Test Drive / Ride And Drive Events

[Mike W]

My grandfather took that approach... My father's first car was a used armored diplomatic car from Nicaragua.

That is priceless! Safety and a chick magnet! "Yeah, this belonged to Jose Juan Viero, an important Nicaraguan diplomat. Enough about him, let's talk about you..." Can you imagine how much gas it consumed and the size of the engine, I'm going to guess, was a little on the large side.

 

[Joshua Caldwell]

Yup, I imagine its consumption was measured in GPM. He never said what it's actual consumption was other than "thirsty".

 

[RUCRAYZE]

Search only revealed one thread from Dec2013- (but there might be updated speculations )

Do you think by the time they start production there will be locations to "take it for a spin"

When we get to the factory, and before closing the deal, we get to test ride it around,at least in the lot,?

 

[Anion]

As with many thoughts and ideas on this forum, everything is just speculation! But I would be fairly assured that a test drive at the time of pick up, would be part of the offerings! Every dealer and seller that I have delt with offers this courtesy along with free coffee when making a purchase of this magnitude. I am sure Paul will have a complete welcome package for each reservation buyer. I look forward to seeing the plant and other facilities in Shreveport when I arrive so I would like to think that a test drive is part of this package...

 

[CompTrex]

As with many thoughts and ideas on this forum, everything is just speculation! But I would be fairly assured that a test drive at the time of pick up, would be part of the offerings! Every dealer and seller that I have delt with offers this courtesy along with free coffee when making a purchase of this magnitude. I am sure Paul will have a complete welcome package for each reservation buyer. I look forward to seeing the plant and other facilities in Shreveport when I arrive so I would like to think that a test drive is part of this package...

EM has said there will be an Owners Tour, or something along those lines. Something that will get the vehicle into the hands of reservationists. That way we can test drive for auto vs manual as well as just being able to take it for a spin. I'll see if I can find something...

 

[CompTrex]

From one of our moderators.

Unfortunately for those who need a test drive before choosing a transmission this is another example of the potential issues with jumping in on something like this so early on in the process. While I am sure EM will try to have test drive events going before most reservation holders have to make their choice the truth is that just doing the math there will be very limited time for events and a very limited number of vehicles available for the early events.

1. From the timetable we have heard EM will be actively using the E-series vehicles for hardware testing up until 3 month prior to production
2. We also know that of the 25 or so E-Series vehicles 8-10 will die in crash testing.
3. EM will very likely need a few vehicles for ongoing testing right up until the first pre-production vehicles roll off the line in Shreveport which won't happen until about 4-6 weeks before production happens.
4. EM has also told us we will likely choose our options about 60 days before our vehicles are produced.

All this tells me that, if we are lucky, roughly 12 vehicles may become available 90 days prior to production however the fist reservation holders will have to make their choices in just about 30 days. If EM begins the test drive events right away, which I hope they do, there will only be time for just a few events before the first reservation holders must make their choices and there will likely not be enough time to take this show to even a quarter of the 60 initial markets within the first few months. Hopefully EM spreads these events out geographically and limits the events to current reservation holders, with a priority given to those with early numbers, however to even have a chance at test driving these vehicles before they place an order most reservation holders will have to travel, likely out of state, to drive one.

Over time the test drive events will be able to cover more area and accommodate more people. These events will likely replace the original E-series test drive vehicles with a larger number of X-series pre-production builds coming out of Shreveport however this will likely only happen about the time production officially begins so it won't be help the early reservation holders having their vehicles built in the first 2-3 months of production.

You may be able to find more...

 

[RUCRAYZE]

and here I'm thinking there was no one else up this early in the morning!- even more surprising if you're not on the east coast!!
have a good day!

 

[RUCRAYZE]

From one of our moderators.


You may be able to find more...

thanks for the find

 

[lnwlf40]

Search only revealed one thread from Dec2013- (but there might be updated speculations )

Do you think by the time they start production there will be locations to "take it for a spin"

When we get to the factory, and before closing the deal, we get to test ride it around,at least in the lot,?

From The official EM website....

https://eliomotors.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

Ultimately, yes. We’re planning a series of events close to the delivery of our first vehicle to let our supporters get the Elio feeling. Once we are in full production, you’ll be invited to one of our ride and drives that will be much more comprehensive, fun and informative than a typical “test drive.”

 

[JEBar]

the lack of an opportunity to test drive an Elio prior to making a reservation is one of the major reasons I haven't put any money down .... I genuinely applaud those pioneers who are willing to do so and am counting on their comments following getting and using their Elio .... because I tend to keep vehicles for many years, I'm pretty conservative when it comes to making such purchases without first doing my homework

Jim