wing doors just for fun. I'm amazed that anyone took it serious and am sure that such a thing would raise the cost of the car by a thousand or two...

The gull-wing doors that Mercedes debuted on the 300SL were the result of lowering the seating inside the large frame rails, making conventional doors impossible. That was in the fifties when doors were very lightweight and could be lifted easily. Today, with required side beams and structural strengthening, plus a heavy spring that assists the occupants in lifting the doors, they have become very heavy - just where you don't need weight, high in the body. Consequently, the SL doesn't handle as well as it might - a sacrifice to the gods of fashion. Later Mercedes discovered that in a rollover onto the roof, you're trapped inside. They made provision for this by installing a small charge in the hinge pins so that the door could be separated from the frame by severing the hinges. There's one switch I wouldn't want to tamper with!

 

[Coss]

You bet there are! Aircraft type steering wheels are designed the way they are to be used with much less turning than an auto steering wheel. In a plane you make much more subtle adjustments than in a car. If you have one in a car and had to make a sudden radical maneuver you might find yourself reaching for the bottom of the wheel and coming up with nothing but air. In my opinion it's not a good idea.

Hate to burst your bubble but if they make them for racing, they can't be that dangerous
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