The observation came from a couple other forums I hang out on. The V8miata guys love everything about the HP wars but the Miata purists on Miata.net think it's completely stupid and that you don't need big HP to have fun with a car. Since everyone that drives an Elio talks about how much fun they are I thought it would be interesting to hear what Elio owners think about the topic.
I get my kicks from winding roads not straight line acceleration. The engine only matters to me insomuch as I can maintain speed going uphill on the Blue Ridge Parkway and merging into highway/interstate traffic when I'm in big cities. My Grand Prix can do 0-60 in 8 seconds, but I have found anything faster than 11 seconds to be workable and the Elio meets that requirement.
My only concern is how well will the Elio hold traction with narrow hard tires and how much wider and more grippy tires will hurt MPG.