Notable eco-cars (old & new) spotted in the wild: post your pics! - Page 72 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

freebeard · 02-19-2015, 02:59 PM

Whenever I put a load on my roof-rack like that, I tie off to a windshield wiper post. That load is 4 or 5 times the length of the rack. It's going to rock back and forth in stop and go traffic, and lift in front above 35mph.

Any more pix of that cargo tricycle? Else, does it have a bench seat on the fiberglass hull?

War_Wagon · 02-20-2015, 07:44 PM

BMW i8. Not the first one I have seen around here, but the first one I saw while not moving. The local BMW dealership is one of the busiest in Canada, even though the population where I am is considered a small "suburb" of Vancouver. 70% of the people here are wealthy Chinese immigrants though, so if you go to the BMW dealership on a Saturday, it's a 2 hour wait to see a salesman to take a test drive. They have an i8 and an i3 on permanent display on their front lot. I see i3's on the road daily, they are like Civics around here. The local Mitsubishi dealer has new Mirages parked out front for $9888, and they also have some Mievs on the lot, but I see more i3s in a day than any Mitsu's in a week. Except for Lancer Evo's, that's what the "poor kids" get to drive here. I wonder if any of them want to adopt an old dude with a sexy '90 Civic?? haha

MetroMPG · 02-20-2015, 08:40 PM

Very cool! What do you think of the i8?

I bet half the drivers there don't even bother to plug them in

I think they look fantastic, like something from the future. The "tunnel" detailing around the C pillar to the rear lights is a bizarre touch, like a nod to the 50's/60's Detroit fin/tail light fad.

War_Wagon · 02-20-2015, 09:51 PM

I dig them. Pretty sure they only get bought around here because they are the newest thing, so I'm sure you are right on them not getting plugged in. If it wasn't for the "fins" and the wheels, I would have thought it was an Audi R8.

RedDevil · 02-21-2015, 10:38 AM

Last week I was overtaken by a brand new i8. On a trailer

It looks unreal in the flesh. As if someone accidentally swapped the building plans of their wildest concept car with the one they actually build.

The one on the trailer was blue just like the one Jeremy Clarkson drove - and liked - on Top Gear; very nice colour, makes the design features stand out.
But I agree with him that a 7 gallon gas tank is not that useful, especially for those whose right foot is more active than the brain.

War_Wagon · 02-26-2015, 12:06 AM

If you grew up in the '80s and '90s in North America, you probably had a neighbor that had one of these. There were everywhere up here. This 1991 Plymouth Sundance has all the '80s options you'd expect in a cheap car - gaudy decal package, AM/FM only stereo, aftermarket pop-top sunroof, and a wheezy 2.2L that made at least 8 or 9 hp when it was new. Sadly another autotragedy, as it only has 50k KMs (31k miles), even comes with a brand new set of all seasons in the trunk. And yes if it only gets bid on by the scrap guy I will have to rescue it tomorrow. Just what I need haha.

And I don't get to say this very often, but here is something I have never seen before. And I am thankful for that. 1991 Mitsuoka Le Seyde. Apparently they made 500 of them in 1990-1991, they aren't a kit car, they were actually manufactured in Japan as a new car, using parts of a Nissan 240. So it's right hand drive, has a Nissan interior, doors, and believe it or not as big as this car is (it's longer than most minivans or SUVs) it only has a 4 cylinder Nissan engine. Its mostly fiberglass so it probably doesn't weigh much, and it has an overdrive at least. This one has been sitting outside a long time, the chrome is all pitted and peeling, and there is a layer of moss growing on parts of it. Who was their target market I have to wonder - pimps that wanted to go drifting without spending too much money on fuel?? It's wrong on so many levels, I will just end here and let you soak in just how tacky this thing is!