Elio Motors Completes Third of Four Key Engineering Milestones Prior to E-Series Prototype Vehicle Builds

"Our vision in developing the vehicle's interior has been to maximize excitement, while providing a high degree of functionality and customizability to enhance the driving experience. This is extremely obvious just from sitting in the vehicle's aircraft-like cockpit," said Paul Elio, founder and CEO of Elio Motors. "Getting the interior design of the Elio vehicle just right is very significant, since almost all of the driver's time is spent sitting in the cockpit, interacting with the controls and instruments by touch and by sight."

Elio said the design team captured the essence of the Elio's uniqueness, while making the vehicle's interior look and feel exciting and inviting, as well as functional. The Elio interior also accommodates a wide range of sizes -- from small to tall.

The release of the Interior Trim design will be incorporated into the build of its E-Series engineering prototypes, which will be used in crash-safety, aerodynamic wind-tunnel and manufacturability-validation testing. Results of the testing will be used to refine the vehicle design, prior to commercial production of the Elio.

"Because Elio fans come in all shapes and sizes, it was important for us to design in a height adjustment to accommodate drivers from four-foot eleven to potentially seven feet tall, though we focused on a median occupant size for either the front or back seat to be a 6'1" person weighing about 220 pounds," said David Spykerman, a partner in Genesis Concept and Design, and the team lead for the Interior Trim Product Development Team (PDT), which designed and engineered the vehicle's cockpit. "We also designed in familiarity, in the sense that the location and operation of the controls and major systems would be similar to traditional vehicles. While there are features of the Elio that are unique, we felt that where and how you turn on the lights or radio or how you open the trunk or activate the hazard flashers should not be a mystery."

Spykerman said that the Interior Trim PDT followed the Elio Motors supplier engagement process in working directly with each other on a daily basis to efficiently brainstorm, review and approve engineering changes to help Elio Motors achieve its cost and quality targets. He said that this has been a major contributor to reducing development time compared to the traditional product development process.

The Interior Trim PDT includes:

• Genesis Concept and Design of Phoenix, which is responsible for product design, styling and human factors for trim and components
• Mayco International of Sterling Heights, Mich., which engineered the instrument panel and hard trim
• Howa USA of Novi, Mich., which was responsible for headliner development
• Red Dot Corp., of Valley View, Ohio, which engineered the vehicle's HVAC system.

Spykerman said a key design tenet in the interior's development has been the use of existing automotive architecture, where possible. For example, components such as the air vents, HVAC controls, radio head unit and speaker mounts, as well as headlight, turn signal and other switches, follow industry-standard conventions for design, mounting and attachment. This not only keeps cost down, but it also facilitates swapability in upgrading certain vehicle components to avoid obsolescence.

About Elio Motors
Founded by car enthusiast Paul Elio in 2009, Elio Motors Inc. represents a revolutionary approach to manufacturing an ultra-high-mileage vehicle. The three-wheeled Elio is engineered to attain a highway mileage rating of up to 84 mpg, while providing the comfort of amenities such as power windows, power door lock and air conditioning, accompanied by the safety of multiple air bags and an aerodynamic, enclosed vehicle body. Elio's first manufacturing site will be in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Note to editors: a JPG image of the interior trim of the Elio is available for download at the following URL: Elio Interior Trim.

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SOURCE Elio Motors