"CAR_IS_MI" (car-is-mi)
04/11/2014 at 12:34 • Filed to: None
2
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"CAR_IS_MI" (car-is-mi)
04/11/2014 at 12:34 • Filed to: None | 2
| 30 |
This is the Factory Five 818 kit car. Factory Five is known for their Cobra and T ype 65 Coupe kit cars. They also build a supercar-esq kit called the GTM, which is an awesome performer for the price of entry. The 818 is their low cost answer to kit cars. The design was user sourced.
The idea behind the 818 was to build a mid engine, RWD coupe with the boxer four from a Subaru being used to power the car. Wonderful Idea. The kits start from about $10,000 not including parts you need from a donor car(s) which will run you about another $5,000 to $8,000 if you find a good useable donor car.
So for <$20k you can get a decent performing, RWD, Mid engine coupe. Whats the problem?
My problem is this: The user submitted designs.
Here are a few of the designs that got turned down.
^ Very GTA like and the wheels are too big, but rather futuristic and IMO, good looking.
^Like a modern day 914. VERY COOL
Seems to have a lot of Bertone design ques and I for one like it (although it probably would not meet crash safety standards)
^ With the exception being the terrible exhaust, this one flows perfectly, and has a bit of that aggressiveness behind it.
But in the end, it turned into this:
Something that looks like if was born from a child's dreams after watching the 1st Fast & Furious movie. Laden with extra vents and cheap fiberglass bumpers. And that convertible top; it just looks SOOOO out of place.
It could have been something so great, and in the end, its something that will get the attention of every Honda fan boy and that's about all.
HammerheadFistpunch
> CAR_IS_MI
04/11/2014 at 12:44 |
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You of all people should know that drawing something is very different from building something. Granted, its not the best looking kit.
jariten1781
> CAR_IS_MI
04/11/2014 at 12:48 |
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I dunno...I like it. Looks like something Lotus should be building (I certainly like it better than the Evora...bleh)
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CAR_IS_MI
> HammerheadFistpunch
04/11/2014 at 12:48 |
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Absolutely, but when you look at the quality of their other products (I have seen many in person and the company that builds their bodies is 5 min from my parents house so I have seen them produced) and then compare it to this, this one just feels lazy.
Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney
> CAR_IS_MI
04/11/2014 at 13:12 |
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I'm not a huge fan of the final output, but I don't think any of the other ones look that much better. The ones that do look entirely unfeasible.
Pessimippopotamus
> CAR_IS_MI
04/11/2014 at 13:45 |
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This isn't surprising considering how cheap the GTM looks. I guess they decided to prioritize ease of manufacturing over design. Why else would they stick on truck taillights and Camry headlights?
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CAR_IS_MI
> Pessimippopotamus
04/11/2014 at 13:50 |
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lol. The GTM looks like a well enough built kit car, this looks like the bad Ferrari knock off kit cars.
It's a "Porch-uh"
> CAR_IS_MI
04/11/2014 at 14:11 |
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Yes, some of the other designs might have been nicer, but they had to weigh cost against it. It's supposed to be a low-cost kit car. If you want a super cool super car, go buy a Ferrari/McLaren/Lambo/etc.
Besides, that's just your opinion on the looks. I happen to like it just fine and I'm considering an 818R for my next track toy to replace the 944.
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CAR_IS_MI
> It's a "Porch-uh"
04/11/2014 at 14:16 |
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It is my opinion, and while I don't think it is terrible, and have honestly contemplated building one myself, I just think they could have made the front end a good bit better, or a good bit less ricer.
SPNKiX
> CAR_IS_MI
04/11/2014 at 18:31 |
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This car is nothing like what it could have been. I watched this process from the beginning and really felt that the first submission you posted above should have been the winner. It doesn't really look a lot like the sketch they chose either. I could not believe how the design degenerated from week to week as they released progress photos and ideas. This is design by committee at its worst. Most of the submissions were from students, which is fine, but they really should have hired a single person to do this.
I think they went with the design they did because they really wanted a simple, topless racer that could be converted to road use secondarily. I am not condoning what they did, but the weight and the ease of in and out were probably more important than making it look like an adult's car. It performs, I guess, but it is really the recumbent bike of the racing world.
I was pretty dead set on buying/building this when they announced the competition, but by the end, I had changed my mind.
worxman02
> Pessimippopotamus
06/05/2014 at 14:56 |
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I'm surprised that they didn't use Subaru headlights since the car is based on an impreza. I would have gone for any other lights except for those Camry ones. They just look too squinty or something in this application. Why would you use lights from a beige appliance on a aggressive track car? I wonder if it was a price point thing. I'm sure they wanted something readily available and easy to replace.
