Test Drive / Ride And Drive Events

[imageon]

They will be letting people test drive after they have produced the next round of show/test vehicles.
E-mail I received yesterday.

Elio Motors Customer Service (Elio Motors)
Jul 08 16:06
Hey Future Elio owner!
Power steering is not a necessary feature in this vehicle because of how well it drives as a front-wheeled drive vehicle, with most of the weight in the front of the vehicle. Two people sitting in tandem inside further mute the need to add in power steering, and this is one cost less to worry about us having to wrap into the current base price of $6800! You will be able to see first hand how tight the driving experience is when you test drive the vehicle early next year during our ride and drive series OR at a location near you once we go into production next year. Thanks for vocalizing your concerns and we look forward to meeting you in the near future!
Best,
The Elio Team

Thanks,
Early Next Year That is good news. I plan to take some time and drive where ever I have to to get behind the wheel of the real deal.
MK

 

[Dustoff]

Thanks,
Early Next Year That is good news. I plan to take some time and drive where ever I have to to get behind the wheel of the real deal.
MK

I'm going to make time for a test drive as well.

 

[BlioKart]

I am gonna see if it will chirp the tires.

 

[Snick]

I need the Elio.

preserving this for future posterity--as it proves the point so well. Defensive. Thin-skinned. Resorts to Ad Hominem personal attacks.

 

[Wheelthang]

They will be letting people test drive after they have produced the next round of show/test vehicles.
E-mail I received yesterday.

Elio Motors Customer Service (Elio Motors)
Jul 08 16:06
Hey Future Elio owner!
Power steering is not a necessary feature in this vehicle because of how well it drives as a front-wheeled drive vehicle, with most of the weight in the front of the vehicle. Two people sitting in tandem inside further mute the need to add in power steering, and this is one cost less to worry about us having to wrap into the current base price of $6800! You will be able to see first hand how tight the driving experience is when you test drive the vehicle early next year during our ride and drive series OR at a location near you once we go into production next year. Thanks for vocalizing your concerns and we look forward to meeting you in the near future!
Best,
The Elio Team

Dustoff, not sure if 'jumping in' like this on your thread is permissible or polite. If not, I'm truly sorry for my rudeness. I jjust have not seen another chance to ask my question. My question is: shouldn't rack and pinion steering be given a look on this vehicle? I watched a newslady test drive one on a roof parking lot and had some anxious moments trying to steer out of a corner. Seems all of the 'smaller' cars have this.

 

[Dustoff]

Dustoff, not sure if 'jumping in' like this on your thread is permissible or polite. If not, I'm truly sorry for my rudeness. I jjust have not seen another chance to ask my question. My question is: shouldn't rack and pinion steering be given a look on this vehicle? I watched a newslady test drive one on a roof parking lot and had some anxious moments trying to steer out of a corner. Seems all of the 'smaller' cars have this.

Not a problem.
Those words were from an e-mail from Elio Motors.
Any questions about their decisions on how they engineer their vehicle should be directed to them.
If you are asking my opinion about having rack and pinion steering, I have none on that subject as I have not driven it yet.
I'm a big guy and have driven many older conventional vehicles ( given your age, I'm sure you have as well) with recirculating ball, worm and sector steering and found no trouble operating them.
Some petit little person who has only driven with power assisted steering may find it a bit tougher for them but I'm sure they can handle it. JMO

 

[Dustoff]

Not a problem.
Those words were from an e-mail from Elio Motors.
Any questions about their decisions on how they engineer their vehicle should be directed to them.
If you are asking my opinion about having rack and pinion steering, I have none on that subject as I have not driven it yet.
I'm a big guy and have driven many older conventional vehicles ( given your age, I'm sure you have as well) with recirculating ball, worm and sector steering and found no trouble operating them.
Some petit little person who has only driven with power assisted steering may find it a bit tougher for them but I'm sure they can handle it. JMO

After a check I found this:
Elio Motors Hello , our rack and pinion steering is unassisted due to how lightweight we are (1250 pounds), the cost it would have, and the slight toll on the engine.

 

[goofyone]

Dustoff, not sure if 'jumping in' like this on your thread is permissible or polite. If not, I'm truly sorry for my rudeness. I jjust have not seen another chance to ask my question. My question is: shouldn't rack and pinion steering be given a look on this vehicle? I watched a newslady test drive one on a roof parking lot and had some anxious moments trying to steer out of a corner. Seems all of the 'smaller' cars have this.

After a check I found this:
Elio Motors Hello , our rack and pinion steering is unassisted due to how lightweight we are (1250 pounds), the cost it would have, and the slight toll on the engine.

As Dustoff confirmed the Elio will have a manual rack and pinion steering system and as the vehicle is so light it should be very easy to drive. The current prototype has a steering mechanism scavanaged from another vehicle and as such it is not optiomized for the Elio.

 

[Wheelthang]

Ah! Great news! Glad I asked the question.

As Dustoff confirmed the Elio will have a manual rack and pinion steering system and as the vehicle is so light it should be very easy to drive. The current prototype has a steering mechanism scavanaged from another vehicle and as such it is not optiomized for the Elio.

 

[HHH]

A 1200 pound 3 wheeled composite vehicle with one door for egress will not be as safe a regular car in my opinion (not that I care for myself). Airbags/roll cage /ABS etc. will hopefully alleviate this risk. It will not protect as well as my 4000 pound Crown Vic or my wife's Subaru for that matter. My younger son will have to wear a helmet as the law stands today. As a 50 something year old long time driver I can assume those risks but I will not be letting my teenage sons drive it for a while. I hope these cars are truely engineered for safety as stated as it is a risk to the long term survival of the company due to liability concerns.

I hope my fears are unfounded but we won't have the final car to look at for probably another year minimum. It is a risk in my mind among several other risks that make this car speculative. I am all in despite these risks but they still exist.

I will be at the Taste of Colorado. If we get our t-shirts by then I will be waering mine!

I understand your concerns about young drivers, having one of my own, and driving a Crown Vic myself. But another thread pointed out that the basic design construction (roll cage, light weight, additional space between driver's seat and interior sides) was not inherently unsafe. The example of open wheel race cars bouncing off walls and other cars at speeds approaching 200 mph illustrates that proper design of light cars can make for survivable outcomes. As was pointed out, bouncing off another vehicle rather than absorbing the impact through crush zones has its advantages.

Nothing is perfect. I wouldn't want to be in any vehicle doing a 50 mph head-on with a semi (combined impact equivalent to hitting a brick wall at 100 mph).