Jump to content
Create New...

Kia Koup Concept


Recommended Posts

:yes: Indeed... GMs reluctance to produce affordable RWD cars

& hardtops makes me frustrated like nothing else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Balthazar:

Here's a nice, stock, non-riced out MB hardtop CLK.

sigmbclk550hardtopij0.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like how Mercedes-Benz explains their CLK coupe:

http://www.mercedes-benz.ca/index.cfm?ID=351

The B-pillar separates the front and rear side windows. But what do you get if you leave out the B-pillar? You get one of the most attractive coupes ever built. The absence of the B-pillar means that the view from inside the car is unobstructed, unfettered, and frankly, unbelievable. So you can see the world in all it's pillar-less beauty. What's more, envious outsiders can admire the interior of the CLK that much more easily. Brace yourself. People will stare.

You need not worry about strength, either. Mercedes-Benz engineers have created a super-strong roof structure. In short, you are protected from above.

The CLK-Class. Expect to be admired.

(from Mercedes-Benz)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those benz fender flares are God-awful, as are the cheap-o black plastic inserts and grillemesh. Who asked for all that bloated plastic ??

Cut off roofline, replace everything below

it.

That's a CLK AMG Black Series...it's one supremely badass car. I saw one at the post office a few weeks ago...they look incredible in person, sound incredible also.

Edited by moltar
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I whole-heartedly agree! :wub:

Even Julie's '84 SEC has a large cross member and high-rocker

panels to help in the event of a violent t-bone collision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those benz fender flares are God-awful, as are the cheap-o black plastic inserts and grillemesh. Who asked for all that bloated plastic ??

Cut off roofline, replace everything below it.

:yes: Indeed... GMs reluctance to produce affordable RWD cars

& hardtops makes me frustrated like nothing else.

As moltar just said, it's not riced, it's the AMG Black Series, and it is extremely badass. The mods are all their for the sake of performance. I personally love the wide stance this car has with it's fender flares and massive wheels and tires.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As moltar just said, it's not riced, it's the AMG Black Series, and it is extremely badass. The mods are all their for the sake of performance. I personally love the wide stance this car has with it's fender flares and massive wheels and tires.

Yes, it gives it the look of a road going version of a DTM race car.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:yes: Indeed... GMs reluctance to produce affordable RWD cars

& hardtops makes me frustrated like nothing else.

Drives me insane. Nothing, I repeat nothing is as sexyhot as a true hardtop with the windows down on a warm summers evening.

What was the last hardtop that GM built?

Edited by HarleyEarl
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like this has been covered before....couldn't find anything on it.

Anyhow, I hadn't seen it and I like it alot. Kia must be hiring

some good designers.

Kia's new head of design is Peter Schreyer, who was incharge of design for Volkswagen and Audi back in the days when they made clean, simple designs. Two fo Schreyer's best known designs are the original Audi TT and the New Bettle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kia's new head of design is Peter Schreyer, who was incharge of design for Volkswagen and Audi back in the days when they made clean, simple designs. Two fo Schreyer's best known designs are the original Audi TT and the New Bettle.

Hey thanks for that info. I'm a fan of this type of design esthetic. It has a muscular purity about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's riced by mercedes, and looks like ass, picture or in person. These are supposedly classy, thoroughbred cars, not boy-racer jobs. None of those 100s of lbs of plastic do Thing 1 for performance. If the flares were squared off- they'd be straight off a Jeep.

The factory hardttop is a nice look, well done (tho nothing new), takes the stuffiness out of M-B. And the stock clk is a clean, pleasant design- it's just the over-the-top plasti-bling of the amgs which drag it down to RicerTown.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's riced by mercedes, and looks like ass, picture or in person. These are supposedly classy, thoroughbred cars, not boy-racer jobs. None of those 100s of lbs of plastic do Thing 1 for performance. If the flares were squared off- they'd be straight off a Jeep.

The factory hardttop is a nice look, well done (tho nothing new), takes the stuffiness out of M-B. And the stock clk is a clean, pleasant design- it's just the over-the-top plasti-bling of the amgs which drag it down to RicerTown.

