Options And Upgrades, Cruise Control, Etc...

[igor]

i have a mg midget and a vespa 300 scooter. they are cool and i would expect the elio to be right up there with them

 

[igor]

but then when i was working i had a cop car and a bell 407 police chopper now they were really cool and quick too

 

[Jim H]

some nice features would be:
1. a small turbo diesel engine, the elio with a diesel engine would provide over 110 MPG in HW, and 60 MPG in city, not only it would offer lots ore miles per gallon, but also diesel engines require less maintenance, and are a lot more reliable, if the engine is mass produce it might add $1000 to the cost of the car but this amount would easily pay off due to the extra fuel saving, and in future when the elio gets exported to other countries the saving by having a diesel engine will be even be greater since diesel is a lot cheaper than gasoline in many countries, also the engines themselves last a lot longer, I have a diesel car with over 420,000 miles and the engine is running great, plus you get more torque compare to a gasoline engine.
Even the HMV freeway was offered with a diesel engine in its days.
Reliability is very important on a car that is why a diesel engine will be a big plus, also you have the option of using biodiesel.

2. a good seat with a good recline, it really sucks when you have to be on the car in a restricted way for hours, that happens sometimes when crossing the USA border by ground from Mexico to USA, at the secondary inspection you could easily have to wait 1 to 3 hours inside the vehicle, and when in such a situation those 1 to 3 hours feel like eternity, having a full recline that reclines 180 degree that basically turns the seat into a bed will be a huge plus.

3, a very strong suspension and steering are highly needed for safety in third word countries, and for safety, once due to a very large pothole in Chile the front wheel of a c2v6 citroen ended up hitting the frame of the car with the steering bar completely bent, in Mexico over a similar pot hole, on my 240d only the rim got a little bent, nothing happened to the steering.

4. windows that go all the way down.

5. in the case of the air conditioner, the diesel engine will be a great plus, but in the case of the gasoline engine if the engine is too small when driving though the city the air conditioning could cause a rough idle, this is a very common problem at idle with the air condition on.

6. the leg space in the rear seat seems to be very small for a large person.

7. it is very important that the seat be comfortable, I have had lots of cars in which the seats feel comfortable at first but after driving over 6 hours you end up with back pain, this happened to me in a citroen 2cv6, a fiat 600, a ford mustang, a ford e150, however on a toyota camry and on a mercedes 240d I did not have that problem.

8. 2 small hitches, one for pulling the car if needed, and one for pulling a very small trailer.

The car and concept look really cool, I really like the car, I am looking forward to it, planing to see it in Sacramento, hopefully they will let me drive it.

Welcome to the forum. Lived in Sacramento before retiring. Unfortunately, you won't e able to test drive the Elio yet. None of us have but that hasn't discouraged us. Enjoy this historic journey.

 

[grampi]

I doubt it will be long after production starts before we start seeing aftermarket performance upgrades for the Elio. Stock performance doesn't sound bad, but you know there are people who will want to make them scream! One thing I've noticed about the marketing of this vehicle is they don't say anything at all about the vehicle's handling abilities. Just by looking at this thing it looks like it will corner like it's on rails....wide stance, wide tires, light weight....it should stick to the road like glue! I'm curious to find out how it actually handles and what performance goodies will be available...

Moderator Comment: Merged into existing upgrades thread

 

[CompTrex]

I doubt it will be long after production starts before we start seeing aftermarket performance upgrades for the Elio. Stock performance doesn't sound bad, but you know there are people who will want to make them scream! One thing I've noticed about the marketing of this vehicle is they don't say anything at all about the vehicle's handling abilities. Just by looking at this thing it looks like it will corner like it's on rails....wide stance, wide tires, light weight....it should stick to the road like glue! I'm curious to find out how it actually handles and what performance goodies will be available...

I guess it depends upon the reason that you are getting this vehicle. If it's to save money in gas, like it is for me, I'm not real concerned about my 0-60 time. As long as I can merge onto the highway at speed and get 84 MPG, I'm happy.

 

[grampi]

Keep as many gadgets as possible to the after market folks as all this stuff adds cost or make options as add ons to the base price for buyers that cannot live with out I-ports, ports for this or that , back up cameras, Bluetooth , etc., etc., RB

I'm with you on leaving out all the bells and whistles, but cruise control would be nice...

 

[ecdriver711]

I guess it depends upon the reason that you are getting this vehicle. If it's to save money in gas, like it is for me, I'm not real concerned about my 0-60 time. As long as I can merge onto the highway at speed and get 84 MPG, I'm happy.

Dito

 

[aknaten]

I'm with you on leaving out all the bells and whistles, but cruise control would be nice...

Cruise control is a mandatory item for me, and I was planning to get manual shift. But I don't see how cruise control would work with manual shift. Does cruise require automatic transmission?

 

[NSTG8R]

Cruise control is a mandatory item for me, and I was planning to get manual shift. But I don't see how cruise control would work with manual shift. Does cruise require automatic transmission?

Nope. My '02 Mazda Protégé was a 5-speed manual with cruise. Disengaged when you hit the brake or clutch pedals.

 

[goofyone]

Cruise control is a mandatory item for me, and I was planning to get manual shift. But I don't see how cruise control would work with manual shift. Does cruise require automatic transmission?

Nope. My '02 Mazda Protégé was a 5-speed manual with cruise. Disengaged when you hit the brake or clutch pedals.

As NSTG8R said cruise works just fine with a manual but of course you do have to shift if it is required then tap the resume button to re-engage the cruise after a shift. My 1993 Honda Civic has cruise and a 5-speed manual and it is very convenient for highway cruising.