I would have gone with maybe some 2009 legacy lights:
or some 2006 Impreza/WRX lights:
Something from a sporty looking car at least. A Camry is so far from sporty it's falling off the earth.
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Pessimippopotamus
> worxman02
06/05/2014 at 15:03 |
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Camry production # > Impreza/Legacy production # => Camry headlights cheaper and more readily available.
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worxman02
> Pessimippopotamus
06/05/2014 at 15:55 |
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Yea, that's why I said it's probably a price point thing. But still Camry? You need to account for a little bit of extra cost for coolness factor.
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worxman02
> SPNKiX
06/05/2014 at 16:21 |
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I agree with you. As a RISD grad, I'm ashamed that a RISD professor of Industrial Design was a consultant for FFR on this project and the car still turned out ugly. I thought that FFR could have done a much better job with the design of the car. It looks squinty eyed and pursed mouth. If you are going to make a cheap entry level kit car, at least make it beautiful. They currently make replicas of 3 beautiful well designed cars that are timeless and gorgeous. The GTM is not as good looking compared to the others, but it is better than the 818. If you are going to go ugly, go whole hog like Gumpert and make it obvious that the functionality ruled above all else.
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worxman02
> CAR_IS_MI
06/05/2014 at 16:39 |
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Why couldn't it have looked more like this?
Minus the Honda Civic Del Sol rear handle thing going on behind the seats.
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SPNKiX
> worxman02
06/09/2014 at 20:05 |
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What IS a RISD anyway?
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worxman02
> SPNKiX
06/10/2014 at 12:16 |
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It's the Rhode Island School of Design, which is were some of the student designs for this project came from.
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SPNKiX
> worxman02
06/10/2014 at 13:29 |
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Oh, nice. I got my undergrad there.
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worxman02
> SPNKiX
06/10/2014 at 14:02 |
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Then how did you not know what RISD was or were you being facetious?
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SPNKiX
> worxman02
06/10/2014 at 14:47 |
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I am certainly full of feces.
Wayne McDowell
> CAR_IS_MI
10/29/2014 at 18:20 |
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I am going to buy one. Make a Hardtop for wet weather and add AC and a heater. oh wipers too. My version will be a wide body and wider ruber and a BALLS OUT SUBARU MOTOR. I am getting an R version and will add a full windshield to go on with a soft top or hardtop. just a front quarter wind wing off a 1970 bronco will work fine. gonna use a tranny with quiafe guts and diff.
Oh and all the ducts? I plan on using em ALL.
KOOLDADDY Wayne
mark80
> Wayne McDowell
07/03/2015 at 12:05 |
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Just getting thru some emails and saw the new hardtop version. IMO it looks much better than the roadster. May have found my retirement project.
Menirz
> CAR_IS_MI
10/04/2015 at 17:47 |
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I feel like the recent release of the 818c (and its updated front fascia for the whole line) has made it look a bit more cohesive. But maybe thats just me.
davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> CAR_IS_MI
12/16/2015 at 10:17 |
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http://oppositelock.kinja.com/factory-five-8…
djmt1
> CAR_IS_MI
04/10/2016 at 10:43 |
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... I like it.
Sovereign, Purveyor of Coupes
> CAR_IS_MI
04/17/2016 at 02:05 |
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Yep, would way rather take an ultima. They really nailed it in the design department I think. May actually be one of the best looking modern cars in my eyes.
jjhats
> CAR_IS_MI
04/19/2016 at 11:39 |
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The coupe fixes all my complaints:
Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
> CAR_IS_MI
04/19/2016 at 11:44 |
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I rather like the looks. Yeah, it’s pretty Gen X, but it’s clean and simple. Yeah, it looks bad with the top up. So does every other soft top roadster. And yes, some of the design prototypes look better, but it probably would have been more expensive to create the crash structure and such. Without the skin, this car is very boxy and basic, and I imagine that helped keep the costs down, as well as the weight.
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Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig
> Menirz
04/19/2016 at 11:45 |
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Ooh, that is a nice front end. Kinda Jaggy.
CounterTorqueSteer
> CAR_IS_MI
05/08/2016 at 10:14 |
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I completely agree. My dad and I will be building a 65' Coupe in the next couple years and every time I go to the website and get a glimpse of the 818....bleh.
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greenagain
> CAR_IS_MI
05/08/2016 at 20:32 |
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Did you know that they’ve already updated it?