Not that it'll change your mind, since you're dead set that it's a piece of crap, but one look at the reviews show just how much of a performance car this is:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drive...rticleId=120993

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Balthazar has his tastes and strong opinions just like the rest of us, that's why

I used the term "RICED" even though I'm with you guys about the fact that it

is quite a M-series, Audi-S & Porsche killer. While I'd never in a million years

turn down a Mercedes tunned by AMG with a handbuilt motor I think many of

their styling "add-ons" look the part: tacked on. I believe that's basically what

Balthazar was saying, either way an AMG-motor in a stock CLK with the 320

emblems would be the way to go, sleeper status & elegance.

Harley:

GM's FULL-full size B-body 4-door hardtops were the last true hardtop, though

they were not exactly the most elegant example of their type.... the last of

them rolled off assembly lines calendar year 1976, as 1976 model year Chevy

Impalas & Caprice Classics, Buick LeSabres & Electras, Oldsmobile Delta 88,

98s (Broughams), Pontiac Bonnevilles & Cadillac Sedan deVilles.

But I do not think more than twomor three years has gone by without GM

showing/tempting us with a concept car with a true hardtop bodystyle... they

just refuse to put their @&$^# moeny where their &*@#$ mouth is.

P.S. Before Chrysler Corp. started pumping out K-cars and Mitsubishi clones

they had Plymouth, Dodge & Chrysler 4-dr hardtops all the way up to 1978.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

S'more Mercedes Hardtops... (pulled from my photobucket account)

2006_MercedesBenz_CLK500_HT.jpg

2006_MercedesBenz_CL600_HT.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

>>"...one look at the reviews show just how much of a performance car this is..."<<

And to my point- how much performance was added by the huge fender flares, spats and flutes? Ahh, that's right: none.

>>"...their styling "add-ons" look the part: tacked on. I believe that's basically what Balthazar was saying..."<<

Just about- they look cheap & out of place on a mercedes. They are as functional as a fake hood scoop. But mostly they look cheap.

>>"...a Mercedes tunned by AMG with a handbuilt motor..."<<

As irony would have it, while flipping thru the satellite menu, just as I stopped on Top Gear, the remote fell into the couch cushions as I dug for it frantically. Blockhead was testing an AMG CLK. What stood out to me was the fact that he made a point of the "handbuilt" claim, and the other dweeb on the show asked,

"How many AMG engines does mercedes sell in a year?"

Blockhead: "Eighteen thousand! That's like 100 units a day!"

{{It actually works out to about 70, but BH's answer is typical of the "entertainment"-biased accuracy of the show.}}

Clearly, they were both highly dubious of the handbuilt claim at that torrid pace- seeming to imply that perhaps the 'handbuilding' consisted of gluing their plastic signature badge on the plastic engine cover. Frankly, tho the power/performance seems impressive without question (tho the mercedes' Electro-Nanny still modulated the brakes even tho the car was in 'sport 2' setting, causing them to overheat and flash a dash warning...), at 100 engines a day, there must be VERY VERY minimal hands-on 'building' going on, regardless of what mercedes claims.

Edited by balthazar
Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL Balthy, you crack me up.

Maybe I'm wrong but i DO BELIEVE the AMG motors ARE hand assembled.

When you sell 18K units you can probably pay a good 50 technicians to

hammer out all those motors. I'm not going to insist I am right, perhaps

things have changed since the late 1990s when I read that.

Wouldn't surprise me, I think back then AMG production #s were like 20%

of what they are today.... AMG Benzes are about as rare as Cadillac CTSs

whereas a decade ago you might see half a dozen in year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL Balthy, you crack me up.

Maybe I'm wrong but i DO BELIEVE the AMG motors ARE hand assembled.

When you sell 18K units you can probably pay a good 50 technicians to

hammer out all those motors. I'm not going to insist I am right, perhaps

things have changed since the late 1990s when I read that.

Wouldn't surprise me, I think back then AMG production #s were like 20%

of what they are today.... AMG Benzes are about as rare as Cadillac CTSs

whereas a decade ago you might see half a dozen in year.

The AMGs are esp. common out here in the Scottsdale area...I think I see more AMG SLs than regular SLs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, that's Arizona for ya... :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hardtops can make even the most plain jane car look special.

