Was just reading an article about it. They cost about $24k in top trim. It gets you a vehicle that has no roof, is recommended to be driven wearing a helmet, and seems like it would have odd handling characteristics (or not?) And unlike a bike, it's really not any faster than plenty of other cars that can be had for mid-$20k (WRX, Focus ST, etc). Reportedly they also get about mid-20s fuel mileage on the highway.
Where the Elio has fuel economy as a goal, what are the high points of the Slingshot?
Is it just for people who want to get a lot of attention? Or is it truly that much more fun to drive than a 4-wheel ragtop that costs the same? Or are there other advantages?
Thoughts? I'm just curious. Something that ugly (EDIT: yes, that's an opinion from a guy who drives an ugly subaru, so what's that worth?) must have some other kind of cool upside, I assume. Even the Aztek, for all its ugliness, had some nifty features and utilitarian use. This almost seems like a street-legal ATV of sorts. How's the safety?
EvanR
Dork
1/5/15 7:44 p.m.
It's a vehicle for fat, old guys (like me) who would like to ride a motorcycle but are afraid of falling off.
Some people like different stuff. It's that simple.
We all know we could take a new Mustang. Add $40k in aftermarket and keep up with/stomp a Ferrari (for a 1/3 the cost), but that's not the point.
I'm glad we have all kinds of crazy different options. Even if I don't like them.
Just because you don't like them doesn't mean others won't. That's the great thing about free enterprise. Can-Am Spyder three wheelers (or for that matter, Morgan 3 wheelers) don't really make sense either, but people buy them too.
stuart in mn wrote:
Just because you don't like them doesn't mean others won't. That's the great thing about free enterprise. Can-Am Spyder three wheelers (or for that matter, Morgan 3 wheelers) don't really make sense either, but people buy them too.
Well yeah, obviously any vehicle that is available will be bought by someone (Murano Convertible...people bought them). You could make a dually Miata and probably sell a couple thousand of them, lol.
Really the question wasn't about whether "I" like it. It was really a question about "am I missing something about them that make them awesome," more out of curiosity than anything else.
AS to the Can-Am, isn't it really more of a motorcycle with two wheels up front (making it arguably better for commuting than a motorcycle in some ways)? I've been near them on the highway and they seem to be pretty quick and can still use HOV lanes and stuff like a motorcycle.
The Slingshot just seems to be a regular car, but without one of its rear wheels and roof. Does it qualify for things like HOV (as a motorcycle does)? Does the single rear wheel have some advantage over just having a normal car axle back there? In the Elio it's for reduced road friction for economy, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.
EvanR wrote:
It's a vehicle for fat, old guys (like me) who would like to ride a motorcycle but are afraid of falling off.
I believe Evan has nailed it.
I saw one recently at the local C & C. It attracted a large crowd. I wasn't impressed with it.
irish44j wrote:
EvanR wrote:
It's a vehicle for fat, old guys (like me) who would like to ride a motorcycle but are afraid of falling off.
lol.
I trust no one is saying there's anything wrong with being old, or fat, or afraid to fall off.
Sometimes, somethings just need to be experienced to be understood.
Can-Am for example. Try one. Its not the fastest maybe or the most practical but with some seat time i promise youll smile 
I feel this is the same
IDK, I've been near Can-Ams in the morning commute and they seem to scoot pretty well. I got walked pretty easily by one on an on-ramp in a 300+hp WRX on full boost, and he proceeded to do about 120 weaving through traffic. Looked like it handled pretty well and fully in-control. The Can-Am actually looks like fun to me, if a bit dorky :)
irish44j wrote:
stuart in mn wrote:
Just because you don't like them doesn't mean others won't. That's the great thing about free enterprise. Can-Am Spyder three wheelers (or for that matter, Morgan 3 wheelers) don't really make sense either, but people buy them too.
Well yeah, obviously any vehicle that is available will be bought by someone (Murano Convertible...people bought them). You could make a dually Miata and probably sell a couple thousand of them, lol.
Really the question wasn't about whether "I" like it. It was really a question about "am I missing something about them that make them awesome," more out of curiosity than anything else.
AS to the Can-Am, isn't it really more of a motorcycle with two wheels up front (making it arguably better for commuting than a motorcycle in some ways)? I've been near them on the highway and they seem to be pretty quick and can still use HOV lanes and stuff like a motorcycle.
