Oklahoma City Elio Or What I Learned In School Today

[Jeff Miller]

Drunks falling off a bicycle built for 10 except on "The Simpsons" where is that not a problem?

Last year in Minneapolis one of these things crashed after unsuccessfully trying to negotiate a corner and a number of people got hurt. The news reports didn't indicate if the operator was imbibing and I believe the issue was ultimately too much speed. Ultimately, putting a bunch of drunks on a vehicle even if all they are doing is peddling and then put it in traffic is just a bad idea.

 

[Elynde]

Last year in Minneapolis one of these things crashed after unsuccessfully trying to negotiate a corner and a number of people got hurt. The news reports didn't indicate if the operator was imbibing and I believe the issue was ultimately too much speed. Ultimately, putting a bunch of drunks on a vehicle even if all they are doing is peddling and then put it in traffic is just a bad idea.

Okay. I can agree with that logic. Now, I just want to know who thought it prudent to tack that silly bit onto the bill. I don't think the Elio could do the figure eight as tight as the state motorcycle endorsement requires...so I am going to have to learn to ride a motorcycle just to get my Elio next year. **sighs**

 

[H2odog]

Thank you for the great writeup H2odog! It gives me more hope that this thing might actually make it out to the public... and at 250 / day they'll cover the ~ 15k of orders in 2 months or 40k of orders in about 5 or 6 months.
In the beginning I think just the Elio running around town will be more than enough advertising, I hope they don't feel like they need to spend Superbowl TV ad money or anything crazy like that.

The level of excitement shown by Jerome and his wife pretty much have me convinced that this is going to happen. Jerome and wife have not been home in 9 months and are living out os a motorhome. A very nice motorhome, but a motorhome none the less. If they can stay excited tor that duration under those conditions, there has got to be something there. as to production numbers....begin to think international.

 

[H2odog]

Last year in Minneapolis one of these things crashed after unsuccessfully trying to negotiate a corner and a number of people got hurt. The news reports didn't indicate if the operator was imbibing and I believe the issue was ultimately too much speed. Ultimately, putting a bunch of drunks on a vehicle even if all they are doing is peddling and then put it in traffic is just a bad idea.

Some of the party vehicles are not much more than bar stools on a moving platform. If a drunk were to fall off his stool, he could very easily land in traffic. IMO there is NO place for these on any public road.

 

[H2odog]

Worse yet, fall off and damage an Elio in traffic!

Amen!

 

[Jeff Miller]

Okay. I can agree with that logic. Now, I just want to know who thought it prudent to tack that silly bit onto the bill. I don't think the Elio could do the figure eight as tight as the state motorcycle endorsement requires...so I am going to have to learn to ride a motorcycle just to get my Elio next year. **sighs**

Yup, the two seem to have nothing to do with each other. Dang politics.

However having to learn how to ride a motorcycle won't be all bad

 

[Tomg3rd]

What so no bar as an Elio option??! ;-)

 

[3 Card]

