"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
09/27/2015 at 08:49 • Filed to: question of the Night, qotn
3
27|
"boxrocket" (boxrocket)
09/27/2015 at 08:49 • Filed to: question of the Night, qotn | 3
| 27 |
Sorry I’ve been neglecting these the past few nights. My work schedule changed and I’ve been working much later than usual, and by the time I’d get home I lacked the mental capability to create these. That’s over now, as the late shifts were the last hurdle to get the promotion at work I wanted. Sadly that means less !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (and not-so-interesting) cars, but better pay and hours that match up closer to my wife’s schedule, which she’s over the moon about.
Because of my neglect/absence, let’s make this a multi-part question.
1: What vehicle would you axe from a chosen manufacturer’s lineup, and why?
2: What vehicle from a different manufacturer (different parent company, so no F-PACE to Land Rover, for instance) would you substitute in its place?
3: What minor changes - other than the badge - would have to happen to the substitute vehicle to make it feasible, presuming a licensing deal or something was in place (like the Scioyotbaru trio, or Vibe/Matrix)?
4: What would you call this model?
My vote would be for Ford to kill the Volvo S80-based Ford Taurus: it’s capable and comfortable, but it’s relatively stagnant, doesn’t get much attention or funding, and the Police Interceptor version is greatly outsold by the Explorer Police Utility. The original conceptual execution of the Five Hundred and reborn Taurus was great, especially with the sizeable greenhouse, roomy interior, and spacious trunk, and was an acceptable Crown Victoria replacement despite being FWD or AWD instead of RWD and having the fuel door on the wrong side, which is important to older and disabled owners and drivers. The redesign with the tighter and shorter cabin and angled trunk may be better aerodynamically and acoustically (and definitely is of higher quality, but I’m only speaking of the conceptual execution, not the products themselves) but isn’t as charmingly practical as the Five Hundred.
In the spirit of the questions tonight, I think Ford could replace the Taurus with the Chevy Caprice aka Holden Commodore. It is also somewhat stagnant and neglected, as is its smaller sibling the SS, but it is federally allowable, something Ford’s Falcon is not. This gives Ford a truer Crown Victoria successor, being RWD and fairly utilitarian. Plus it’s already police-certified, if Ford wanted to continue that offering. I think Ford would probably do better with the Caprice than Chevy has, and it could be a stopgap until the rumored Mustang-based RWD sedan débuts, if ever.
Ford-izing it wouldn’t take much: MyFordTouch, 5.0L Coyote V8 and the 3.5L EcoBoost for engine choices (thanks, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ), a less-bland front and rear, and it’s mostly there. Chevy soldiers on with the Impala and forgettable SS sedan, and few outside law enforcement would notice. Perhaps it would become as popular as the Crown Victoria, allowing both Ford and Holden’s Australian factories to remain open.
As for the name, one could hearken back to The Andy no wrong amsserGriffith Show when he and Barney would drive around Mayberry in various Ford Galaxies, but given the nature of the vehicle, perhaps Chimera or Griffin would be more appropriate.
Well, Oppofolk, what comes to mind with these questions? Feel free to spitball, there’s no wrong answer.
pip bip - choose Corrour
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 09:02 |
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1. Toyota Prius - dull as dogshit.
2. Tesla model S
3. change front bar / headlamps.
4. Cressida - heritage reasons.
DoYouEvenShift
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 09:08 |
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1. Ford GT
2. Produced by GM
3. V8, manual or auto and mass produced for more than a short run.
4. Not sure about the name
Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 09:09 |
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1. Nissan 370z
2. Scion FRS or Subaru BRZ
3. Interior, needs turbo
4. 240z
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DoYouEvenShift
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 09:15 |
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Replacing the LS3 with a 5.0 is a nono. Why make it slower? At least throw a 3.5 EB with a little more power in there.
Hoccy
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 09:24 |
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1. Toyota Avensis. It has recently got it’s second facelift and are getting really long in the tooth, overshadowed by the Prius and RAV4 (and that is saying something).
2. Jaguar XF
3. Change the front to something more similar to the GT86, use cheaper materials (because Toyota buyers don’t care). Make it a plug-in hybrid.
4. Crownis
Wheelerguy
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 09:54 |
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See: Lexus LFA vs Ferrari 599 comparo test on Car and Driver .
A few modifications:
For the Ferrari LFA: Replace V10 with F1-derived (F1-2000 to F2004) V10, then mate to either F1-spec transmission or an optional 7-speed manual transmission.
For the Lexus 599: uh, a 4-door, I guess?
carcrasher88
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 09:59 |
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The Scion iA, though it may be good for the Scion brand, probably would do better if it had been left as is and sold as a Mazda2.
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boxrocket
> DoYouEvenShift
09/27/2015 at 10:14 |
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Good point. I think I actually meant to put the 3.5EB in there especially as it has commonality between existing cop motors, but I wrote this while mostly asleep and apparently didn’t hit publish until I woke up (or the page timed out).
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DoYouEvenShift
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 10:31 |
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Which brings me to my next point.
Dear Ford: Please put the 3.5EB into a front engine, rear wheel drive car.
64C10
> DoYouEvenShift
09/27/2015 at 10:44 |
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Ahem, F150 2WD! It fits all the criteria except for the "car" part.
Eric @ opposite-lock.com
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 11:00 |
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1) Buick Verano (or something else random) - GM makes so many names cars it isn’t even funny. Because there are a lot of people that are all, “merica!”, since they wouldn’t buy it under a foreign car brand.
