Jeff Johnson Interview - Autoline After Hours #347 - 9/16/16

[Trusting]

This question about the trans is disturbing. Let's look at it like this. If they spend the first months of production building nothing but cars with manuals, then they will have pissed off thousands of us who ordered an auto. Our place in line will mean nothing; we will be waiting for our cars while guys who purchased their car long after we did are driving theirs, and we will all have a bitter taste in our mouth about the whole deal. Paul Elio would have to be stupid to deliberately piss off his most loyal owners right from the start..... and I don't think he's stupid.

 

[Ekh]

Atsok. I'm pretty close to being resolved to the manual. The automatic transmission in the Geo took FOREVER to accelerate,
But you could get the manual to push that little car down the road at a respectable pace from a resting position.
If you did it right, you could even chirp tire. There is no way I'm paying an extra $1050 for a transmission...
That others offer as standard equipment in cars made in India and Asia. I know EM needs profit but...

One of the major appeal factors about this miracle of modern manufacturing methodology is the price.

It's a good thing the Elio engine is so so torquey. I really don't like the idea of cruise control if I have to downshift all the time to keep the car at speed on a hilly chunk of interstate.And if I lived in Seattle or Pittsburgh, a standard tranny would be OUT for me -- my old knees couldn't take it.

So, assuming many, many of us SIL folks know how to drive a standard, even like driving standard shifts, the fact is -- we're far older than the general population (most of whom have no clue about the fun of winding the gears through mountains), and sanity says to us AMT!

 

[Ekh]

Jambe, thanks. Great update and I also noticed the 11 second 0-60 time and that they will be doing mileage tests next spring. Guess productionwon't begin until after all the mileage/endurance testing is complete. The sport/Eco switch is new and we learned it has a 5-speed w/o overdrive and that Aisin was still tweaking the gearing to reach their mileage goals. Unless I misunderstood it IAV is still tweaking the engine as well. I was surprised with some of his comments (non-comments) about funding. He did seem confident that production will begin in 2017.

Thanks again for sharing this with everyone.

I know he used present tense in discussing IAV, but he's not a precise speaker, so the engine may or may not be "untweakable" at this point. I rather think that it is. Now the ECU -- that's something that can be tweaked. But probably not the physical engine itself. The engine has been complete for 1.5 years -- and they haven't said one word about making any physical or design changes to it. If the DID change it, screw the mileage, I want my 10 extra HP!

 

[Elio Amazed]

It's a good thing the Elio engine is so so torquey. I really don't like the idea of cruise control if I have to downshift all the time to keep the car at speed on a hilly chunk of interstate.And if I lived in Seattle or Pittsburgh, a standard tranny would be OUT for me -- my old knees couldn't take it.

So, assuming many, many of us SIL folks know how to drive a standard, even like driving standard shifts, the fact is -- we're far older than the general population (most of whom have no clue about the fun of winding the gears through mountains), and sanity says to us AMT!

Thing is, I almost got run over by a semi that was still a whole half mile down the road at the moment I pulled out for the test drive in the AT geo. I was ready to get out and run beside the vehicle and push! I DO NOT want to ever experience THAT again. Let's see if I can describe it a little better. It's like taking a 90cc scooter and trying to pass on the interstate compared to doing the same on a 883 sportster. THAT's how much difference there was. There wasn't anything wrong with the engine in the Geo I test drove, but coupled to that AT, it was a piece of Shhhhhht. I'd rather be able to have full control of my RPMs and shifting and be able to get out of the way with the Elio's slightly underpowered motor when needed for safety's sake. I want to be able to bring all of that available torque to bear at one time instead of having the tranny try to decide if we're in an emergency situation or not.

There have even been situations where I would have been happier having a standard in my Mustang V6 instead of the slight lag time of the Automatic.

As far as my knees, I can always slip it into neutral in stop-n-go traffic... and constant hills are far from the norm in most areas of the continent.

I get what you're saying. One my chevy service vans had an 80lb. clutch in it. I was almost happy when one of my employees hit a deer with it and cracked the frame. But the Elio's standard Tranny's clutch should be no-where near that. My Geo standard's clutches took almost no effort to push to the floor.

 

[Ekh]

Thing is, I almost got run over by a semi that was still a whole half mile down the road at the moment I pulled out for the test drive in the AT geo. I was ready to get out and run beside the vehicle and push! I DO NOT want to ever experience THAT again. Let's see if I can describe it a little better. It's like taking a 90cc scooter and trying to pass on the interstate compared to doing the same on a 883 sportster. THAT's how much difference there was. There wasn't anything wrong with the engine in the Geo I test drove, but coupled to that AT, it was a piece of Shhhhhht. I'd rather be able to have full control of my RPMs and shifting and be able to get out of the way with the Elio's slightly underpowered motor when needed for safety's sake. I want to be able to bring all of that available torque to bear at one time instead of having the tranny try to decide if we're in an emergency situation or not.

