Car or trike

[RTwing]

The official ruling is - any vehicle 1500lbs or less with 3 wheels is a motorcycle and is subject to motorcycle rules and bylaws. In Minnesota the ruling is more defined as the operator must straddle the vehicle body and the vehicle can not be enclosed. I doubt very much if LEO's will pursue helmet laws in a fully enclosed vehicle though.
Polaris is going to release it's new trike the Slingshot (http://www.polaris.com/en-us/slingshot) It's another great winner from the company that makes Victory and Indian. VW is also coming out with an Elio type vehicle.

We are going to be at SEMA in November and have the joining booth with Elio. I talked with Paul Elio and we are both pretty exited about sharing notes.

I think the wheels forward approach is the new wave and all the physics support this as the way to go. It also appears the transportation industry feels the same way. ThumbUp

 

[RTwing]

By DMV definition if it has less than 4 wheels and is under 1500lbs it's classified as a motorcycle. Helmet laws do apply also. Elio is trying to change the classification to Autocycle where it is still a motorcycle but helmets are not required.
I am however confused as how the slingshot qualifies as it's over 1700 lbs. I guess there is some sort of loop hole also.

In the end it just doesn't matter as fun is still fun no matter what is your preference.