2) Subaru WRX
3) Front and rear fascias. 2-door.
4) Grand National
Buick doesn't have anything terribly interesting and it would sell so wel under this name...
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DoYouEvenShift
> 64C10
09/27/2015 at 11:12 |
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Yeah close but not quite lol. Put it in a Mustang and call King Cobra III something, I dunno.
Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 12:38 |
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1: Nissan Murano Cross Cabriolet. Oh wait... already dead. Then the VW Eos. Kill it because it’s overpriced, doesn’t sell well and is bland. I would also kill the Mitsubishi MiEV. It’s the old-school approach of making EVs cheap and crappy. Needs to be replaced with something that is at least as good as a Nissan Leaf when it comes to performance and space. Plus it should have a range of at least 200 miles.
2: For the VW Eos, no substitution needed since VW already has the Beetle cabriolet. For the MiEV... there are two routes... either the Nissan Leaf or the Tesla Model S AWD. The Leaf would be the mass market approach. The Model S derivative could morph into a Lancer EVO replacement, if done right.
3: For the VW Beetle Cabriolet, maybe an optional luxurious trim. And maybe a removable hardtop shell... but not the complicated/expensive contraption the Eos has. For Mitsubishi... if it’s a version of the Leaf, just give it a bigger battery so it has a range of at least 200 miles. If it’s a version of the Model S, make the suspension changes so it handles like an EVO should. Offer 2 versions... pure EV version and a version with the turbo 2L gasoline engine acting as a generator so that range won’t be an issue at all even in race conditions and would provide even more max power than the Model S... with less weight since the battery pack would be just ‘big enough’ to provide max power for the span of a rally car race
4: VW Beetle Cabriolet. For the rebadged Leaf, I’d call it the MiFCK... for Mitsubishi Fuel cell Car Killer. But people will refer to it as a “My Fuck”. Or call it the HHNF (Hydrogen Has No Future). For the rebadged Model S, call it the Lancer Evolution XI ER/MR (for pure electric and motor-generator versions).
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Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> DoYouEvenShift
09/27/2015 at 12:44 |
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“Replacing the LS3 with a 5.0 is a nono.”
Hey... leave nonno out of this mister!!!
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Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> DoYouEvenShift
09/27/2015 at 12:45 |
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I would call it the SVO...
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Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> pip bip - choose Corrour
09/27/2015 at 12:46 |
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I don’t like you cancelling the Prius on me mister!!!
But I do like the idea of a reborn Cressida that is like a Model S. So I’ll give you a star for that.
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boxrocket
> DoYouEvenShift
09/27/2015 at 12:49 |
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I wish the Mustang had the 3.5EB, as well as the 5.0 with a twin turbo.
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DoYouEvenShift
> Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
09/27/2015 at 12:50 |
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It kinda makes sense, but at the same time, they have a 2.3 turbo Mustang.
It may work
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Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> DoYouEvenShift
09/27/2015 at 12:59 |
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The original SVO was supposed to be a high-tech, euro-inspired Mustang that had better all around performance than the regular V8 GT.
So if they dropped in the high output EB 3.5L V6 that is used in the Ford GT and then gave it a ‘super handling’ suspension, you might have an SVO that is 80-90% of what the Ford GT is capable of.
And it would be in the same spirit of the original SVO.
The current 2.3L turbo model, while having similarities to the original SVO (same displacement, same number of cyl), doesn’t have the same *inspiration* of the original SVO. Nor does it have the same position in the lineup.
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Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 13:15 |
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Okay... so I’ve just downed 3 shot of vodka, smoked a reefer the size of my forearm and ate some pizza with magic mushrooms on it.
I’m ready to revisit these questions.
1. Cancel the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. It’s very impractical, too expensive and that V12 gets terrible fuel economy. I mean really... what I’m I gonna do when I have to pick up my kids in the winter time from school and take them on a camping trip with 12 packs of shingles? I’m guessing those low profile tires will get overloaded with all that. On top of that, the local auto recyclers don’t seem to have ANY parts available.
2. Prius V
3. Add some pin stripes and a spoiler. And when flooring the throttle, make the stereo automatically play this:
4. Ferrari Testarossa V
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DoYouEvenShift
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 13:25 |
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Like the Cobra Jet motor!
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DoYouEvenShift
> Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
09/27/2015 at 13:26 |
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Was the orignal SVO above or below the V8 model?
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Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> DoYouEvenShift
09/27/2015 at 14:01 |
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In terms of straight line accelleration, below.
http://www.mustangcult.com/2009/05/ford-m…
In terms of handling, above.
In terms of price, above.
http://www.svoca.com/history/svo_hi…
“The MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) was $15,970, $6,000.00 more than the Mustang GT.”
MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
> boxrocket
09/27/2015 at 14:49 |
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I think the Taurus should have a Buick badge on it. Nothing changed, just swap all the badges to be Buick. Game over.
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DoYouEvenShift
> Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
09/27/2015 at 16:24 |
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6K more than the GT, wow!
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pip bip - choose Corrour
> Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
09/28/2015 at 04:20 |
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how about we cancel the Prius V or C then?
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Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
> pip bip - choose Corrour
09/28/2015 at 13:08 |
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I’d rather we keep the V because wagon. And keep the C for those in the city and have tight parking spots. Better to keep the C and V and only get rid of the regular model.