Disaster On Three Wheels. Oh, My....

[MagicDragon]

If the driver has a clear sight of the left wheel, it won't be a problem. He/she will learn to assess the situation.
The picture suggests that you do.

 

[outsydthebox]

I wonder how many new Elio owners are going to tear the left front wheel off when driving and/or parking, because of the driver position requirement - must be more in the center of the lane than traditional four-wheel car?

I'm gonna say, There will also be new owners who hit telephone poles, trains, semi's, and probably some who drive intoxicated. All due to driver error or poor judgement. It will be each persons responsibility to decide whether or not they are fit to get behind the wheel.

 

[Coss]

I'm gonna say, There will also be new owners who hit telephone poles, trains, semi's, and probably some who drive intoxicated. All due to driver error or poor judgement. It will be each persons responsibility to decide whether or not they are fit to get behind the wheel.

You left out: Just showin off and happened to leave their common sense at home.

 

[Juney]

Hey Good People!!, I'm back after a lo-o-og hiatus and rebuilding my burnt up mountain retreat (reason I need the Elio....and Sharon Stone in the back seat) and I'd like to add that my sense is not common,....it's above average!!

 

[wizard of ahs]

Good to see you back Juney .
Hope all is well after the fire

 

[DAVID BROWER]

IN MY 30+ YEARS OF DRIVING MESSERSCHMITTS & ISETTAS ,
I HAVE NEVER NOTICED THE CENTER GREASY STRIP BEING A PROBLEM .

WHAT I HAVE NOTICED IS THE TENDENCY OF THE REAR TO WANT TO TRACK
THIS WAY OR THAT ON A HEAVILY CROWNED ROAD .

 

[Coss]

Hey Good People!!, I'm back after a lo-o-og hiatus and rebuilding my burnt up mountain retreat (reason I need the Elio....and Sharon Stone in the back seat) and I'd like to add that my sense is not common,....it's above average!!

Glad to see you back; do you have any pictures of before and after, and after again of your cabin?

 

[TheAsterisk!]

I wonder how many new Elio owners are going to tear the left front wheel off when driving and/or parking, because of the driver position requirement - must be more in the center of the lane than traditional four-wheel car?

I'm not worried.

The next time you're in a large hardware store, or some other warehouse-style retail with pallets sitting up above, bear in mind that they've taught their often less-than-genius staff to drive forklifts, in close proximity to the public, and often it took less than a day, certainly less than several days. The entirety of my "training" for such a retail chain, to drive two distinct electric fork lift trucks, a self-propelled man-lift, and 2 and 3 ton propane forklifts, took all of five hours, most of which consisted of watching videos that essentially just told the prospective operator to not be an idiot and use common sense, though they phrased it much more politely.

That's for driving up to a 2 or 3 ton chunk of steel, holding heavy, oddly shaped loads, either lifted up to 30-plus feet overhead or down low but entirely off one end of the wheelbase so it swings around on turns, with no proper counterbalance beyond sheer vehicle weight, in proximity to the public, on a vehicle with rear-wheel steering and a small footprint. Not to toot my own horn, but provided you actually think a little bit and don't behave like a moron with a toy, that very short time was adequate, too. It was within maybe two weeks of occasional use and practice that I could run the things up and down narrow aisles at or near full speed, clearances and customer foot traffic permitting, and in many cases the aisles were about two feet wider- total- than the fork truck. The electric ones used joysticks for throttle and lift control, and this weird sort of flat crank wheel (sort of like an uglier take on large airplanes' tiller steering) to turn, so there were some odd controls to learn, too.

I imagine the switch to an Elio will be fine, aside from the first few hours of feeling kind of novel and strange. It's really not that big a change. Might actually make people better at handling narrow roads/lanes and parking, too, since in my experience most people can tell where the left side of a car they're driving is at, but have a wildly inconsistent notion of where their right side is relative to the driver. Annoys the heck out of my when someone gives maybe a foot, foot-and-a-half of clearance to me across the centerline, but leaves a four foot gap on the right side of the car because they truly think they're danger-close to that parked hatchback at the curb.

 

[skychief]

I imagine the switch to an Elio will be fine, aside from the first few hours of feeling kind of novel and strange. It's really not that big a change.

This seems to be case.

There's a few youtube videos where some lucky people actually got to test-drive the P4 and P5. They noted that there was a minor learning curve with the driver's seat in the middle of the vehicle. Most of them stated that they could probably overcome the "strangeness" within a few hours of driving. So most folks should be driving like a pro the first day they take delivery on their autocycle.

 

[wizard of ahs]

I'm thinking bikers will have less of a problem !