Most awesome but stupid cars ever invented

[FenderGuy1]

great vid i found i like the sofa carhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ_QSdTND6M&feature=related

[retrosurfer1959]

It's almost painful to say it but I would put the corvette in that class. One of the most amazing and best looking cars ever made in America but a high performance car with all that power and a fiberglass body was a real nightmare in collisions. As most know I was a police officer and for several years i was the Fatal investigator which meant I was called out for every fatal car accident in the community no matter the time of the day of the week. This was back in the late 70's early 80's so muscle-cars were still around in fact this was the glory says for Camaro Z-28, Trans-Am's and sadly Corvette's. The community I worked for was right outside a very large Air force base where pilot training took place so sports car's were the norm and those young jet jockeys drove fast. It was also a time when drag racing was not a felony nor was running from the police you just got tickets for whatever moving violations you committed during a pursuit and the pilots drove their cars like they flew their jets fast with more balls than brains so we averaged about 1-2 fatal car wrecks a month during parts of the years and sadly the car of choice for the pilots was usually a corvette. We had so many corvette crashes that we created a specific way of cleaning up the cars after the wrecks since a tow truck could not be used. We had a truck with a small winched crane on the back and we would use that to pick up the drive train usually just the motor and transmission sometimes the drivetrain and rear axle depending on speed the rest we literally would use a front end loaded and just scoop up the big pieces and then use a street sweeper to pick up the rest. There honestly wasn't enough of the old Corvettes left after a high speed wreck to use a tow truck. like I said the big chunks got tossed into a dump truck and the rest we would clean up with a brush truck style street sweeper that were used for construction zones and where debris was heavy. On really severe accidents where I knew i would end up in court and we would need evidence we would load the pieces into cardboard boxes and large Garbage bags. It was a shock I'm sure to the attorney and even family when they would want to see the car and we'd show them the engine block and usually about 5 of the big 90 gallon trash cans and tell them that's all we could collect. I loved the design and my wife always wanted one but it's one of the few things I refused her over the years after cleaning wrecked corvettes up with push brooms I could not stand the thought of my wife driving one. The only vehicle that was involved in more accidents was the Motorcycle the Cafe racers were popular with the pilot and again at speed there wasn't usually enough to even recognize of the bikes or the riders!

[kaleb]

It's almost painful to say it but I would put the corvette in that class. One of the most amazing and best looking cars ever made in America but a high performance car with all that power and a fiberglass body was a real nightmare in collisions. As most know I was a police officer and for several years i was the Fatal investigator which meant I was called out for every fatal car accident in the community no matter the time of the day of the week. This was back in the late 70's early 80's so muscle-cars were still around in fact this was the glory says for Camaro Z-28, Trans-Am's and sadly Corvette's. The community I worked for was right outside a very large Air force base where pilot training took place so sports car's were the norm and those young jet jockeys drove fast. It was also a time when drag racing was not a felony nor was running from the police you just got tickets for whatever moving violations you committed during a pursuit and the pilots drove their cars like they flew their jets fast with more balls than brains so we averaged about 1-2 fatal car wrecks a month during parts of the years and sadly the car of choice for the pilots was usually a corvette. We had so many corvette crashes that we created a specific way of cleaning up the cars after the wrecks since a tow truck could not be used. We had a truck with a small winched crane on the back and we would use that to pick up the drive train usually just the motor and transmission sometimes the drivetrain and rear axle depending on speed the rest we literally would use a front end loaded and just scoop up the big pieces and then use a street sweeper to pick up the rest. There honestly wasn't enough of the old Corvettes left after a high speed wreck to use a tow truck. like I said the big chunks got tossed into a dump truck and the rest we would clean up with a brush truck style street sweeper that were used for construction zones and where debris was heavy. On really severe accidents where I knew i would end up in court and we would need evidence we would load the pieces into cardboard boxes and large Garbage bags. It was a shock I'm sure to the attorney and even family when they would want to see the car and we'd show them the engine block and usually about 5 of the big 90 gallon trash cans and tell them that's all we could collect. I loved the design and my wife always wanted one but it's one of the few things I refused her over the years after cleaning wrecked corvettes up with push brooms I could not stand the thought of my wife driving one. The only vehicle that was involved in more accidents was the Motorcycle the Cafe racers were popular with the pilot and again at speed there wasn't usually enough to even recognize of the bikes or the riders!

 

Honestly, I can't see myself in a Corvette....

 

I understand the love, but it's not "me". (I have the same feelings towards the Impala)

 

But I can easily see myself in a Camaro, Chevelle, Trans Am, GTO, Mustang, Fairlane, Charger, or a Challenger!

[Buxom]

 

The Homer is in this class of car.

[Searcy]

My dream car. A perfect blend of practicality and class.

 

[milod]

Given where I live, I'd say any and every battery-operated automobile is not only stupid but dangerous.

 

In urban areas they may make sense although paying for electricity and every cupla years new batteries that cost as much as super-cars did when I was a kid may make sense - although battery disposal is gonna be interesting.

 

Where I live they're not reliable enough for the environment. I've already pulled one guy frozen solid out of a vehicle that had kept him alive for perhaps 8-10 hours with gasoline and might have saved him. Others stuck in cold weather as I've been will need those 8-10 hours or more of heat; batteries lessened by cold are not going to make it. Also it appears most consumer electric cars wouldn't make it through that much snow or at all on our rural roads where it's hard enough to run 4wd pickup trucks and even my Jeep without a winch is a questionable vehicle.

 

Second stupid cars would be steam and turbine vehicles.

