Happy Friday Elio’ers! This week in Three-Wheeling we’ve picked some comments you’ve submitted here on the blog. We’ll do the same thing every couple of months moving forward to keep everyone in the loop.

The comments section for Three-Wheeling is a very active area as witnessed by the significant comments in the last two months alone. We read every one and have incorporated them into our various communication tools (Tech Talk, Blog, Facebook etc.). Let’s dive in:

From: Mike C.(and others) 04/27 at 10:05 am – “I want to upgrade my reservation from $100 all In to $1000 all in , how do I do this ?”

This is a very common question/comment. There are two ways to do this: go to the website and click on the Make your Reservation button (top right). From there, choose the third option down “Make an Upgrade” and follow the directions. For a short cut, click HERE to be taken straight to the Upgrade page. Remember – this option is only available if you currently have an All In reservation for $100, $250, or $500.

For those of you that want to move from a refundable Want In reservation to an All In reservation all you need to do is send us an email requesting a refund of your refundable reservation. In the email, note that you are moving to the All In category. You can then go in and make your All In reservation and we will credit the same card you used to make your first reservation. Easy!

From: Bubba D – 04/19 at 7:10 am – “How hard is it to change the oil? (Since Elio is a distant cousin of the motorcycle) I’ve heard motorcycle horror stories of difficult placement of oil drains and filters where an average person is forced to take their bike into a shop for an oil change for expensive labor fees.”

One of our guiding principles is simplicity and ease of use. Changing the oil, and most every other maintenance item, will be straightforward and more like a car than a motorcycle (we have an automotive engine and transmission). Additionally, we are working to use existing technology/parts where we can so that the parts you will need are readily available.

From: Richard B. – 05/04 at 10:52 am – “Pep Boys will make a great service center for your ELIO! Locally they seem to have after market items that no one else has and this expansion of their service offering will create an excellent customer base.”

Chad B. – 05/03 at 1:24 am – “I m so pumped up this is great news!”

Sonny M – /05/02 at 5:38 pm – “This is a brilliant strategy! I have a Pep Boys a mile from my home and they have serviced my cars for years.”

We are fired up about it too! As we discussed last week, this is a very good starting point and Pep Boys will be a great Official Service Center. This is an excellent solution for 90% of our customers and we are committed to finding a positive service solution for all.

RC S. – 05/05 at 1:49 pm – “Does the back seat recline?”

Robert S. – 05/04 at 11:20 am – “I’m looking forward to owning an Elio, but as I viewed the Fox video on YouTube another question arose regarding the visibility rearward while trying to parallel park or back out of an angled parking spot. Any comments?”

Cecil M. – 05/09 at 11:57 am – “Where is the spare tire and jack?”

We still get vehicle specific questions that come up now and again that are not answered in every forum that we cover. So, here are a couple that came in over the last few days. As far as the rear seat reclining, no it does not. Really, there are very few seats in cars that do move at all and we are no exception. The rear seat does not recline but it does fold down for more storage! As for the mirrors, there is great geometry in play for the side mirrors on the Elio. When you sit in the driver’s seat the side mirrors cross within a foot or so of the rear of the vehicle. So, the vision to the rear for parallel parking or backing into a spot is great. For those of you that want to see more (like many of us here at Elio) there will be a back-up camera option available. As for the spare tire and jack, we will have a “flat repair kit” available.

Bill C. – 05/04 at 6:15 pm – “If I make a $1,000.00 reservation plus the 100.00 reservation I paid earlier I would get my Elio earlier?”

Love the way you think and can’t tell you how much we dig the support! Our reservation program is set and the $1,000 All In reservation is the highest level we have. Once you get there, you have reached the top. You can upgrade to $1,000 all in (see above) whenever you would like. (Oh, on a semi-related note, please send account, t-shirt and similar questions to our email address tellmemore@eliomotors.com. Sometimes comments and Facebook posts get lost in the shuffle and we want to make sure that you are taken care of. So shoot us an email and we will get back with you as soon as possible)

Andrew C. – 05/05 at 10:07 am – “I realize that the credit card form of payment may still be in development. Will it be possible to choose that payment method and put money down, such as 3 or 4 thousand and then pay the balance on the card as proposed by fueling up? Also, if someone chose the credit card option, can they make progress payments at any time on the card to pay off faster? Thanks.”

Thanks Andrew and the other folks that left similar comments. We anticipate having many different financing options available for our Elio customers. The process should be very similar to buying a car today (except much easier and more pleasant). You choose your vehicle and go to “check out.” There you will have options available to finance your vehicle from paying cash to financing. We will work with our banks and partners to find the best solution for you. The other option that we have talked about is the credit card program. The details have not been finalized yet (minimums, interest rates, terms etc.) but the concept is still viable. Elio is the only one that can pull this off because of our economics. Here is how it works: You come get your Elio and a Elio credit card. Then, you go buy gas and let’s say it costs $20. You will see a charge of $60 on your credit card on the monthly statement. Of that $60, $20 goes to pay the gas company and the other $40 goes toward your loan amount. So, if you drive enough miles, you can pay off your Elio without feeling it in your pocket because you are already accustomed to paying $60 or more every time you fill up. Plus with Elio you will fill up less to drive more! Simple and brilliant! Stay tuned for details.

Preview Tour Next Stops:

Syracuse, NY – May 14- 16 – Location and Times TBA

The next “Spot in Line” will be mailed Monday night – get your upgrades and All In $1,000 reservations in this weekend to be included in the next mailing! For those that may not know about this yet, the “Spot in Line” email goes out to the top-level reservation holders, only the $1,000 All In group. The email is to make the reservation holder aware of their spot in the line (number) they get when we start production. This means if you get your spot in line email and it says congratulations you are number 4,999, you get the right to buy the 4,999th vehicle produced!

OK, that is a wrap for this week. But before we go, special shout out to Dave K. for nominating Elio Motors for a blog award. Thanks so much!

Thanks for your continued support and Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mom’s out there!