Dodge Sling Shot Concept

[crazyjoe]

"A true driver's car" and "100HP 3-cylinder engine" is a contradiction in terms.

100HP, gimme a break.

[airevac19]

looks like a bastardized BMW Z4!

[van]

i like the whole thing. i like different. . . . . mostly

[PTRobert]

quote:Originally posted by airevac19

looks like a bastardized BMW Z4!

Like it mated with the Nissan 350Z

[Quadrajet]

I hate when they give zero to 60 times. Means about as much to me as how many gallons-per-hour the fuel pump pushes. Give us quarter mile times dangit! We took a stand against the metric system in America, lets take a stand for real dragway times! [:X]

[Sci-Fi]

quote:Originally posted by bobs turbo pt

"Front Wheel drive is an evil child of satan and should be illegal"

That particular Smart roadster is rear wheel drive with a mid-ships mounted turbo 3 cylinder engine. The car only weighs 1738 lbs. The transmission is a sequential 6-speed transmission. All the body parts can be easily removed and replaced with body panels of your choice. It is a very safe and economical car too. This is not to say the car rides comfortably, but from the videos I have seen it handles the twisty roads quite well without showing much body roll or understeer. In the states, it would make a good commuter car and weekend cruiser. Hopefully Dodge will not "tune" the suspension for the American market. There are many go fast and appearance parts already available. Includes ECU upgrades (removes the speed limiter too), cyc heads from port and polished to full race, and larger turbos, plus SS exhausts. Many people may not like the 3 lug wheels and replacement wheel choices will be limited.

The Smart front wheel drive 4-door may reach the marketplace first though. Whether or not DC decides to recreate the Smart brand in the states and/or just rebadges them as Dodge is still unknown. Won't see the Smart micro cars imported though, too small and the styling won't sell here. DC will have a hit if they move up the time table for stateside introduction of the Smart cars to 2005 instead of 2006, esp with the price of gas they way it is now and the projected low teens MSRP, even if they only sold the cars on the east and west coasts. Believe there is already a limited/preliminary presence in Canada right now (2004).

[340x]

I really like the looks of the car but hate the headlights. Needs to be more sculpted like the cruiser, rounded off some instead of square. I agree on the weight distribution problem. I have a 91 Toyota MR2, rear engine 2.2 l. It is dangerous to drive on anything but dry asphalt. Get it on a wet road or snow or ice and hang on!! you can't stop and if you do it will be sideways and probably in the ditch. There isn't enough weight on the front to make the tires bite. Even when it's dry and you have to do a fast stop you're praying the tires don't break lose. A 2.0 turbo would be insane in a car like this plus get good mileage. I have a 95 Neon DOHC 5 speed that gets 40+ mpg. I also had another one automatic that got 50 mpg. Turbo would probably kill the mileage but you don't get power for free.