 

Actually I think the long term solution we're likely to see will totally change the culture of North America and much of Northern Eurasia as well - that's forcing everybody into cities with public transportation in bad weather and virtually no private transport because it will have been made too expensive both by regulation and energy costs.

 

That's the logical conclusion of current regulation and culture - and I don't mean just in North America.

 

m

[EVOL!]

Given where I live, I'd say any and every battery-operated automobile is not only stupid but dangerous.

 

In urban areas they may make sense although paying for electricity and every cupla years new batteries that cost as much as super-cars did when I was a kid may make sense - although battery disposal is gonna be interesting.

 

Where I live they're not reliable enough for the environment. I've already pulled one guy frozen solid out of a vehicle that had kept him alive for perhaps 8-10 hours with gasoline and might have saved him. Others stuck in cold weather as I've been will need those 8-10 hours or more of heat; batteries lessened by cold are not going to make it. Also it appears most consumer electric cars wouldn't make it through that much snow or at all on our rural roads where it's hard enough to run 4wd pickup trucks and even my Jeep without a winch is a questionable vehicle.

 

Second stupid cars would be steam and turbine vehicles.

 

Actually I think the long term solution we're likely to see will totally change the culture of North America and much of Northern Eurasia as well - that's forcing everybody into cities with public transportation in bad weather and virtually no private transport because it will have been made too expensive both by regulation and energy costs.

 

That's the logical conclusion of current regulation and culture - and I don't mean just in North America.

 

m

 

Who can argue with twentieth century logic like that?

[Kimbabig]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v3CzvQ9e_w

[Searcy]

Given where I live, I'd say any and every battery-operated automobile is not only stupid but dangerous.

 

In urban areas they may make sense although paying for electricity and every cupla years new batteries that cost as much as super-cars did when I was a kid may make sense - although battery disposal is gonna be interesting.

 

Where I live they're not reliable enough for the environment. I've already pulled one guy frozen solid out of a vehicle that had kept him alive for perhaps 8-10 hours with gasoline and might have saved him. Others stuck in cold weather as I've been will need those 8-10 hours or more of heat; batteries lessened by cold are not going to make it. Also it appears most consumer electric cars wouldn't make it through that much snow or at all on our rural roads where it's hard enough to run 4wd pickup trucks and even my Jeep without a winch is a questionable vehicle.

 

Second stupid cars would be steam and turbine vehicles.

 

Actually I think the long term solution we're likely to see will totally change the culture of North America and much of Northern Eurasia as well - that's forcing everybody into cities with public transportation in bad weather and virtually no private transport because it will have been made too expensive both by regulation and energy costs.

 

That's the logical conclusion of current regulation and culture - and I don't mean just in North America.

 

m

 

The electric car fad is a feel good gesture just as it's been for the last 40 years. The problem is the batteries which have a short life span and a very limited charge capability. The process for creating the batteries is toxic and expensive. The only reason companies are even bothering with electric and hybrid cars are the fortune in government giveaway programs to be made.

 

Hydrogen Fuel Cell shows much more promise as a "green" alternative but there no government push behind it.

 

 

 

 

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/155193/thanks

[Rabs]

[milod]

Evol...

 

I don't think my perspective is 20th century as much as 21's toward the 22nd.

 

Unless somebody invents a new type of storage battery totally different from what we have now, it ain't gonna keep folks warm for 24 hours at -30F. No vehicles have been designed for what I consider rural roads.

 

Heck, as I said above, even my Jeep is questionable on some roads in decent weather. I was doing 15 mph on a Montana state highway a cupla years ago in sunshiny nice winter weather and was half terrified because it was unpaved and bottomless. The county commissioner I met was in a big 4wd pickup with a snowmobile in the back as a lifeboat.

 

It's a different world in truly rural areas. Increasing costs of transportation is part of the killing of individually owned farms and ranches.

 

Currently the batteries have to be replaced at a certain point in time. They're made of toxic stuff, still.

 

When I say "regulations and policies," I didn't mean just in the US and Canada. I mean in the whole area of the world where there is winter and where folks depend on "private" transportation for agriculture and daily life.

 

The only options I see as we again double the world population from what it was when I was a kid is to increase regs and costs so fewer folks will care to have private vehicles; then to change stuff around so they can get to larger population centers with public transit options.

 

Electric cars, btw, are not at all new. They've had 'em for well over a century. They've just never been practical for a number of reasons.

 

If inexpensive batteries are invented that will last 200,000 miles or more and will keep people in colder rural regions of the world warm if they're stuck for 24 hours or more at -30F, yeah, electric actually would have some advantages.

 

Depending on what they're made from, they still could be a major environmental hazard for disposal. That would again add to costs 'cuz somebody's gonna have to pay for it, and it ain't like recycling steel or aluminum.

 

The argument for electric vehicles has been around for a long, long time. They just ain't had any that worked well outside areas where relatively short trips and access to recharging was available - or when nobody worried about lead and acid disposal.

 

If Tesla had been correct about broadcasting electricity, that would be one potential solution. Ain't happened yet. Fusion would be nice, but ain't even close. Solar power requires storage batteries. Even "hybrids" require either a plug-in or a return to 19th century charging technology to charge batteries.

 

The bottom line is that we ain't got what it takes for electric vehicles to safely function outside urban centers in warmer climates. Even there, nobody's willing to talk about disposal and replacement costs of batteries because it ain't currently politically correct.

 

And nobody cares about rural areas that produce food far from urban areas until grocery prices start to reflect transportation cost increases.

 

Bottom line is that a lotta stuff sounds nice, but nobody wants to discuss consequences - especially of having had the world population doubled in half a century and potential for that again to double in the next half century, and a large population segment wanting to cut energy use.

 

m