Contratrombone64
Admiral of Fugues
I was taking a risk sure, but I was on a zebra crossing (pedestrian crossing) so I was totally innocent ... well until I booted his car.
What Do You Drive?
- Thread starter rojo
- Start date
marval
New member
How about this car?
Here comes the Noddy-style car set to put the fun back into motoring
It looks like the sort of thing Noddy would use to whizz around Toytown.
Yet this bizarre-looking open-top car is starting to make its mark on British roads.
It has no roof, no doors and not much in the way of a windscreen, so it feels more like a motorbike than a car to drive.
But because it is built out of plastic and weighs a third of a normal vehicle, its makers say it is extremely nimble. As well as the bodywork, the interior is also made out of plastic, so it will never rust.
Scroll down for more...
The quirky Zest Roadster looks like it was driven straight out of Toytown
The vehicle, called a Zest Roadster, has no gears and is belt-driven and can go as fast backwards as it can forwards.
The £8,000 car, which comes in yellow, green, white or silver, is a French creation but is now being sold in Britain.
Kelvin Kinkaid, 42, whose company Qdos Cars is the only UK importer, said: "It doesn't matter who you are or where you drive it, you end up with a smile on your face.
Scroll down for more...
The vehicle is built out of plastic and weighs a third of a normal vehicle
"It is a basic design and doesn't have any hi-tech features such as sat-nav, cruise control or an RDS stereo system.
"It reminds you what motoring is all about. It is a recreational car which is really designed for driving along bendy, country roads.
"It has only got 20 horsepower, whereas most cars have at least 100hp but because it is so lightweight its power-to-weight ratio is very good.
"It handles very well for what it is. With a normal car you have to brake or ease off the speed when you go around a corner but not with this because it is lightweight. It feels like it is on rails.
Scroll down for more...
Spot the difference: Noddy behind the wheel in his similar car
"The seats are plastic and holes have been drilled into the floor so water just drains out, so you can leave it exposed to the elements."
The Zest has a 500cc engine with a top speed of 60mph, weighs just 370kg, and is quite economical as its tiny engine averages 66 miles to the gallon - double a normal car.
It is also the world's first symmetrical car, so the bodywork at the back looks identical to the front, halving the design and manufacturing costs.
Mr Kinkaid is now looking for distributors across Britain to sell them. "It is great fun to drive and is more like a motorbike because it is so open," he said.
"Whenever I drive it around I get people commenting how fun it looks and asking where I got it from, they all want to try it. "The girls love it because it looks so quirky, although many of them ask me where Big Ears is!"
Margaret
Here comes the Noddy-style car set to put the fun back into motoring
It looks like the sort of thing Noddy would use to whizz around Toytown.
Yet this bizarre-looking open-top car is starting to make its mark on British roads.
It has no roof, no doors and not much in the way of a windscreen, so it feels more like a motorbike than a car to drive.
But because it is built out of plastic and weighs a third of a normal vehicle, its makers say it is extremely nimble. As well as the bodywork, the interior is also made out of plastic, so it will never rust.
Scroll down for more...
The vehicle, called a Zest Roadster, has no gears and is belt-driven and can go as fast backwards as it can forwards.
The £8,000 car, which comes in yellow, green, white or silver, is a French creation but is now being sold in Britain.
Kelvin Kinkaid, 42, whose company Qdos Cars is the only UK importer, said: "It doesn't matter who you are or where you drive it, you end up with a smile on your face.
Scroll down for more...
"It is a basic design and doesn't have any hi-tech features such as sat-nav, cruise control or an RDS stereo system.
"It reminds you what motoring is all about. It is a recreational car which is really designed for driving along bendy, country roads.
"It has only got 20 horsepower, whereas most cars have at least 100hp but because it is so lightweight its power-to-weight ratio is very good.
"It handles very well for what it is. With a normal car you have to brake or ease off the speed when you go around a corner but not with this because it is lightweight. It feels like it is on rails.
Scroll down for more...
"The seats are plastic and holes have been drilled into the floor so water just drains out, so you can leave it exposed to the elements."
The Zest has a 500cc engine with a top speed of 60mph, weighs just 370kg, and is quite economical as its tiny engine averages 66 miles to the gallon - double a normal car.
It is also the world's first symmetrical car, so the bodywork at the back looks identical to the front, halving the design and manufacturing costs.