The Slingshot just seems to be a regular car, but without one of its rear wheels and roof. Does it qualify for things like HOV (as a motorcycle does)? Does the single rear wheel have some advantage over just having a normal car axle back there? In the Elio it's for reduced road friction for economy, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.
Honestly what it sounds like is a bunch of intolerant haters. "I don't like this, why do other people."
Which is how most feel about our hobby. Just stop with the hate. It accomplishes nothing.
z31maniac wrote:
irish44j wrote:
stuart in mn wrote:
Just because you don't like them doesn't mean others won't. That's the great thing about free enterprise. Can-Am Spyder three wheelers (or for that matter, Morgan 3 wheelers) don't really make sense either, but people buy them too.
Well yeah, obviously any vehicle that is available will be bought by someone (Murano Convertible...people bought them). You could make a dually Miata and probably sell a couple thousand of them, lol.
Really the question wasn't about whether "I" like it. It was really a question about "am I missing something about them that make them awesome," more out of curiosity than anything else.
AS to the Can-Am, isn't it really more of a motorcycle with two wheels up front (making it arguably better for commuting than a motorcycle in some ways)? I've been near them on the highway and they seem to be pretty quick and can still use HOV lanes and stuff like a motorcycle.
The Slingshot just seems to be a regular car, but without one of its rear wheels and roof. Does it qualify for things like HOV (as a motorcycle does)? Does the single rear wheel have some advantage over just having a normal car axle back there? In the Elio it's for reduced road friction for economy, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.
Honestly what it sounds like is a bunch of intolerant haters. "I don't like this, why do other people."
Which is how most feel about our hobby. Just stop with the hate. It accomplishes nothing.
Regardless of what you may think, I actually AM interested in the driving dynamics of it and how those dynamics of what appear to be a car-type chassis with a single rear wheel compare to the Can-am chassis, which leans more like a motorcycle. I AM interested in whether this whole concept is a way to circumvent "car" laws by being classified as a motorcycle or something (is it?). The article I read noted that they can't even keep these things in stock at the dealers, so there must be something that makes all these buyers buy it over a Can-Am or Miata for open-air cruising. But the motortrend (or something like that) article just talked about how much attention it got at the saturday morning coffee meet, and don't really talk about how it drivers. Thought maybe GRM would provide a more "driving" oriented take on it. Does the rear wheel have some kind of active camber to help in cornering, or is it in fixed vertical on the axle?
Looks, whatever...sure, I don't like how they look in the full getup. So what, the looks can easily be changed on a tube-chassis vehicle. I've seen that people just take the body off the slingshots anyhow and run it as a Ariel-Atom-Style open frame sometimes.
I like it because it brings people to this hobby. Maybe they "graduate" to a full on motorcycle or Miata or whatever, maybe not. I see no downside to one of these vehicles.
In reply to irish44j:
The Can-Am does not lean like a motorcycle any more than this does, however the rider can. Think of it as a snowmobile on wheels rather than a motorcycle.
The slingshot really just exists so that Polaris does not have to meet any stringent safety or emissions standards.
This thread is a repeat. I see the appeal as part of the age progression:
125cc enduro or Vespa
600 CC "sporty" bike
Bad-ass cafe-racer
Sport-tourer
tourer
Can-am Spyder
Slingshot
Z4
Lexus
Buick
walker
gurney
wings of angels
wash, repeat.....
Can-Am?
Not ever.
I'll quit riding and buy a Miata if that day ever comes.
I agree there doesn't seem to be much point to one -- I suspect the reason they make it is "because they can". Sure, there's nothing wrong with doing that, people are welcome to spend their money on whatever toys they like, but I have no interest.
What's supposed to be the advantage to one? It's light, but not enormously so. I see quotes of 1783 pounds, that's more than an Exocet and a LOT more than a Seven. It uses a flat car-style tire and the rear wheel doesn't lean like a motorcycle, so you're basically stuck with a single, no-camber tire trying to do the work of two properly-cambered ones.
If there are legislative perks like driving in the carpool lane then I guess I can see that as an advantage, but it's not a vehicle I'd choose to commute in. Very little in the way of occupant safety, you can't lane-split like a motorcycle can, the "fun" advantages are lost if you're stuck in traffic, and it's going to be miserable in anything but a warm (but not too warm!) sunny day. If the HOV lane was that important to me, I'd buy a Leaf or a Volt before a Slingshot.
