L.a. Auto Show 2016

[Ty]

I went yesterday & my experience was bitter-sweet.......

- As others have stated, their placement at the show was absolutely horrible. They were LITERALLY tucked away in a corner away from the the flow of people. I was at their spot for probably 45 minutes or so and during more than half of that time my dad and I were the only ones there.
- I was looking for the both and I had a hard time finding it. I actually met one other guy at the show who was looking for Elio too but never found it. I had to show him exactly where it was at. I am willing to bet that AT LEAST 85% of everyone who went to the show never saw the Elio at all -seriously.
- They had the P5 covered up at the front if their booth area when I arrived, and the E1C with the black frame was in the back area- in front of a black curtain. So from a distance you barely noticed a vehicle was even there at all. And the lighting was very poor on there E1C. I had to use the flash on my phone constantly to see what I was looking at on the Elio. Not good.
- They wouldn't let anyone sit in the back seat of the E1C. They had golf clubs in the trunk of it & they absolutely refused to take it out. I talked the head guy into taking the cover off the P5 partially to let my dad & I sit in the back of that one at least. The head room was seriously terrible. I'm 6'2 and he is 6'1. When I was in the back, I was forced to lean forward quite a bit because I had no headroom back there. Then the guy kept rushing us to get out of the P5 because a small crowd started to develop around the E1C and he wanted to help the rest of his 3 person Elio team over there instead of talking to us. And he didn't want to leave us in the P5 alone. Not cool.
- 5 minutes later someone else complained to the LA Auto Show (not us, btw) about the P5 being covered up. And apparently there is some rule at the LA Auto Show that "no vehicle is to be covered up during shows hours" so they had to remove the car cover. But then they put ropes all around the P5 instead, and no one was allowed near it. UN-BELIEVABLE. Their reasoning was because they didn't have enough staff to monitor both vehicles. (by the way, every other car manufacturer freely let anyone sit in their cars unsupervised).
- On positive notes, the front seat was very roomy & comfortable. Driving position was great. Everything just felt really good from the driver's seat.
- I am a huge fan of the colors black & red, but the red on the interior of the Elio really had a major "cheap factor" to it. I didn't like it at all. It was like it was supposed to be on the outside of the vehicle or something. "Super cheap red plastic trim" is what kept popping into my head. So I will definitely be getting a different type of trim for mine. (glad I saw this first hand, because I was wanting red trim in mine originally).
- The new gauges are definitely the way to go. I like them.
- I'm still not a fan of the radio deck. It is a non-standard deck shape (oval instead of rectangular). The reps said that we will probably have to have a MTX deck no matter what because of the shape of the hole. I asked about an adapter plate or something to fit conventional decks, and they said that it is a possibility, but they weren't sure.
- The battery in the engine compartment was tucked away in a very hard area to get to. I was not a big fan of that at all. Alternator & other components were really squeezed into the back by the firewall too. Looks very tight & challenging to work on. Oil changes, spark plug & other routine maintenance looks easy though.
- The main knowledgeable rep said that there will be an external latch on the left rear of the Elio that will be like a quick disconnect mechanism to allow access to the rear wheel. Not sure if I like that either -I'd prefer one accessible from inside the trunk area to prevent potential mischief.
- Though all the staff was pretty friendly, only one of them really knew stuff about the Elio. The others kinda went back & forth several times about the correct answers to some of my questions.

Overall, my experience was alright. I wish it would have been better, but it was OK. It made me more confident that I made a good decision to go with an all in, non-refundable reservation. I was just extremely disappointed in the lighting, placement & presentation of the Elio at the show. Like others said before, State Farm was next to them handing out free bags & nobody noticed Elio was even there. If anything Elio should have been the one handing out free bags because we saw the State Farm bags EVERYWHERE at the show. It would have really been good publicity for Elio if they would have done it (and relatively cheaply too). If you look at the picture, all foot traffic gets funneled under the Pirelli banner -away from Elio. Also note all the red shoulder straps from all the free State Farm bags. Elio needs to fire whoever was in charge of all this & hire someone better (ANYBODY). After seeing what I saw, if Elio fails, it's their own fault because of their horrible public relations team. It's just bad..... REALLY BAD when the vast majority of people who went to the LA Auto Show never even saw the Elio (especially when they were actively looking for them).

