Setting Expectations?

[floydv]

I expect to be at a gas station filling my Elio someday and some fool will drive up yelling, "Is that an electric car?" Then some other idiot riding without a helmet on a motorcycle will come up and say, "I'd hate to crash in that thing." And finally, some teenage moron in a car that's clearly older than him and his pimples will say to me in a Walgreens or Rite-Aid parking lot, "Couldn't afford a real car, eh?"

All of the above happened to me when I bought my smart car. A lot of attention, both good and bad, comes with the territory when you buy an unusual vehicle. No doubt the Elio will attract its fair share of supporters and haters on the street.

 

[3wheelin]

Point of view is everything in the Elio. As an old biker I think of it in motorcycle terms. Since it's poring rain should I take the Gold Wing or the Elio. I'm 65 and really not into getting soaked to the skin so the choice is obvious. Same thing when it's 15° and snowing or 98° with 85% humidity. If you stop thinking of the Elio as so much less than a car and start to think of it as so much more than a motorcycle it really starts to make sense. It's not a limited small car but the most versatile touring bike ever. Add in the projected 80 mpg (about twice what most big touring bikes get) and you really just sit back and say WOW.

The best perspective I've read so far! You nailed it to the core for what ELIO is all about!

 

[ehwatt]

I like that perspective: More than a motorcycle, less than a car.

Jeff, I would say ". . . less of a car".

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

Let's take a person who has only driven cars and trucks their whole life.
(let's say, most people's grandmother)

Then have them drive an Elio and then a motorcycle.

Which one will be safe on a highway that day?

If you said the Elio, you'd be correct. That's because it's a car.
It drives the same, performs the same, the controls are the same, because it's a car.

Yes, the old laws and definitions call it a motorcycle. Merely semantics.

It's not less of a car or less than a car, it's a car.

The Elio is ahead of the times and ahead of the law. The gears of the government turn slowly (if at all).

The gears of the the Elio (still a car) will turn efficiently.

 

[ehwatt]

Let's take a person who has only driven cars and trucks their whole life.
(let's say, most people's grandmother)

Then have them drive an Elio and then a motorcycle.

Which one will be safe on a highway that day?

If you said the Elio, you'd be correct. That's because it's a car.
It drives the same, performs the same, the controls are the same, because it's a car.

Yes, the old laws and definitions call it a motorcycle. Merely semantics.

It's not less of a car or less than a car, it's a car.

The Elio is ahead of the times and ahead of the law. The gears of the government turn slowly (if at all).

The gears of the the Elio (still a car) will turn efficiently.

CE, respectfully, it is less of a car, hence all the brouhaha, but a car all the same and wonderful at it. Unfortunately our government will recognize this along with all the lost revenue. Paul was wise in designing for "car" structural requirements because that is where it will end up I think. Hopefully "they" will keep seeing it as only more of a motorcycle and the auto-cycle class will stay permanent.

 

[Coss]

During all of my driving lifetime I've driven big cars and little cars and in-between, plus right hand and left hand drive, trucks, vans, Semi tractors, big delivery trucks, motorcycles, trikes, bikes with sidecars, if it had wheels and a motor I could jump in and drive it with a very short adjustment time to adapt to what it would take to get it down the road and drive it to wherever I had to take it. So I know when I have the Elio in my hands the same will be true, so it's never been an issue for me that I had to be concerned about. I probably will forget the layout once or twice (like backing up and forgetting how wide the front is) but it's not a deal breaker for me. As for my wife liking the back seat; she's already told me that I had better learn to like it because if we're both going somewhere in it, she's driving

 

[Rickb]

I certainly identify these as motorcycles, don't you?


I identify the Elio trike, the Arcimoto SRK trike, and the Lit Motors C-1 self balancing 2 wheeler all as ENCLOSED motorcycle concepts. It's better NOT to encourage the government to reclassify this vehicle by setting new standards. It's legally a motorcycle classified vehicle, surprisingly already sub-classified by many States as an autocycle needed for the State's MC licensing and helmet exemptions. With all the noise making, Government regulations could change the vehicle class, the engineering, and safety requirements before any of these concept vehicles are even manufactured if people push the car factor. These are not concept cars.

 

[pistonboy]

I too wonder a bit about the offset wheels -- I like the term outriggers for them, very descriptive. It's the exposure that makes them seem strange (and vulnerable). But if you're a modest man who doesn't seek attention -- you're in trouble! Until there are a million or two of them on the road, the Elio will stand out like a stripper in church -- you WILL be the center of attention, like it or not!

Someone came up with the idea of putting a sign on the car saying "I'm an Elio.Eliomotors.com" -- but that's a little tough to do since the car is non-magnetic. But be sure of one thing -- you will be stopped, questioned, applauded, laughed at, even pulled over by curious cops for a year or two until the novelty wears off.

Introverts are at risk driving an Elio!

I know what you mean. I have three Corvairs, two 914's, and an Opel GT. I get questions all the time.
It is OK for a while, but eventually, you get tired of everyone telling you about the car they formerly had.

 

[Sethodine]

On the subject of real-life Elio driving: Last night I was driving down a gravel road, dodging potholes, and it suddenly occurred to me that it will be more difficult to dodge said potholes in an Elio due to the tricycle configuration. Am I wrong?

 

[slinches]

It'll probably take a little to get used to it, but it shouldn't be substantially harder. Being seated in the middle and able to see where the front tires are should help mitigate any added difficulty due to the third wheel track. Although, that really only applies to well maintained roads. There are reasons that off-road vehicles tend to have either two or four wheels (e.g. stability vs agility).