Seems the OBDI vs. OBDII issue is 'still up in the air'...... according to last week's Town Hall meeting; "
Q. OBD, Which version will be available: 1 or 2?
A. Doesn't know if a decision was made yet. " (from Mr. Paul Elio)
OBDI vs OBDII is not an option that Elio has. "OBDII" is a reference to the government mandated emissions monitoring capability of the ECU. Elio can only be either OBD compliant(required for roadgoing CARS in the US) or not. The generation/version of OBD(I,II,E,G) will be whatever is current in the vehicle's market at the time of vehicle's release. If they choose to not be OBD compliant(relying on their 3 wheels status as a "non-car") they could be removed from many markets with a simple swipe of the legislative pen requiring new "non-cars" to meet new "cars" emissions compliance. While they have this leeway in the US market ATM they don't in the european market from what I have seen, so I'm making an educated guess and stating that they will aim to be GOBD(Global ODB) compliant upon release b/c it is the current standard.
Heres a decent explanation from Snap-on's scanner training booklet
"The OBD-I (On-Board Diagnostics I) system was introduced in the early 1980s and by 1988 all
new cars and light trucks sold in California had to have OBD-I. The fundamental elements of the
OBD-I are the electrical components (which influence exhaust emissions) that are monitored by
the engine management system. An optical warning signal is given in the event of an OBD-I
relevant failure. This fault can be read out by way of a flashing code.
OBD-II has been compulsory on all vehicles in the US market since January 1996. EOBD
(European On-Board Diagnostics) is the European equivalent to OBD-II. It was introduced in 2000
and became effective in January 2001. There are a few differences between EOBD and OBD-II
but none that will affect the generic scan tool operation. All the communication protocols for both
programs are identical. Vehicle emission strategies and certification procedures vary between
countries, states and regions. Always use the vehicle factory service information specific to the
country and emission certification."