Test Drive / Ride And Drive Events

[msmith5150]

I hope I get the chance to at least see it in person before I take delivery, driving one would be a huge plus. But I have enough faith that I'm sure I won't be disappointed if I do have to wait for mine to show up at my door.

For Zelio, I am keeping optimistic!

 

[Wheelthang]

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!

Speaking of safety, has anyone seen or read about where the gas tank will be located? From the position of the filler cap, I would guess under the passenger seat.

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

Speaking of safety, has anyone seen or read about where the gas tank will be located? From the position of the filler cap, I would guess under the passenger seat.

Yes, under the passenger seat. At eight gallons, it's not very big.

 

[goofyone]

Speaking of safety, has anyone seen or read about where the gas tank will be located? From the position of the filler cap, I would guess under the passenger seat.

Yes, under the passenger seat. At eight gallons, it's not very big.

You can see the tank mounting position under the seat in this CAD drawing.

This picture shows how that area of the chassis is reinforced to protect the fuel tank in the event of an accident.

 

[Wheelthang]

Yes, under the passenger seat. At eight gallons, it's not very big.

Gas-PA. Your magic number is 844 and you're not expecting delivery until Jan. 2016?? With production to begin in Sept. 2015 and expected to be in the range of 10,000 units per year at first, why would not expect to get yours 4 to 6 weeks earlier than that?

 

[Wheelthang]

You can see the tank mounting position under the seat in this CAD drawing.

This picture shows how that area of the chassis is reinforced to protect the fuel tank in the event of an accident.

Yes, I clearly see it now. Thanx for posting.

 

[RogWild]

Gas-PA. Your magic number is 844 and you're not expecting delivery until Jan. 2016?? With production to begin in Sept. 2015 and expected to be in the range of 10,000 units per year at first, why would not expect to get yours 4 to 6 weeks earlier than that?

Elio Tour personnel have said that the 'assembly line' will SLOWLY 'ramp up' (training, getting the right people in the 'right' position, and 'tweaking' the line) until they can obtain the max ONE SHIFT level (I was told 250/day). They will hire and train a SECOND shift (only when they have 'confirmed' demand) to increase it to 500/day....... probably several MONTHS down the line. They told me that the MAX Plant out put of 250,000 /year would probably be after INTERNATIONAL sales begin..... a couple of YEARS out. Also some of the early 'production vehicles' may go to the 60 Elio Stores (for 'demo drivers'), or to some of the 'Fleet Sales'.

 

[ClubJoe]

I had plans for under the rear seat. I guess I will have to dream up another location for my electronics.

ClubJoe
Sunny Brandon, FL

 

[Wheelthang]

Elio Tour personnel have said that the 'assembly line' will SLOWLY 'ramp up' (training, getting the right people in the 'right' position, and 'tweaking' the line) until they can obtain the max ONE SHIFT level (I was told 250/day). They will hire and train a SECOND shift (only when they have 'confirmed' demand) to increase it to 500/day....... probably several MONTHS down the line. They told me that the MAX Plant out put of 250,000 /year would probably be after INTERNATIONAL sales begin..... a couple of YEARS out. Also some of the early 'production vehicles' may go to the 60 Elio Stores (for 'demo drivers'), or to some of the 'Fleet Sales'.

Yes, I understand. As a retired 'junior' mechanical engineer (2 year, AS degree, I have been involved in several production line start ups, so I understand how they go. We actually didn't consider the line "in production" until most of that had been worked out and we were able to keep the line running for 6 or 7 hours without a breakdown or some reason to make adjustments. Just depends on how one defines 'in production' I suppose.

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

Gas-PA. Your magic number is 844 and you're not expecting delivery until Jan. 2016?? With production to begin in Sept. 2015 and expected to be in the range of 10,000 units per year at first, why would not expect to get yours 4 to 6 weeks earlier than that?

I will preface this by saying I want Elio to succeed. My non-refundable reservation is a calculated gamble intended to encourage them to succeed. But as an engineer and tech enthusiast I recognize that reality bites, especially when trying to built something totally new and as complex as a vehicle. I think their odds of getting to volume production at this point are 60/40 in favor.

As pointed out by you and RogWild "production" is a long way from "delivery". If they actually start in September then it will be at least four months before the production line is ready to deliver customer vehicles. They have to build many "test" vehicles to make sure the assembly line, workers, techniques, and parts all work to produce a car that runs and doesn't fall apart as soon at it rolls out the door.

That's where January 2016 came from. Since they have decided to engineer a completely new engine from scratch, I should revise that to June 2016, and I think even that is optimistic. Not even the big boys can design, test, revise, and tool-up to produce an all-new engine in less than a couple years.

I don't really care much about the delays so long as they get the fool thing right. Take the time they need to deliver a reliable product. They get one shot with the fickle public and belligerent mainstream media. If they screw it up by delivering an unreliable P.O.S. it will be labeled a Yugo forever. It took Hyundai 20 years, billions of dollars, and unheard-of 10-year / 100k-mile warranties to overcome their reputation for making junk.

I bought a gen 1 Insight to hold me over until then.