It's funny to me that so many are focusing on as-yet unproven or immature technologies for which an infrastructure for delivery is as yet unavailable. The US has massive deposits of fossil fuels, yet some would burn these in central power stations and distribute the resulting electricity for miles - sometimes hundreds of them - taking the electrical losses along the way. This isn't the way to efficiency.
Right now you can "fuel" your electric car for very little money, and that's great - if you are going 20 or 25 miles in a typical day. But you have to think about what you do for contingencies. Your daughter's school calls and she's in the nurse's office with a nosebleed - your company's best customer calls a meeting and you have to drive an additional 18 miles to show up on their doorstep - maybe you need to do some shopping but what you need is at another store across town . . . how will you handle the schedule changes that occur almost weekly with an electric car with limited range? What do you do when extreme temperatures cut your range even further, particularly in cold weather? Can you afford to spend several hours in a coffee shop trying to do business with your tablet and cell phone while your car re-charges?
But in time those who seek to put their hands in your pockets in Washington and your state legislature figure out you aren't paying your fair share of "road taxes" and slap you with another "mileage tax" due at registration. That 50¢ per gallon (plus or minus, depending on your state) you're paying now starts to look a lot better. So now that super techie electric car is beginning to lose some of its attractive qualities in the face of real-world application.
Elio, as currently represented, is using mature technologies, a proven infrastructure for fuel delivery, and a little outside-the-box engineering to achieve viable savings. Tandem seating best suits a commuter, a 1+1 if you will, for getting back and forth in the daily slog with just enough technology to be interesting without being overly expensive. It probably won't haul 4' X 8' sheets of drywall, it won't accommodate three kids and the dog on vacation, and it's probably not what you want to drive in a hurricane or blizzard. That's what that other 1.3 cars in the American driveway are for. Here's an idea: throw a small pad of paper on the console and mark down all of the trips you make in a month that could be easily handled in your Elio. Mark others with a notation as to why you need the extra space. Keep records of mileage of each trip if you're going to be picky with this, and at the end of 60-90 days look over your record. Would a "$6,800 car" offering fantastic gas mileage and a new car warranty be a good idea for at least ONE of the cars in your driveway?
Thought so.