The P5: What Would You Change?

[Ekh]

The Edsel was a hideous-looking car, dubbed "a Mercury sucking a lemon" or "comes with a toilet seat mounted in the grill." I don't remember how bad its dash looked, but it HAD to be better than the elio's!

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...d=0ahUKEwi0yrzL3d7JAhWRnoMKHfmXAHMQMwgyKBEwEQ

 

[Coss]

The Edsel was a hideous-looking car, dubbed "a Mercury sucking a lemon" or "comes with a toilet seat mounted in the grill." I don't remember how bad its dash looked, but it HAD to be better than the elio's!

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...d=0ahUKEwi0yrzL3d7JAhWRnoMKHfmXAHMQMwgyKBEwEQ

It was posted earlier in this thread
http://www.elioowners.com/threads/the-p5-what-would-you-change.6773/page-36#post-127845

 

[Ekh]

It was posted earlier in this thread
http://www.elioowners.com/threads/the-p5-what-would-you-change.6773/page-36#post-127845

OK. I withdraw the photo link, but not the comment!

 

[Ekh]

It was posted earlier in this thread
http://www.elioowners.com/threads/the-p5-what-would-you-change.6773/page-36#post-127845

You know, thinking a bit more about it, while the Edsel was ugly, its real problem was that it did not have a distinct job to do. Being positioned between Mercury and Ford made it a "me too" car -- not say like the 55 Tbird (a true sports car, even if it was really primitive technically) or the Jeep or the Nash Rambler (reclining seats -- how we loved taking girls on dates with ours) or the Crosley. So really, there wasn't a reason OTHER than styling to buy the Edsel.

That is where Elio is different. It has a very distinct, identifiable job to to: carry 1 to 2 people on their daily rounds while being affordable for those without much money. Its secondary mission is to save gas (nationally) and create jobs.

It's not primitive, not junky, and if it can get to market before Toyota decides to jump in, they can claim the market for themselves. Go Elio. Not an Edsel!

 

[WilliamH]

Things I would change? The Elgin instrument cluster. The Rube Goldberg front suspension system and go back to the coil overs of the P3. Shoulder harness anchored on the right buckles on the left. Power mirrors so you can adjust them to get following traffic headlight reflections out of your eyes especially at stop signs or stop lights. Small clearance lights on the wheel covers. That'll do.

The "Rube Goldberg suspension" comes directly from Formula 1 race cars and is designed to reduce the coefficient of drag. One example would be the 2012 Ferrari F1 suspension.

 

[aknaten]

In the top photograph over the tail of the ford, there is an interesting vehicle. What is this? Is this the car made in eastern Europe for communist leaders that had the air cooled engine in the rear?

Looks like a Tucker

 

[Sethodine]

I actually think the Edsel looks cool?

 

[outsydthebox]

Maybe our best hope is that the NHTSA deems it unsafe and won't allow the Elio on the road with such a ridiculously tiny read-out.

You know, you mention what sooo many other "anti-Elgin" folks say...."ridiculously tiny readout." And, "I wish they would just keep the Metro dash."........
Well, Here is the truth about the Metro dash......The numbers are only 1/4" tall! I seriously doubt the Elgin #s are that small. But, I If anyone has some hard numbers on the "size" of the numbers in the Elgin, please post.
I will be adding additional gauges but, I won't change out the Elgin cluster. I wasn't a big fan at first but, I like the looks and simplicity of it. I think it really fits the theme.

 

[skygazer6033]

Do you really need all the complication of pull rod suspension on a 75 mph car? The pull rod diameter on the P5 appears to have been increased along with the addition of the large brackets on top of the A-arms so I doubt there is much if any advantage over the coilovers. However the pull rod system adds 4 to 6 pivot points to wear out. Also the pull rods angle puts additional stress on the upper A-arm mounts which could cause the camber to wander around. Systems that work on race cars may not be so hot on a daily driver.​

 

[WilliamH]

Do you really need all the complication of pull rod suspension on a 75 mph car? The pull rod diameter on the P5 appears to have been increased along with the addition of the large brackets on top of the A-arms so I doubt there is much if any advantage over the coilovers. However the pull rod system adds 4 to 6 pivot points to wear out. Also the pull rods angle puts additional stress on the upper A-arm mounts which could cause the camber to wander around. Systems that work on race cars may not be so hot on a daily driver.​

Where did you get 75MPH from. It's a 100 MPH + car.
Regardless of the speed limit near Houston.
I frequently drive up to 100 MPH when passing.
So I think I'll go with the engineers.