Mr Kinkaid is now looking for distributors across Britain to sell them. "It is great fun to drive and is more like a motorbike because it is so open," he said.
"Whenever I drive it around I get people commenting how fun it looks and asking where I got it from, they all want to try it. "The girls love it because it looks so quirky, although many of them ask me where Big Ears is!"
Margaret
Andrew Roussak
New member
Hi Intet-at-tabe,
I have discovered a terrible mistake here. That is, how you should properly spell ( write ) VW:
Volkswagen, NOT Volks Wagen. Because the latter looks like two cars, not one
.
Contratrombone64
Admiral of Fugues
Muza
New member
I like it, Margaret :grin:. If I lived somewhere in country, maybe like Napa (our wine producing region), I would loooove to have one of those. I cant think of a better place for it than California Napa Country - the weather allows to drive an open car, the windy not so populated roads are perfect for just cruising around, and its small enough to drive in your wine yards
Come to think of it - that would be a perfect life, to own a house somewhere there with territory big enough to adopt a bunch of homeless animals - cats, dogs, bunnies:grin:
Its kinda hard to imagine this car in Brittain though, with the constant rain and winds so high they could actually pick that car up:crazy:
Come to think of it - that would be a perfect life, to own a house somewhere there with territory big enough to adopt a bunch of homeless animals - cats, dogs, bunnies
:grin: Its kinda hard to imagine this car in Brittain though, with the constant rain and winds so high they could actually pick that car up:crazy:
Muza
New member
Although it could be a beginning of another wonderful story - The Wizard of Shmoz... A powerful tornado picks up the car, carries it miles and miles away, and lands it on the evil witch....
That could make a hell of a political satire... haha, I think I might just write it too A tornado caused by the Global Warming picks up whats his name??? Al Gore (here we might have to change the car to a Hummer though), and carries it far far into the magic land....lets call it middle east. Now, Im not quite sure of who would be the evil witch .....
The rest you guys will just have to read in the book that im gonna write
That could make a hell of a political satire... haha, I think I might just write it too
A tornado caused by the Global Warming picks up whats his name??? Al Gore (here we might have to change the car to a Hummer though), and carries it far far into the magic land....lets call it middle east. Now, Im not quite sure of who would be the evil witch .....The rest you guys will just have to read in the book that im gonna write
. . . It wasn't a mini or a smart car (as below) was it Muza?
Margaret
Thats what it was Margaret, it was a smart car. I find those very cute
I see some of these around my region ... I've seen bigger tires on wheelbarrows ... definitely a two seater ... they are gutless, worse than the Ford Pinto's back in the late 70's and are a hazard in traffic here because of that. Haven't yet seen them on the open highway - sure would hate to be in a stiff crosswind on the open road ... weave - weave - weave - crash!!
Guess they are great on gas mileage though, but I'll trade a few MPG's gladly in order to have a bit more protection around me - my life is worth more than driving around in a coke can with wheels.
Corno Dolce
Admiral Honkenwheezenpooferspieler
"Coke can with wheels" - My point exactly, Master KH.
Corno Dolce
Admiral Honkenwheezenpooferspieler
Dear Muza,
Get me to drive a Smart car? Never in a trillion years.......
Cheers,
CD :tiphat::tiphat::tiphat::tiphat:
Get me to drive a Smart car? Never in a trillion years.......
Cheers,
CD :tiphat::tiphat::tiphat::tiphat:
jvhldb
New member
Classic car there, Johan ...
Another advantage of driving this 'work of art' is that probably nobody else wants it - so it will never get stolen
You bet, with South Africas crime right it's the only car in town that is never locked, I only close the windows when it rains. Every thief know if they try to steal the car I can cath up to them on a skate board with three weels.:grin:
Right on!! I thought the same thing about my first road encounter with one of those "mosquito on wheels" ... the [fake] chrome emblem read "Smart Car". My instant thought was "Dumb Car" ... Check out this crash test video:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s[/YOUTUBE]
Notice that the driver would have literally lost both legs, and the steering wheel would have been impaled into their chest ... not a pretty sight at the end shot.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s[/YOUTUBE]
Notice that the driver would have literally lost both legs, and the steering wheel would have been impaled into their chest ... not a pretty sight at the end shot.