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It's got to be the FCX Clarity. The GT-R is definitely a very worthy contender, but it'll win easily so no point in voting that. The FCX Clarity is also a very important car, perhaps more than the GT-R. It's like the future now.
Yes, it is not perfect. It's not really practical, there's barely no refuelling structure at all, it's expensive and availability is limited to say the least. But, it could very well be the car that we'll al be driving in 50 years time. For that alone it deserves a nomination.
The Clarity is built on promises of a future which may or may not come to pass. Surely it deserves credit for looking forward, unlike my retro selection, but within futurism must be realism or it is just a cool-sounding gimmick.
The Mini, on the other hand, represents a firm grounding in reality. It rejuvenated whatever its market segment is called in Europe and reintroduced the small fun FWD car to these shores. It is a reinterpretation of an idea that should never have gone out of vogue.
The GTR is good, but I don't like it.
I don't like the GT-R either, but we have to reckon the imense achievement it is. It manages to have supercar performance in what basically is a two door saloon at a fraction of the cost. It possible is even more impressive than the Veyron due it its real world usability and running costs. Again though, like the Veyron, I think I'd have more fun in a 1.8 MX-5 at a fraction of the speed. But nevertheless a deserving finalist.
The Mini on the other hand [I]is[/I] the MX-5. Absolutely brilliant to drive, throughly conventional. It doesn't have any gorundbreaking features and on top of all it's not even desperately practical, comfortable or frugal. What was groundbreaking was the marketing used to sell the car, the bussiness idea and the sales success. But should we judge on that?
Finally the Honda might not be [I]the solution[/I] but as you said it deserves credit for looking forward. And in my opinion that's precisely the point, they might be wrong but at least Honda is trying something. And for that they deserve recognition.
The Elise. For showing the US once again that horsepower isn't everything. Moreso than even the mini I think it changed how people look at cars.
I think you should get more points for being part of the solution rather than just thowing dazzling lights and speeches at something to make it seem like the wave of the future. Sure the honda is a dream of the future, but I think it's going in the wrong direction. A much more practical solution is decreasing weight and installing an effecient engine. Those are two things which haven't caught on so well in the US, yet the Elise was wildly successful, selling out faster than they could make them (first 18 months of production sent here was sold before the first delivery.) It gives great mileage while still being more fun than the honda will ever be. Sure practicality is limited, but it is on the honda too, realistically speaking.
I like the idea behind the Elise. I'm always for having lighter cars.
But it certainly isn't a solution. It is hopelessly impractical and most of all it is a conventional car. It is an efficient car, no denying that, but when we run out of petrol it won't matter how efficient it is, because we won't be able to use it.
On that basis the Honda is a much more significant car than the Lotus.
[quote=Ferrer;927732]I like the idea behind the Elise. I'm always for having lighter cars.
But it certainly isn't a solution. It is hopelessly impractical and most of all it is a conventional car. It is an efficient car, no denying that, but when we run out of petrol it won't matter how efficient it is, because we won't be able to use it.
On that basis the Honda is a much more significant car than the Lotus.[/quote]
I think being effecient in a conventional fashion (includin diesels and biodiesels) is a much better solution. If we run out of petrol we're screwed anwyays, since the vast majority of our power comes through oil burning power plants. Power which is required to get the hydrogen to fuel the honda. On the other hand effecient cars (yes it's not practical but it represents a design ideal, just like the honda) now using conventional fuels will lead to effecient cars in the future using biofuels. And I really do think modern biodiesel is a much more promising technology than hydrogen fuel cells.
You guys are killing me here....no current UCP member is old enough to ever see the world run out of petrol. lol
GT-R wins this poll. Finals up soon.
Well, the Elise almost pulled it off. Wouldn't have won in the finals, but it would have been a victory for justice and good taste. ;)