Where Did 84 Mpg Come From?

[Brian1362]

Trying to figure out why this means so much to so many people. 28 X 3 = 84, for those who are wondering. I know they are "trying to achieve this," and why they are building 18 to 26 prototypes for the crash testing and so on. 84 MPG a pipe dream? I think not. I had a '92 GEO Metro, with the 1.0 L engine and auto tranny (yes, same as in the P3/P4 right now) and the worst mileage I got was 23. The best was 38, but that was me, the wife and our three children and three days worth of clothes on the way to/from New Iberia, LA from Fort Hood, TX. No AC, so windows were down, presumably why my mileage was ONLY 38.

Matter of fact, there are several GEO metro 1.0Ls on ebay for around $500 bucks right now.

Is it achievable? Yes. Am I a believer? Yes, but skeptical ONLY because of the "Dale" story of the '70s.

Am I "all-in"? I have personal matters right now to deal with, but my wife and I have spoken on several occasions, and she knows I have been following the Elio for about ten days now. She said, and I quote, "We need two!" Funny she would say that, as I just bought her a '14 Kia Optima with all the bells and whistles, and average 25 MPG in town, which is what my '07 Chrysler T&C w/3.8L got in tip top shape on the highway. As I said in one of the other posts somewhere in here, my 17 year old doesn't like it, but wants her mother's Kia Optima. However, when I showed it to my 16 year old, she was all about it. So, technically, I may be "all-in" for three.

 

[zelio]

Trying to figure out why this means so much to so many people. 28 X 3 = 84, for those who are wondering. I know they are "trying to achieve this," and why they are building 18 to 26 prototypes for the crash testing and so on. 84 MPG a pipe dream? I think not. I had a '92 GEO Metro, with the 1.0 L engine and auto tranny (yes, same as in the P3/P4 right now) and the worst mileage I got was 23. The best was 38, but that was me, the wife and our three children and three days worth of clothes on the way to/from New Iberia, LA from Fort Hood, TX. No AC, so windows were down, presumably why my mileage was ONLY 38.

Matter of fact, there are several GEO metro 1.0Ls on ebay for around $500 bucks right now.

Is it achievable? Yes. Am I a believer? Yes, but skeptical ONLY because of the "Dale" story of the '70s.

Am I "all-in"? I have personal matters right now to deal with, but my wife and I have spoken on several occasions, and she knows I have been following the Elio for about ten days now. She said, and I quote, "We need two!" Funny she would say that, as I just bought her a '14 Kia Optima with all the bells and whistles, and average 25 MPG in town, which is what my '07 Chrysler T&C w/3.8L got in tip top shape on the highway. As I said in one of the other posts somewhere in here, my 17 year old doesn't like it, but wants her mother's Kia Optima. However, when I showed it to my 16 year old, she was all about it. So, technically, I may be "all-in" for three.

It is very possible your 17 year old is thinking about all the friends she can take with her in the Kia. That is not possible in Elio. Personally I like your 16 y/o's taste. LOL Z

 

[Brian1362]

It is very possible your 17 year old is thinking about all the friends she can take with her in the Kia. That is not possible in Elio. Personally I like your 16 y/o's taste. LOL Z

My 16 year old is like Michael Douglas's character of "Romancing the Stone," when he cuts off the heels of the lady's Italian shoes. "Now they're practical." Her logic is also like VIKI, from "I, Robot," undeniable.

 

[ST13Fred]

....to get 49 mpg in the city. See the specs section of the FAQ on their website.

OK. I thought I had seen that figure somewhere on their site, which would be about right for city. But even w/the good Elio aero package,
84 is not a # they should claim for highway; probably something nearer 60-65, or there will be some push back from consumers.

Elio is still going to be a fun ride and an attention getter, for sure.

 

[lafrisbee]

OK. I thought I had seen that figure somewhere on their site, which would be about right for city. But even w/the good Elio aero package,
84 is not a # they should claim for highway; probably something nearer 60-65, or there will be some push back from consumers.

Elio is still going to be a fun ride and an attention getter, for sure.

you know more than me about mpg abilities but I felt sure that the 84mpg was approachable from the little work i've done with fluid mechanics. being much less wide(and in no small part considerably shorter) allows the air to get around the vehicle exponentially easier. it isn't a factor of half the square footage at the front of the vehicle reduces that aspect of mpg consideration by half, it in all liklihood reduces it by a much greater factor. I've only dealt with fluid in an enclosed pipe, but I imagine that when you start trying to push four times the air around twice the outer edge(which is what being twice as big does, roughly) then all sorts of air turbulence speeds and volumes increase the drag exponentially. And that is why i felt like at least the Elio can do 70+mpg with the current design. I could be very wrong as I base what I think on like I have stated fluids moving through a confined space, but there are many similarities.

 

[karl]

Most modern cars start in a computer today. individual parts even the entire thing exist as data before they ever run. This is only a wild ass guess on my part but I would imagine that is where the numbers come from rather than just arbitrary numbers that somehow got made up.

 

[lafrisbee]

Most modern cars start in a computer today. individual parts even the entire thing exist as data before they ever run. This is only a wild ass guess on my part but I would imagine that is where the numbers come from rather than just arbitrary numbers that somehow got made up.

so a WAG of a WAG

 

[karl]

The only thing we have...

 

[lafrisbee]

yes that's my best WAG

 

[Brainmatter]

you know more than me about mpg abilities but I felt sure that the 84mpg was approachable from the little work i've done with fluid mechanics. being much less wide(and in no small part considerably shorter) allows the air to get around the vehicle exponentially easier. it isn't a factor of half the square footage at the front of the vehicle reduces that aspect of mpg consideration by half, it in all liklihood reduces it by a much greater factor. I've only dealt with fluid in an enclosed pipe, but I imagine that when you start trying to push four times the air around twice the outer edge(which is what being twice as big does, roughly) then all sorts of air turbulence speeds and volumes increase the drag exponentially. And that is why i felt like at least the Elio can do 70+mpg with the current design. I could be very wrong as I base what I think on like I have stated fluids moving through a confined space, but there are many similarities.

You can feel this anytime you ride a smaller displacement motorcycle. Sit up in the saddle on a straight, level road. Maintain 55 MPH and lock throttle position. Now, without changing the throttle go into a 'tuck' position. Note how much you need to back off the throttle to maintain 55mph. In just about every case where I've done this experiment it results in me having to back down the throttle at least 1/3rd. Imagine how much fuel I'd save if I could maintain that position? And that's just from tucking in, mostly, my big 'ol head.

I don't feel it as much on crotch rockets except at higher speeds. They don't get great fuel economy despite how aero they are because they have essentially race engines in them. But on a 350 honda, wow, what a difference tucking in makes.
The elio maintains that position, always.