Wapsi Square Forum

I'm just going to add the "supposedly" caveat to everything since I by no means have any inside information and can only relay what they are saying publicly.

Catawampus wrote:Having to ship my vehicle off to Macau just to change a headlight bulb would be rather trying.

Being able to stamp it with "Made in the USA" is one of their major goals so they are sourcing as many US parts as possible.

Then there's the matter of local laws. Some jurisdictions may classify it as a car, others as a motorcycle, perhaps others as an infernal contraption. . .you could end up in a bit of trouble in your travels.

The company is trying to work with governments to get helmet law exceptions passed.

And depending on its top speed, there may be some roads it would not be allowed on.

Top speed will be >100mph.

(I can foresee those things getting stuck on many of the railroad crossings and steep grades around here).

The ground clearance is the same as a current Mustang.

Top speed slightly over 100 mph.

Worst case legally: it's a motorcycle, gotta wear helmets.

Cargo: go shopping alone and fold the rear seat, you'll have a cargo area that can hold a six-eight basketball player or a six-three 365-pounder.

Road clearance - pretty sure the law dictates a minimum clearance - my '69 Sprite had 5.25" road clearance and the only time i had a problem was when i didn't recognise that there was a slight height mismatch between tow parking lots that looked as if they were one.

Fairportfan wrote:Top speed slightly over 100 mph.

Would the crash-survivability of one of these, at any given speed, be significantly better than that of a donorcycle?

Not a lot of metal or anything else between you and the road... especially if the doors are as low-mass as the rest of the vehicle would suggest.

Not much difference between that thing and a Can-Am Sypder. Just put a carbon shell and a steering wheel on it.

Dave wrote:Would the crash-survivability of one of these, at any given speed, be significantly better than that of a donorcycle?

The body is basically an enhanced race car roll cage (I know I read something about side impact beams). We've probably all seen some insane crashes on a track where the driver walked away like nothing happened.

Cargo space problem: possibly they could offer a custom roof pod, aero-clean and matching the body style and color, that only opens from the sidewalk side. I wonder if the driver can comfortably exit from the sidewalk side? Hard to tell from the pictures...

Heh, I'm starting to feel like a spokesperson. I'll see if I can get them to pay me.

Yeah, lack of cargo space is the biggest tradeoff. They say the trunk will fit something like six normal grocery bags. I don't know if that is all next to each other or stacked up. This car is more aimed at commuters. As for entering/exiting, it is a conventional driver's side door. I think a Lamborghini style scissor door would look awesome but that would increase cost by who knows how much.

NOTDilbert wrote:Cargo space problem: possibly they could offer a custom roof pod, aero-clean and matching the body style and color, that only opens from the sidewalk side. I wonder if the driver can comfortably exit from the sidewalk side? Hard to tell from the pictures...

When there's nobody in the passenger seat, it folds like a conventional hatchback/wagon/minivan rear seat.

Unless they've done something Very Clever with the shift linkage you can only enter/exit through the left side, because the shifter is on the right side.

Yeah....

Wonder what ever happened to putting the shifter on the column? You hardly see that anymore, and it would avoid that problem. Oh, well, it's still cute as a bug.

NOTDilbert wrote:... Oh, well, it's still cute as a bug.

Yeah, real friggin' cute...

Spider, spider with eight legs
Her hapless victim screams and begs
And sometimes in the dead of night
As you sleep in bed she'll bite

Jabberwonky wrote:

NOTDilbert wrote:... Oh, well, it's still cute as a bug.

Yeah, real friggin' cute...

"Cute as a bug" or "cute as a bug's ear" is a transliteration of a German phrase (German bug = kafer) referring to a little girl as a ladybug (or just bug). So it really means "Cute as a little girl" or "Cute as a little girl's ear" (my favorite imagery).

From this page.


 
This page.

Jabberwonky wrote: Yeah, real friggin' cute...

I have to keep reminding myself that...creature is poised on a branch, and NOT what appears to be a rotting human finger. [shudder]

Fairportfan wrote:stormguy.jpg

Good to see I'm not the only one driven somewhat batty this winter.

MerchManDan wrote:I have to keep reminding myself that...creature is poised on a branch, and NOT what appears to be a rotting human finger. [shudder]

Oh, he's way too big to be sitting on someone's ex-finger. Those are the the monsters I used to fight with to ride a small three wheeler through trails in East Texas. They'd make webs that would cover the 'tunnel' the trails would make through the dense growth, sometimes 20 foot or more across.
(There's no emoticon for how squidgy running into one of those feels)

A sure sign of Spring: my housemates are waking up and feeling frisky! Yay!

Jabberwonky wrote:

NOTDilbert wrote:... Oh, well, it's still cute as a bug.

Yeah, real friggin' cute...
[img ]http://imageshack.com/a/img838/1112/ijti.jpg[/img]

Well, that's an arachnid, silly! Not a hemipteran! They don't say, "cute as a nephilid"!

. . .or do they?

Catawampus wrote:Well, that's an arachnid, silly! Not a hemipteran! They don't say, "cute as a nephilid"!

. . .or do they?

No, they don't.

"Cute as a solifugid" is a common expression in certain circles, though.

(Circles that Dante wrote about at some length, that is.)

Dave wrote:"Cute as a solifugid" is a common expression in certain circles, though.

(Circles that Dante wrote about at some length, that is.)

Ah, yes, I believe I recall him mentioning that when Beatrice brought him to the Sun's sphere. . .

AHEM - back to the subject of the Elio, and the entry-exit problem - found this: disappearing door

looks kinda heavy for this small a vehicle tho'.