Oh man, I hope this turns out to be the real deal. ‘Cause I want one!
I’ve always thought the first tiny, bare-bones Japanese imports of the 1970s were the perfect cars for me. Reliable, no-frills, front-wheel drive, affordable. Not a whole lot of comfort, but also not a whole lot of electronic this and automatic that to go wrong.
Was a disappointment when regulations and market forces un-simplified the simple, basic, economy car.
Now comes the Elio. Or next year comes the Elio. Okay, I dunno about the stability of that three-wheel design, and it’ll be some kind of miracle if they can actually sell them for $6,800 when the promised delivery date rolls around late next year. But it’s got everything you need to get you from here to there — with a dog in the passenger seat and room left over for groceries. And the people behind it aren’t amateurs. So just maybe they’ll pull it off.
Oh, I’m so tempted to put a deposit on one. (The Xterra was great when I lived in the desert, but its gas-guzzling ways don’t endear it to me in town.) But automotive vaporware … I dunno …
But it comes in sour-apple green, too! I luvvvvv sour-apple green cars …
And you can choose between automatic and five-speed manual. And …
I want one!
It looks like one of these:
http://tinyurl.com/kz4u583
but with a shell.
There was a guy in Portland who built something similar, but on a two wheeled bike. I bought a used Honda from him (he always had spare bikes) and that’s what took me through law school (you could still park on the sidewalks back then).
The two-in-front-one-in-back *should* be a more stable design than a tricycle model. Should be.
Yeah. A shell. Very Important. You know about that living in the NorthWET, even if you now live in the dry part of the NorthWET.
A shell. A/C. Heat. Airbags, even. I’m really wondering how they’re going to pull this off. Oh, but if they do …
You’d think there would be more things like this in the works. But I’ve been keeping my eyes on car alternatives for a while now and this is the first I’ve seen that really fills the bill. Goes faster than those wimpy little neighborhood electric vehicles. Has actual enclosed space, unlike Rhoades Cars and motorcycles. Has room for cargo and a dog.
I can just hear it…
“On Tonight’s Programme!
…I get lost in Budapest…
…James gets stuck in Manchester…
…and Richard -finally- drives a car his own size!”
I’ve always had a soft spot (perhaps between my ears) for odd little vehicles. If you’ve ever seen a picture of my first car, you already know this. But I’d like an Elio (I’ve been without a car for a year and a half now and it’s getting very old and inconvenient.) I wonder if my long legs and my hat would fit in one. I wouldn’t like taking off either just to fit in a car.
I’ll stick with a Wrangler…
Me want.
If it ain’t diesel, it ain’t crap. 🙂
I long had an itch for a VW Lupo despite the compromises (see this 1999 article)
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/consumer/autos/mareview/mauto497.htm
Another article claimed 99mpg. But it is not sold in the US. So, I put up with my 50mpg Passat.
http://www.fuelly.com/driver/paulx/passat
How are you going to haul your dog minagery around in one of those ????
BIG
MS Jordan — I checked! It has a passenger seat (behind the driver’s seat) plus cargo space. That equals TWO dogs. 🙂
Critters would have to stay home on grocery-shopping trips, though …
I got excited when I first heard about them, too. But then I read the small print.
Because they only have 3 wheels, they’re technically classified as a motorcycle, which means that – in most states, anyway – you’ll need to wear a helmet and have a motorcycle license to operate one. If they can get around that pesky requirement, I’ll send in my deposit. If it sounds to good to be true……..
Graystone — I saw that fine print also. While the helmet part would be a PITA, the license endorsement is no big deal and the insurance is likely to be lower than if the vehicle were classed as a car.
Besides, you could always get one of those spiked “Hun” type helmets. Or something out of The Road Warrior. 😉
http://www.amazon.com/Motorcycle-Helmets-Streetbike-Mohawks-Included/dp/B001EXCMKS/ref=sr_1_2/181-8110742-0409564?ie=UTF8&qid=1378264099&sr=8-2&keywords=spiked+helmet
It is hard to straddle a bump or a pothole in a trike.
They also tip over more easily, if you get rambunctious.
Just sayin.
Rides too low, it wouldn’t even get past the ruts in the paved roads near my land, much less the gravel and dirt ones.
Ellendra Says:
Rides too low, it wouldn’t even get past the ruts in the paved roads near my land, much less the gravel and dirt ones.
That’d be my problem too. Definitely doesn’t look like an off-road vehicle. But it is nice looking and I hope it works out for somebody.
Hmm…. I don’t see a passenger seat, just a rear glovebox. The Can-am’s MSRP is $17k-$30k without a roof and door, and these guys propose to do it for less than $7k?
One good thing may be that missing the fourth wheel still qualifies it for motorcycle rules and permits building of a non-governmental designed motor vehicle.
And the MPG…. seems a bit poor. That 3-cylinder diesel VW hatchback/van thing Top Gear tested way back got an actual 75mpg and was an actual car with real passenger seats and all the trimmings. I know that kind of economy is illegal in the US, but why? With all the ‘eco’ bluster, we refuse to import the real vehicles used elsewhere on earth which ACTUALLY perform beyond the regulated targets.
Years ago(mid 1980s), I saw a car called a Freeway at a local fair that looked sort of like that, but was strictly single passenger. A three wheeled car powered by a 16 hp Briggs and Stratton engine. There is (or was) a British car called a Robin that was very similar. The Elio would work just fine for me, but I’d have to raise it four inches or so up off the ground..
There are all kinds of Helmets. Including helmets just large enough to cover one’s bald spot, and I do mean Spot. You could get around the rules that way.
Move to a state that doesn’t have helmet requirement laws. Looks like fun, but I’d be concerned that a slow jackrabbit or fast Javelina would knock it off the road. I would also like to see how it performs at speed on roads with high winds.
If they set up the suspension geometry right, it shouldn’t be tippy, except maybe under very spirited cornering situations. Kind of like an SUV — yeah, you can roll them if you try. IIRC, the front-wheel drive ones are more stable, of which the Elio is one.
I too would prefer to have a turbo diesel. And a sequential gearbox. Doesn’t look as if there’s a bunch a room for motor swaps, but the EPA frowns on such things, don’cha know. Not sure if the “tampering with emissions controls” rule applies to motorcycles though.
Not sure about the old spike helmet thing. Are there some states that require DOT/SNELL certified helmets?
Can’t help but point to another trike article. Seems across the pond, they’re more popular than over here. But nice looking machines, they are!
I’d love one, but somehow these things never make it to market.
lee n. field — That’s my fear, too. Or it’ll make it to market a year late, costing two or three times the initial estimate, and having all manner of performance and stability problems caused by federally mandated safety add-ons. At which point some federal agency will put the company out of business if it doesn’t simply go bankrupt first.
Still, I’m holding out hope for this one because the people involved have pretty relevant experience.
Is the Elio supposed to be the poor man’s Tesla Roadster (absent the electric part, of course)?