Idea: hydraulic pads on the left and right side for automatic “deflipping”.
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“There are no real problems, only opportunities for product development!”
-guy selling underwear outside the garden of eden
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A srimech?
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nah, you just open your door. 
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As with the geodesic dome, Bucky Fuller came up with something that was engineeringly elegant, but too silly for most people to consider actually owning.
Before this decade is out, the idea that anyone would go and buy a new gas only vehicle for a daily driver will seem old fashioned.
There are already pure electrics and plug in hybrids from every company worth buying from now. In the next couple years, the best sedan in the world - the BMW 3 series - will be able to be had as a plug in, you can buy a VW Golf electric now - the best hatchback ever made, etc…
No doubt people will still buy and maintain their favorite gas burner for fun - you gotta love the sound of a well-tuned engine, especially a normally aspirated one pushing redline - but it’s doubtful that by 2020 or so any of us will replace our commuter with one.
Good, thought-provking article. A few edits:
- “over 40,000 people have reserved their Elios at a cost of 50% of
the purchase price”; not quite correct; for most of the last few
years, people can put down a non-refundable deposit… if so, 50% of
the deposit is put toward the purchase price by Elio Motors; for
example, a non-refundable deposit of $500 means EM puts an additional
$250 towards purchase price; they do have refundable reservations,
but these are not eligible for the 50% bump; - “hopeful early supporters, who have dropped about three and a half
grand apiece on the idea of buying an interesting car,…”; nope, see
above; also, maximum deposit is $1000; they won’t take any more than that; - We’re all clear on the above? Ok, great.
- The vehicle sounds innovative to most people: a new engine
specifically designed for this vehicle… a hood that opens from the
back, to save costs of a latch on the front… a wiper fluid system
that allows a one-gallon jug of fluid under the hood… occupants sit
front to back, allowing the vehicle to be narrow and push half the
air of what we all know to be a normal car. - “passengers will find an interior layout, no matter how well
appointed, closer to that of a motorcycle than a car, thanks to the
tandem seating”; you must be referring to the visor, the automotive
driver controls, the cup-holders, the seat belts; or not;
More later! 
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“It’s not out of the question…” is not a “theory,” even in scare-quotes.
Anyway, the actual point, which you so diligently missed, is that she was a fraud, regardless of her gender identity, but you somehow read @SteveT’s comment as “trans people are frauds.”
“there’s very little point in a small carmaker building their own engines”
You provide the interview link, well done. Paul gives many other reasons than what you provided, to why they are building their own engines. Elio wants engines in the tens of thousands, not hundreds. The opportunity wasn’t available years ago when Elio made the decision to go with IAV, to ask an existing company to make that many engines for them. He states many other reasons why he feels it’s credible and doable.
Other research I’ve done says that existing car companies design an engine to fit multiple car models. Good for many, but not excellent for one. The Elio engine isn’t built for a Geo model, it’s built for an Elio.
Yes, someone will be willing to pay $7300 for a new vehicle, that will be used for commuting to work, and going anywhere that you don’t have to haul $150 of Walmart stuff or groceries. Unproven service history? How do existing car companies sell new models every year that have unproven service histories. No real support network? It’s a simple vehicle. Pep Boys is signed up to provide service. Yes, lots of people have bad experience with Pep Boys, but I’ve had bad experience with Chevy, Saturn and Toyota service locations too.
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C’mon, man. Currently the state laws of FIVE states require a helmet. And at least four of those states have sessions going on now, with bills written and being considered, to get the laws changed. Many other states have bills being considered to define an autocycle such as the Elio, where no helmet is required, and a normal driver’s license will work.
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My goodness that is a funny video.
Lot’s of things are “not out of the question.” Something being “not out of the question” isn’t the standard for ethical or responsible journalism. It’s not out of the question that you were repeatedly dropped on your head by your parents (not a theory, mind you, just that it’s not out of the question), but to say that would be a drive-by smearing full of irrelevant and speculative information.
I don’t dispute that she was a fraud, but I do dispute that describing her as trans is relevant to her fraud. If @SteveT’s point was simply that she was a fraud, and that that aspect of her was interesting, then why quote me when my point was simply that describing her as transgender is irrelevant unless you believe the Jalopnik quote about “transsexuality does add another rich layer to the deceit sandwich [she was pedaling]”?
It is probably their best episode. The piano/morris Minor episode and Bolivia are also excellent. Top Gear is a comedy show that happens to have cars on it 
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It was a Marina. They’d never have gotten away with squashing a Moggie Minor with a piano; it’d be like shooting a puppy. The whole country would have been baying for Clarkson’s blood. Mind you, they shouldn’t have wasted a perfectly good Marina either. I went looking on Ebay for one as it would make a fucking hilarious sleeper with the addition of some fairly basic upgrades. I found exactly one, and they wanted three and a half grand for it. That’s the same price as a decent 3 litre Ford Capri.
in a world where things like the Dacia Sandero3, the Renault Twizy2 and Aixam3 or Ligier3 microcars exist
As alluded to in the article, none of those interesting cars are likely to be seen in the USA because we are the first Nerf Nation, in which every car must protect its occupants from even the slightest boo-boo in the event said car is punted a quarter-mile by a Peterbilt.
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Was the article meant to be a performance art piece? I loved the deep metaphorical statement with that image of Elio’s in a pie 
probably took several weeks to come up with that jab 
At any rate, when the theater is over if anyone wants to hear something direct from the horses mouth in his interview with an actual journalist KSLA 12 take a look here.
The Elio has a lot of attention to safety, though technically because it’s classified as a motorcycle it does not need to meet automobile safety standards, I’m pleased Elio has taken the time and effort to engineer a fully enclosed motorcycle with roll cage, crumple zones, airbags, three point seatbelts, etc.
Correct, I’m working with my local Legislator Jared Golden here in Maine on LR1721 to update our vehicle statute to allow you to drive an Elio with just a regular drivers license and without a helmet. I actually do ride motorcycles, but my wife does not.
Did you just use grawlixes to clean up the word darn?
Thanks!