I arrived well ahead of most of the crowd and waited for Elio to setup. The result of which was that I was probably the 5th or so to plant my carcass in the P4. Seats are comfortable front and back, and the fabric seats in this Elio were far better than I expected and are quite substantial. Getting in and out was not difficult and the seats adjusted easily and smoothly. This was all well and good as I was then able to spend the next couple of hours talking with and listening to Jerome Vassallo, who is vice president sales/marketing. Very early in this diatribe came the words that Elio was working hard to put together a list of options and prices, and it couldn't be too soon for him. Things I learned:
1. Tires on the P4 are 14's production will be 15's widths to be determined; rear wider than front.
2 Fenders: only they call them shrouds. Those seen on the P4 will be those standard for production. There will be several options for fenders but only 2 were mentioned. a. the hot rod fender with mags, and for those of you that have seen the retro Elio parked in front of the diner b. the Indian fender. Other fender notes: The black fender skirts are fairly thick at nearly an eighth inch and are not very flexible at all They will take standard paint and primer. The same material is used on the rear of the vehicle. Fender liners for the Elio are of the same material GMC uses in their SUV's
3. The instrument cluster that will be used in production is Paul's Elgin design. It is however digital with perhaps 1-1.25" high numbers for speedometer and tach. It is unknown at this time if there would be any other instrument options. I did remind him that Continental, the company providing the optional smartphone interface makes 5 levels of digital instrument clusters.
4. The P5: Will have the basic contours of the P4 with the exception of a raise of about 2" in the rear portion of the roof. Now before anyone gets their dander up, let it be known that the P4 is nearly 4" lower at this location than the P3 was. The other changes will be a reworked front end with the grill area being redesigned and made smaller.
5. Options of leather interior seating colors will only be limited by what Lear produces. If Lear makes it you can get it. Colors mentioned were Black, White, Brown, Gray, Tan. and probably several others.
6. Could the Elio be purchased with only primer? Yes, Credit: none
7. As it now stands, he pick it up in Shreveport option is a 3 day 2 nite stay affair and will be hosted and paid by Elio in conjunction with one of the Casino's upon presentation of your one way ticket stub. Day1 arrive in Shreveport, check in, Day 2, tour plant Day 3 pick up your Elio and head home.
8. Surprise... Just over 1/3 of all reservation holders are all in for $1000. The production numbers are now into the 5100's with 15,123 reservations.
9. Reservation upgrades, "cutoff" at this point don't worry about it. 30 days or so before that happens those all in for 500, 250, 100 will be notified and allowed to upgrade in that 30 day window. Those with refundable deposits will also be notified and allowed to go all in and upgrade if they wish.
10. Reservations will be cutoff at 40,000. Production at startup is expected to be 250/day.
If we need more we'll add another shift and or lines. Canada is the next market, that is the easy one with South America, Asia and Africa clambering to get in line.
11 Delivery is to be $750 to all locations. Paul would like to waive that for factory pickup. Others wish to apply it to all vehicles. Have to wait and see.

The only option price I heard mentioned was for the automatic transmission, and that was "less that $1000".
I did get to meet Silas Sunday. Great guy!
I have some pictures and they will follow. This is not an ideal situation for photo ops. Line was maybe 40-50 deep at 3pm and was down to maybe 25 by 6:30 when I left.

Adding to this...Max front width 78 in rear width 23 in..Inside trunk width at very back is 19 in..As you move forward to the back of the rear seat about 23.. Trunk depth at rear is about 5 inches, depth at rear of back seat is about 8 inches..Tilt wheel will be standard..No key Fob with power door lock..To me the unit was nothing to get excited about nor was it a thumbs down.. About as good as 7 grand will get ya.. It does look somewhat better than pictures reveal..Tow Hitch, After looking under the rear, it's a swing arm , just like a motorcycle, So a motorcycle type hitch will have to be made by someone.. Just one shock back there, that's bad, it needs two, one on each side of wheel especially if you plan to tow... They did say a front bar for towing will be an option, they expect many old fart rv'ers to be dingy pulling flant on all 3's behind motorhomes ( stick shift only)..Most of the younger reps answering questions and helping old people get in and out were x walmart employed..As I watched them move the rear sear back and forth so many times letting tire kickers in / out I would not suggest the power seat option, Why ?.. Power seats are slow moving, my experience has been they are the first thing to screw up.. If you plan on a passenger daily I'd stick with the manual controls..I asked the x Walmart girl about intermintent wipers, She did not know what I was talking about..I was most amazed at the full range of ages wanting one.. There were seniors in their 80"s and baby's in their teens plus children in their 40's also plenty of old dudes like me who don't want to grow up..Your Elio will not be the hottest looking car on the road, however it's purdy dern kool..OH BTW the trunk length is 26 inches..

 

[Ty]

What so no bar as an Elio option??! ;-)

Well, Paul didn't "SAY" there would be no bar option... LOL. He did say they were looking at a bunch of options. Maybe that's one of them. Hey, maybe that'll be the big reveal next week!

 

[KN16]

What so no bar as an Elio option??! ;-)

It could happen. Use alcohol that comes in pouches to save on weight and space and add a collapsible soft side cooler hanging off the back of the driver's seat. Perfect.