I don't hate it, I just don't see the point.
irish44j wrote:
... Does the single rear wheel have some advantage over just having a normal car axle back there? In the Elio it's for reduced road friction for economy, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.
A three wheeler (trike) has to follow the MUCH simpler motorcycle regulations.
It's just a dodge. I cannot imagine any advantage to a single rear wheel other then that (other then 25% lower tire costs).
It seems to be an answer to a question nobody answered.
I look at those, Can-Ams and Goldwing trikes and just think "Why didn't you just get a Miata?". To me they don't offer any of the advantages of a motorcycle but many of the disadvantages. And the price? Crazytown. I don't feel like I'm being a hater (nor do I think irish44j is being one). We just look at those things and can't for the life of us see what the appeal is. Kind of the way I look at people who attend Star Trek conventions; I get that you think it's cool, I just can't see WHY you think it's cool.
I've sat on Cam-Am thingies, and didn't like them. They feel awkward to me, and everything I've read about their handling has been pretty thumbs down.
Various trikes, fine, but not all that interesting to me. Should I live long enough to become feeble enough to not be able to hold my own motorcycle up with my own legs, maybe. Do kinda like the latest Harley bagger trike (forgot the model name).
Slingshot. I've sat in them, and talked to people who've driven them. Looks better in person than I expected. Feels like an open car. Far more open then a Miata. Which is kinda fun. The grin factor and handling are supposedly superb. If I had that kind of money laying around as disposable income, I'd be tempted.
It's a budget Ariel Atom or a modern Morgan 3 wheeler. Simple as that. It gets to be a budget version because it's 1) technically a motorcycle, so less regulations, and 2) uses more off the shelf parts. It's low, with a low CG. Trikes of this layout tend to be as stable as cars, so you're getting low cg sports car agility with a completely open feeling (and even kind of a formula car feeling when it comes down to it, due to the open construction and helmet wearing). It's WAY cheaper than a factory built Lotus 7 clone (price a Caterham sometimes, even the slow one) and unlike a Locost, it comes with a warranty and is ready to run the day you write the check.
It's not another boring, vanilla, point A to B appliance and for that we should be celebrating it as car guys.
ddavidv wrote:
I look at those, Can-Ams and Goldwing trikes and just think "Why didn't you just get a Miata?". To me they don't offer any of the advantages of a motorcycle but many of the disadvantages.
Do you not consider there to be a significant difference between sitting 'in' a vehicle, and sitting 'on' a vehicle? That's like wondering why not get a boat instead of a jet-ski, or why not get a UTV instead of a quad.
Riding a jet-ski, snowmobile, quad, MC based trike, or motorcycle are all at least in the same family of experiences, and have little in common with driving a Miata...As much as some cagers would like to believe otherwise. 
I think it's less about being 'cool' than it is about what kind of experience each individual is looking for.
Now the Slingshot is definitely closer to a Miata experience, but going to be a much more 'raw' experience. Kind of like a cut-rate cross between a Morgan 3-Wheeler, and Ariel Atom, and a KTM X-Bow,...Although, personally I would have been more intrigued by more of just a cut-rate Morgan 3-Wheeler instead.
Driven5 wrote:
Now the Slingshot is definitely closer to a Miata experience, but going to be a much more 'raw' experience. Kind of like a cut-rate cross between a Morgan 3-Wheeler, and Ariel Atom, and a KTM X-Bow,...Although, personally I would have been more intrigued by more of just a cut-rate Morgan 3-Wheeler instead.
That's about how I feel. It doesn't ooze the cool of a Morgan, doesn't seem to have the performance of the Atom, and from what I've read doesn't match the sportiness of the X-Bow. It's interesting in it's own way but the audience is probably the same people that spend 24k on a Wildcat. I'd be interested to see what rules are imposed on tracking it.
I rode a Can-Am Spyder at a test-ride event when they first came out. This was a serious 20-30 minute ride with a leader on public streets. I was not impressed, it does NOTHING as well as a motorcycle, and is full of electronic nannies to ensure nothing exciting could possibly happen. Maybe it would be exciting for someone who has never ridden a motorcycle before or who has a disability that prevents them from riding a two-wheeler. But for me-no thanks.
