What Is The Status Of The Atvm Loan?

[JohnSmithemail]

I just found the Electra Meccanica SOLO and it will work for me. Check out the alternatives. SOLO is one of them and its electric.

 

[Frim]

Well, nothing much would be involved in putting a small passenger door on the right rear. Nothing much, that is, but re-routing the exhaust, removing the right-side rear window, strengthening the frame, possibly elongating the entire vehicle. Oh, yea, and rerouting not just the gas-cap, but the entire gas tank, with its fill location, pipe AND gas cap. Which means conflicting with other stuff on the left side, such as seat belt strong points (maybe) and other structural members on the left side.

That sort of change has been giving Elio fits for a year or more; they are having enough trouble getting the exhaust system correct as it is. To put your door in on the right, you might have to re-do the entire exhaust manifold.

Look, every part of this car is connected to all the rest. It's a one-hoss-shay in that regard -- if you've never read the poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes, it's a bout a guy who got fed up with things breaking on his buggy, so he built a new one -- in which every single piece was as strong as the rest. It lasted 100 years and a day and then went poof to a pile of dust -- because while it couldn't break down, it could wear out.

The shay formed a complete system, and so does the Elio -- or darn near it. There's very little about that car that can be casually moved around.

I have photo restoration customers who ask me "can you cut this out of the picture?" I say sure, now what would you like me to put in its place? If you take something out, you have to put something else back in -- and that takes time and money, especially if I have to design the something else from scratch -- use a new part, in Elio-speak.

It's the same with the Elio. In the old days, cars had buckets of unused space. You could put a laundry machine in the engine compartment and a dryer in the trunk! But not today. The Elio has all the modern car components in literally half the space! That is a cram job, friends, and once you've got it all neatly packed in you MESS WITH IT AT YOUR PERIL.

Changes have to be thought through, evaluated, costed, tested and, at long last, implemented.

So your little door on the right is going to take a major overhaul of the whole damn car.

I wish you guys who want some other car would just go and buy one. This gets old.

Can I quote you?

 

[Jeff Miller]

I just found the Electra Meccanica SOLO and it will work for me. Check out the alternatives. SOLO is one of them and its electric.

troll?

 

[Ekh]

Can I quote you?

Any time!

 

[Coss]

troll?

Haven't decided yet. So as of now, no.

 

[KenK]

So your little door on the right is going to take a major overhaul of the whole damn car.

I wish you guys who want some other car would just go and buy one. This gets old.

Yes! It is absolutely idiotic! Everyone knows the half-door should be on the left!

 

[bowers baldwin]

troll?

 

[Frim]

Yes! It is absolutely idiotic! Everyone knows the half-door should be on the left!

I will compromise. The half-door can be on the left.

 

[Ekh]

I will compromise. The half-door can be on the left.

See rant above.

 

[LillyMayPatterson #1685 & #5648]

Thread title was 'what the status of the atvm loan'. My records have it TWO YEARS OLD TODAY !!! JUST SAYING.