Modern day version of an old econo-vehicle

[nhmaf]

Has anyone seen any of these modern-day Messerschmitts driving around there town?  Well, not yet - but apparently they are going to try to get some out there in the coming year..
http://eliogenuine.eliomotors.com/elio/?utm_expid=85201925-3.0NiftTpxQrOJMNbJUs-JbA.1&utm_campaign=elio-launch&utm_medium=display&utm_source=EbayMotors&utm_content=us-ch-al-h3-ba-s300&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fs1.2mdn.net%2F4367373%2F1417502298719%2F300x250_neb_holiday%2Findex.html

[Lucky_Lou]

Haa the wonderful "Bubble Car" we occasional see the originals at shows
but as the price of oil drops "eco" cars become less attractive...
Lou

[marcmax]

http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/six-things-that-could-kill-elio-motors-before-it-even-l-1646776191

[Barry]

They timed it well to coincide with oil prices falling through the floor.

[steve hawkins]

Fuel prices won't be down for long........You can bet on that.  Our local politico's will be upping the tax soon to pay for the deficit......

Doom and gloom......

Rev. Light

[Bob_Roller]

I've wondered about three wheel vehicles like this, the drive wheel is on the ' grease stripe ' down the center of the pavement .
Think there would be any issues of the rear tire being possibly ' contaminated ' with road grime, oils and the other fluids that drip off of vehicles ?

[Ed Miller]

I've wondered about three wheel vehicles like this, the drive wheel is on the ' grease stripe ' down the center of the pavement .
Think there would be any issues of the rear tire being possibly ' contaminated ' with road grime, oils and the other fluids that drip off of vehicles ?

The elio is front wheel drive, Bob.  Though it seems to me that grease stripes aren't nearly as greasy as they used to be, except in crowded city streets.

I wanted an Elio but I got impatient and bought a 2004 Insight, down in your home town.  I would have stopped by to say "Hi" but I was in a hurry to get out of the city before another flooding rain storm.  I almost made it.

[Bob_Roller]

Ed, just sold the '91 CRX today to a co-worker .
Made my mind up to seriously consider selling it when I was on vacation last year .
I had to replace some Honda specific parts and I found out that most of the parts are no longer available .
I test drove a Hyundai Veloster over the Labor Day holiday weekend and was really impressed with it, manual transmission of course !!!
Found a 2014 that had been sitting on the dealers lot for about a year, got it for $3000 more than I paid for my CRX 24 years ago, seems like no one wants a manual transmission anymore .

[Ed Miller]

I had to look up that car, I'd never heard of them.  That's a good looking car; will it get close to the mpg you got on your CRX?  Mine only averaged in the high 30s, and I wanted more if I was going to get another car at all.  I never understood how you got 40 something in yours, as it's an SI, until I got the Insight.  It's lifetime average mpg at 120,000 was 59.9, but I'm dropping it, sadly.  I never realized how much difference the cold weather and rain made until I had a car that is constantly telling me what's going on!  This time of year I'm getting in the low 50s.  

How many miles did you get out of your CRX?  Mine was up to almost 300,000.    I miss it.  I still would be tempted by a low miles one.  They're all hacked up, it seems.  I have to say the Insight drives pretty similarly, which surprised me.  It's about the same hp, combining the gas and electric engines, as my CRX dx.  About 90.  Come to think of it, that's all my Toyota pickup has.

[Bob_Roller]

Interesting turn of events this afternoon .
I gave him the notarized title and all the manual, parts that I had and he paid me in cash this morning at the end of his shift this morning .
Seems like the buyer forgot to mention this purchase to his wife !!!
His marriage has been drifting towards ' divorce zone ' the last year and this would have pushed it into reality .
He gave me a call this afternoon, pleading with me to take the car back, after not really wanting to have it back, he ' sweetened ' the deal telling me to keep $500 for my troubles .
I couldn't turn that down .
So the car is back in my driveway this afternoon .
Guess I'll press on with my original plan of fixing the few issues the car has, interior work mostly and then put it up for sale at a higher price .

I've only driven the Hyundai 15 miles since I got it Dec. 28, I got it out on the expressway near my home and drove it for 6 miles at 65 mph with the cruise control on and got 43.8 mpg .
The best I got with the CRX, was 54 mpg, that was when the speed limit was 55 mph and no ethanol in the fuel .
Now with 75 mph speed limit and 10 % ethanol in the fuel, it's around 47 mpg .
The CRX has 122,000 miles, not a lot with this particular model, usually you see when they come up for sale, is in the 200-300,000 mile area and yes the vast majority have been ' altered ', very few factory stock examples left, like the one I have .

[nhmaf]

I filled up my Mazda 3 (which now gets only 34 MPG in the winter, up to about 38 MPG in the summer) today and gas was down to $1.98 9/10 per gallon!  Whooppeee!
The Mazda has served very well - it is 8 years old and has 180,000 miles on it - we bought it brand new, and it is still on the original clutch!   zoom-zoom!

[thrang]

I like the classic three wheelers, they have a utilitarian air about them, but this re-imagining is just styled to look like a car, and that fails to attract my attention.

I also struggle to see the point of them in terms of what you getting for being somewhat eco in comparison to what you lose with small economical car like my Panda 4x4. It would have to be much better for the fuel saving to make me want to swap the freedom of my pandas four seats and rear seats down load bed for one.

[Bob_Roller]

If the price of this ever came down to a reasonable level, I would be tempted to get one .


http://www.21stcenturymotoring.com/

[Barry]

They say it's very fuel efficient but with a price tag of $80,000  who's going to worry about the fuel economy !