I feel so strongly about this, I'm almost ready to start a campaign to convince GM to do it.

GM has to get that 'Harley Earl' feelin' back again. People will buy sexy cars. They want

to be seduced. I know I do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

>>"Such a missed opportunity to make the new Camaro truly over the top stunning.....just making it a hardtop."<<

Absolutely true.

The willingness of the 'constructive criticism' crowd to accept the morph to sedan on the production 'maro is puzzling to me to say the least... yet wearisome diatribes on the softness of lower dash panels exist in spades in the archives of this very site.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

>>"Such a missed opportunity to make the new Camaro truly over the top stunning.....just making it a hardtop."<<

Absolutely true.

The willingness of the 'constructive criticism' crowd to accept the morph to sedan on the production 'maro is puzzling to me to say the least... yet wearisome diatribes on the softness of lower dash panels exist in spades in the archives of this very site.

I definitely don't like the concrete-hard dash or door panels so many cars have today..if they spent a few more $$ for softer interior plastics, it would be a big improvement. Hardtops are nice to look at and fun, but in reality, with air conditioning, how often do most drivers really drive around with all the windows down? Not to mention a HT Camaro would weigh as much as the convertible, and the coupe as it is is no lightweight...

Edited by moltar
Link to comment
Share on other sites

my nova, unfortunatley isnt a hardtop, but i rock all four windows down totally.... i so wish i didnt have a damned b pillar... i can asure you if i had a hard top car, id rather have all windows open then use the AC.... its th feel and look of the massive, unobstructed opening on each side... much better then a convertible

Link to comment
Share on other sites

>>"Hardtops are nice to look at and fun, but in reality, with air conditioning, how often do most drivers really drive around with all the windows down? Not to mention a HT Camaro would weigh as much as the convertible, and the coupe as it is is no lightweight..."<<

WTH is the point of rolling down all 4 windows in a post-sedan... so how do you have any idea how many hardtop owners would roll down all 4 windows ?? Why bother making the rear windows in any sedan roll down, since all cars have A/C now? Think how popular that would be.... but it's the same dismissive attitude that states 'why bother' RE hardtops.

Sounds a lot like 'how often do most drivers drive around with items in their trunks?' as a reason to not bother with trunks (read that sentiment many times RE pickups).

These are not 'realities', they are individual preferences.

As design progress irreversibly stagnates... 'little' touches like hardtops are going to HAVE to be played again, to keep any sort of interest going. It's not going to come from new directions in body envelope design.

And no: a hardtop would not have to weigh as much as a convertible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would think a hardtop would weight between the pillared coupe and the vert. I think there should be a choice of all 3. The pillared one for hardcore people who want extra rigidity and weight saving, and the hardtop for those who aren't hardcore racers, but want something dead sexy and that still handles very well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

my nova, unfortunatley isnt a hardtop, but i rock all four windows down totally.... i so wish i didnt have a damned b pillar... i can asure you if i had a hard top car, id rather have all windows open then use the AC.... its th feel and look of the massive, unobstructed opening on each side... much better then a convertible

AMEN!!!

Screw AC, I never feel the need for it. And for you

"OMG the Camaro is overweight!" naysayers, just

how much wieight does AC add to a car, I will bet

my life a modern AC system still weighs a LOT more

than most of you realise. The AC compressor from

my '86 Fleetwood Brougham weighed like 70 lbs.

Just that ONE component!

You guys KNOW how strongly I feel about hardtops,

hell I'd get a pitchfork and torch and march into the

renaissance center if I thought it might help GM see

]the freekin' light.!

---

Balthazar:

Excellent point about rear windows & trunks.

Sa far as you safety nuts:

I'd rather die in a bad side impact (lack of B-pillar)

than burn to death inside a car afte the wreck...

how F%ing safe do you think it is to GLUE in a

pane of glass in a car versus: hardtops or old

school sedans alike, have the rear window roll

down to aid emergency egress!?

I'd LOVE to see the statistics on occupants who

die in a vehicle as a result of being trapped inside

after a collision, during a fire, in a ar that rolls into

a body of water etc...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search

Change privacy settings