Thanks for a good review of the showing. Understand that while other manufacturers allow people in their vehicles unattended, Elio probably doesn't want people messing with the P5 as it isn't really up to snuff as a vehicle. Every time I've seen the hood, trunk, or door being swung or opened, it was by an Elio person. I don't think they wanted to let out how cheaply those parts functioned... That and the fact that they were one-offs would make them a definite no-lone-zone. It does bite that the Elio was in such a bad position. It seems, in a way, that the only reason they showed up was to prevent the "They were there last year but didn't bother going this year" kind of statements. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to report what you saw here!

 

[2barrel]

Is that a zerk fitting I see on the outer tie rod? You mean they are not lubed for life! See any other grease fittings? Nice pics Thanks

 

[Coss]

Is that a zerk fitting I see on the outer tie rod? You mean they are not lubed for life! See any other grease fittings? Nice pics Thanks

The E-Series Elio's are for engineering and testing; doesn't mean it's the same as the full production model.
The Elio in production could very well have "Lubed for Life" fittings.

 

[NorTracNY]

The E-Series Elio's are for engineering and testing; doesn't mean it's the same as the full production model.
The Elio in production could very well have "Lubed for Life" fittings.

And at $7K, I'm fine with either. I have other machines that I'm pumping the grease into. I'd be happy to have an Elio at my place that requires it. I want the Elio to work and last. I don't care if it requires a little extra maintance. It's only $7K!!!

 

[MotorcycleKopp]

I didn't notice any other zerk fittings, but then again I wasn't looking for them specifically either.

One interesting thing that the "knowledgeable rep" told me was that the rear end of the Elio is light enough to just push side to side by just one person. He claimed that while loading the Elio into trailers for transport, they just push the rear end around with elbow grease fairly easily to get it all lined up.
-It makes sense that they can do this, but also a little concerning. Even with the weight of gas in the tank, I think I'll leave mine in the garage on the exceptionally windy & gusty days.

 

[Ty]

I didn't notice any other zerk fittings, but then again I wasn't looking for them specifically either.

One interesting thing that the "knowledgeable rep" told me was that the rear end of the Elio is light enough to just push side to side by just one person. He claimed that while loading the Elio into trailers for transport, they just push the rear end around with elbow grease fairly easily to get it all lined up.
-It makes sense that they can do this, but also a little concerning. Even with the weight of gas in the tank, I think I'll leave mine in the garage on the exceptionally windy & gusty days.

... or just aim it into the wind!

 

[MotorcycleKopp]

... or just aim it into the wind!

Lol yeah. At my work the wind gusts get pretty extreme. It gets strong enough to blow barrels up hills & even blow windows out. Even if it handles alright going down the road, I don't think I'm gonna risk parking it where the wind will catch it sideways. Of course we only get days like that for maybe a couple weeks a year. It will still be my main commuter most days.

 

[Ty]

Lol yeah. At my work the wind gusts get pretty extreme. It gets strong enough to blow barrels up hills & even blow windows out. Even if it handles alright going down the road, I don't think I'm gonna risk parking it where the wind will catch it sideways. Of course we only get days like that for maybe a couple weeks a year. It will still be my main commuter most days.

It'll beat the crap out of riding a motorcycle on windy days, I can guarantee that!

 

[DeltaMike]

Thanks for a good review of the showing. Understand that while other manufacturers allow people in their vehicles unattended, Elio probably doesn't want people messing with the P5 as it isn't really up to snuff as a vehicle. Every time I've seen the hood, trunk, or door being swung or opened, it was by an Elio person. I don't think they wanted to let out how cheaply those parts functioned... That and the fact that they were one-offs would make them a definite no-lone-zone. It does bite that the Elio was in such a bad position. It seems, in a way, that the only reason they showed up was to prevent the "They were there last year but didn't bother going this year" kind of statements. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to report what you saw here!

My experience w the really huge aviation shows is that all the prime real estate is reserved years in advance by 'the big boys' which works to their advantage and to the disadvantage of any upstarts. Newcomers are effectively locked out of good visibility and simply cannot obtain prime spots at any price.

 

[bowers baldwin]

Lol yeah. At my work the wind gusts get pretty extreme. It gets strong enough to blow barrels up hills & even blow windows out. Even if it handles alright going down the road, I don't think I'm gonna risk parking it where the wind will catch it sideways. Of course we only get days like that for maybe a couple weeks a year. It will still be my main commuter most days.

Can't be worse than a Beetle, with all the weight in the back, it's like throwing a dart backwards. Those high turnpike bridges can get a bit dicey (unscheduled lane changes are fun).