A VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY small convertible. Give me something like the mid 90’s Geo Metro convertible, with a hybrid engine, that gets something approaching 70+ MPG.
With A/C and a CD player.
I want better mirrors. For the center rear-view, a periscope mounted in the roof might be a good option. For the wing mirrors, I want the wide-angle mirrors you can get in Europe. Are they illegal in the US?
Why not a small, super efficient turbine assisted by an electrical hybrid setup? Also, lose the transmission, use the main electric motor as an infinitely variable transmission as we do with locomotives.
Is there anything we can do t improve visibility around the frontmost ‘A’ pillar?
Just one favor please. Do NOT put in a car alarm. What a nuisance they are. Lock your car with the remote and then forget and open the door with a key. beep-beep-BEEP BEEEPPP. Rush inside and find the bloody remote to turn off the stupid alarm so you don’t wake your neighbors. The ratio of nuisance alarms to actual crime prevention must be at least 10,000 to one.
Yes, it’s a 2000 Legacy Brighton.
Oh, they can build one. Not sure about the price.
Seriously, as I have mentioned in another thread, I want Toyota to make a real wagon version of the Corolla. I don’t want no Matrix. It is not a wagon, but more of a hatch, and I really don’t need all the stupid bling either.
And comfortable seats folks. I have back pain so why can’t anyone build a properly contoured seat? The americans never new how, and even the Germans are slipping, making the seats very slab like lately. I guess all that smooth leather looks good in the brochure.
Speaking of leather, can leather please always be an option? I hate leather, but I like other features in the top trim level. Many manufacturers make you take leather at that trim level. Leather burns my ass in the summer and freezes it in the winter. The rest of the time you just slide around on it, it gives no feeling of support. Give me a nice plush cloth seat with a lot of support, thanks, otherwise I will have to stick to mid level trim.
I understand that Americans are very fickle buyers, and are likely to forget about fuel economy the minute gas prices drop again, but can’t we get some of the high mileage engines in Europe homolgated for the US market?
And please let me buy a well appointed car with no radio. That used to be an option. I hate factory radios because even the best are not up to an aftermarket rig, and I will be wanting to throw it away anyway, so why make me spend the money? And a lot of cars, if you want decent trim levels, they make you take a very expensive factory radio.
That’s all for now.
Interesting. So I guess they could build one within the next decade. I still wonder about price as you did.
And the photo doesn’t really show the internal arrangement. For all we know the passenger compartment is filled with gear. They need to be able to stick it all under the hood.
In addition, I just don’t see this as being ready for real world conditions. Cones on a track? Easy to spot with machine vision. The real world? That’s a whole 'nother kettle of fish. Perhaps with special limited access freeway lanes and centralized control you could engineer something safe. Neighborhood driving? Not so much. I don’t even have a lot of faith in that Lexus that “parks itself”. I predict it is only a matter of time before some hapless pedestrian gets crushed, then watch the product liability lawsuits fly!
I visited LA once, and was chauffeured around by a local. I don’t think we will be driving in LA. 
We had such a great time going to Vegas, we will definitely be making that pilgrimage again. Just don’t know when is all. Say “hi” to Bernd for us! (Hope I spelled that right.)
For those of you looking for the large windshield washer fluid reservoir, I believe the newer Corollas have a gallon-sized one (mine’s a 2005). It sure is huge, anyway.
my realistic vehicle…
real 5MPH bumpers with no stupid body-colored molding, functional bumpers
2 door Hatchback chassis design
decent ground clearance
AWD
Diesel/Biodiesel 4 cylinder engine, turbocharged
5-speed manual transmission (no bloody sludgebox automatic available at all)
HID headlight system
my money is no object vehicle
Dodge Viper or a '69 Charger (Black!)
Oh, forgot to add one other feature to the first car…
4-wheel-steering
I’d like the car parts to be modular and laid out in a reasonable fashion . No alternator at the bottom left of the engine behind the fender liner. No battery under the windshield washer fluid tank. No spark plugs against the firewall.
I’d like things assembled with visible hardware. No clips on trim pieces, especially the plastic ones that break. No having to disassemble the whole door panel to replace/upgrade the speakers.
How about a manual window crank for backup for when the power window motor fails? That’s even a safety issue.
KISS (keep it simple, stupid.)
I like the ideas, but I have also heard from people in the industry that they have largely done away with mechanical window cranks as the cost is about the same as the powered windows and the power windows require less room in the door.
Jim
When I bought my Saturn, it came with a standard, center rear-view mirror that was about the size of a bottle cap.
So I went to a car supply shop, and bought a hugeass mirror for large semi-trucks that clips over the exisiting mirror and now I can see everything behind me, as well as three lanes to the left and three lanes to the right behind me!
A friend once borrowed the car and she said she felt like she actually had eyes behind her head. When she got home, bought the same thing for her car.
I would like to see a LED display that shows the speed of the vehicle on the back window of every car.
One problem with driving in LA is that we are the “melting pot” except nothing ever melts. Put hyper-aggressive Armenians next to timid Koreans, mix in some uninsured illegal aliens, and stir. I think a great video project would be just to drive around LA for a day or so filming all the idiocy. Folks come to this country, and don’t give a hoot about how our traffic laws are written. The attitude is that “If it is good enough for Old Gyumri, it is good enough for me”.
It doesn’t help that the LAPD only seems to do traffic enforcement on Sunset Blvd. The rest of the city is a lawless frontier.
I’d like to see a Cadillac that’s designed to look like a 1930s “gangster-mobile.” When I was in Vegas a while back, I saw one of these in a collection of classic cars at Imperial Palace. It might have been a Studebaker, but I’m not sure anymore. Anyway, I was surprised at how sweet that car looked. It was hot! It was big, too: the four door model I saw was almost as big as a modern minivan. So not only would it look good, but it would be practical, too.
My dream car would only look like a 1930’s car on the outside, however. Inside, I want all the modern ammenities: air conditioning; stereo with AM/FM, CD player, and an auxilliary input for my mp3 player; leather seats with power adjustment; etc. Oh yeah, and an automatic transmission, although they can put it on the floor if they want to. Under the hood, I’d like to see a hybrid engine, maybe with flex-fuel technology.
I’m starting to think that this is Calgary’s problem, too, including extremely selective enforcement.
Doors that stay open til I close them, even if I’m parked sideways uphill. I HATE when the door comes crashing closed on my leg! I feel like I’m always racing the door and I’m always losing: thwump! “ARGGHHHHH!!!” :mad:
Ooh! Oooh! A new thing.
I want a hardened Teflon coating on all the windows and body panels, so that dirt, bugs, and birdstuff don’t cake on it. Just spray it with a hose for a few minutes and it’s clean as new again.