There have even been situations where I would have been happier having a standard in my Mustang V6 instead of the slight lag time of the Automatic.

As far as my knees, I can always slip it into neutral in stop-n-go traffic... and constant hills are far from the norm in most areas of the continent.

I get what you're saying. One my chevy service vans had an 80lb. clutch in it. I was almost happy when one of my employees hit a deer with it and cracked the frame. But the Elio's standard Tranny's clutch should be no-where near that. My Geo standard's clutches took almost no effort to push to the floor.

Just maybe the Elio Automatic will be a tad more responsive than the Geo's ever was.

 

[Elio Amazed]

Just maybe the Elio Automatic will be a tad more responsive than the Geo's ever was.

On the average, the points for more control and instant acceleration when needed goes to the standard transmission across the board, but I'll give you that. Maybe it will be somewhat more responsive than the Metro's. We certainly hope so. The industry has had over 20 years to improve the ATs and develop the AMTs.

 

[Bamdalam]

It sounds to me like there's a good chance that Elio might divide the inclusive SIL list into two piles - those requesting the AMT, and those requesting the manual transmission - and your SIL would be honored relative to SIL holders in your respective transmission group.

Who's re-considering the AMT?! Haha[/QUOTE]
I don't think that would be possible until each and every one of us has gone through the configurator and actually specified the options we want and "sign on the dotted line" so to speak. I'm all in at $500.00, but want a manual trans. Does that mean I could possibly get my Elio before SIL people? I don't think so from Elio. SIL should mean something, so how will they do manuals first unless all the SIL people finalize their options and purchase? Also, keep in mind this is a start up co., and we will have to roll with the punches as they come. I'm sure Elio will stick to the SIL system if at all possible.

 

[RonnieB]

It sounds to me like there's a good chance that Elio might divide the inclusive SIL list into two piles - those requesting the AMT, and those requesting the manual transmission - and your SIL would be honored relative to SIL holders in your respective transmission group.

Who's re-considering the AMT?! Haha

I don't think that would be possible until each and every one of us has gone through the configurator and actually specified the options we want and "sign on the dotted line" so to speak. I'm all in at $500.00, but want a manual trans. Does that mean I could possibly get my Elio before SIL people? I don't think so from Elio. SIL should mean something, so how will they do manuals first unless all the SIL people finalize their options and purchase? Also, keep in mind this is a start up co., and we will have to roll with the punches as they come. I'm sure Elio will stick to the SIL system if at all possible.[/QUOTE]
I have a feeling they will work this out as we do have time. I myself will be getting a manual if its my only option but understand why many people do not want one. My Elio will be an AND Car and I will be using it for long trips to the airport but I sure as hell would not want to be stuck in Charlotte traffic in a manual regardless if the clutch is light or not.....that's why I seldom go into the city. Can anyone give more info why a AMT may be difficult to make? If it does have issues how long would it take to develop a Automatic?

 

[Buckeyejake]

My Elio is also an "and" car. Not needed for personal use but personal enjoyment. I will be purchasing the basic model available. Want it to be as original as possible.

Jus my view from the cheap seats.

 

[skychief]

Maybe this is why they took the link off Facebook.
Jeff may have gotten a little carried away.

Also he [Johnston] made a colossal gaffe when explaining the requirement for a low-profile vehicle design. He completely omitted the necessity of a low drag coefficient.

[@17:34]

Q: "And how do you see this car as the industry and the consumers want higher vantage point - they want to sit up higher in vehicles. And you look at sedans - there's fewer and fewer interest in a car that's just kind of a car and low to the ground. How does this fit into that trend?"

A: "Well, you know, I don't know at the moment, Lindsay - I really couldn't answer ya. You know, there's a possibility that we could fit into that trend, but for right now, of course, we'll be in the sedan size. You know.. and whatnot...But our focus is; we gotta get this out - we gotta get it moving, ah, the whole team has been very, very passionate. We were online until midnight last night going over drawings and a few odds-and-ends stuff, so I mean, these guys are working around the clock with us."

[FACEPALM]

The correct answer is:

In order to achieve the 84 MPG target, we're compelled to minimize drag and rolling resistance. A good way to accomplish this is with a low and narrow design for the body. This is the reason for tandem seating and the low stance. Perhaps someday Elio Motors will build Six-thousand pound SUV's, but that's really not in the cards for us right now. [wink-wink]