Some guy commenters said they'd never buy a Pivo 2 (the subject of the preceding post, which you should have read before reading this) because it looks so girly. That's understandable; let's face it, it probably is meant to appeal to women more than men. But the Japanese aren't stupid; nobody's going to neglect the guy market. I wonder what the guy version of Pivo will look like?
I'll make a wild guess and speculate that it'll have a kazillion gauges, just like the B-29 Superfortress cockpit above. I like to customize things that I own and I figure a lot of guys must feel the same way. They'll want to customize the way their car drives. They'll want dashboard control over every variable item in the motor, carriage and tires, much more than they have now, and that might necessitate lots of gauges and throttles.
Guys like the kind of robot head featured in the Pivo 2, but maybe they'd prefer one modeled after Bridget Bardot.
Or maybe Robbie the Robot.
Probably some guys will prefer the grotesque look, and will take the face shield off the robot head.
I'm probably wandering off topic, but the idea of customization of cars always reminds me of that venerable hippie favorite, the Volkswagon bus. Talk about customizable: people used to rip out the seats and put in interiors that resembled everything from an RV vehicle to a New Orleans bordello. My guess is that guys in the future will want to customize their cars so that each one is one-of-a-kind.
The Volkswagon bus really was a tiny bus. You felt gigantic inside, but also very cozy.
Jorge said the car he'd like to own would look something like the Morgan Lifecar, shown above. Holy Cow! It looks like a Bugatti crossed with the Batmobile. I'll bet it's not cheap.
Here's (above) the Chevy Volt. Not much window space, and conventional compared to the Pivo, but it looks great.
Most cars are for men already. The Pivo would compete with the new VW Beetle, maybe. Girls and emos.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've seen, girls really need a car that will know where it's going while they do their makeup in the rear view mirror.
If it comes out and fits your description, I'd buy the manly Pivo 2. Now all it needs is a beef jerky despenser, a big-screen black-and-white TV which plays The Three Stooges nonstop, A driver's seat shaped like a recliner, a toilet (not one of yer fancy-shmancy "boe-days", but a regular, old-fashioned commode), a hip-swinging hula girl on the dashboard, a Tabasco sauce drink fountain, a Playboy magazine library, and a sign on the outside of it that reads "No Girls Allowed!"
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think? Sure it would be expensive, but it would be worth it! I want Uncle Eddie's opinion!
I feel I was promised a flying car. The American people have gone along with the program. Instead of domed cities we got mega-malls. Instead of robot-controlled homes, we get shoddy appliances that only your kid can figure out how to program. We didn't complain when we didn't all get free Japanese houseboys after the war. For 50 years, the government ran us on optimism & now they want us to forget all that & obey out of fear. Well, OK, but I INSIST on a flying car!
ReplyDeleteFor the male market,I think the Transformers were really onto something. I mean, it's a car and a giant robot! In a traffic jam, you just set it to pedestrian mode & take the sidewalk.
Oh, and while we're on the subject, I had the opportunity of test-driving the all-new for '09 Pontiac Vibe. The sleek new styling gives it a sporty look with clean dynamic through-lines down the side which makes it look fast even when parked. The model I tested had the new (optional) 2.4 litre engine which lets you merge from the on-ramp without the white knuckles. Downside? A little too "now" & "with-it" for this reviewer. I miss the old-car smell. But if we must live in the real world, this car is a sensible choice.
That morgan car looks like its compensating for something
ReplyDeleteThis is nice, but it will never replace the pickup truck in many girth!
ReplyDeleteDear Sir,
ReplyDeleteIn regards to a precision error in your last post: Lithium batteries aren't practical? My remote control disagrees!
The 1950 model year was the first when new cars were touted as "smaller on the outside, bigger on the inside!" That was such a fine load of advertising crap, it's never fallen off the radar.
ReplyDelete