Robert Hall

A compact, light V8 would be an interesting idea to explore.

Thanks... the short fender-to-wheel spacing is probably the most off-puttng aspect to me about typical FWD proportions.. Yeah, that's kind of an extreme example...but the typical Japanese custom vans are probably closer to a US counterpart, lowered, custom wheels, custom paint, maybe a mural or two. How about the wild Japanese semi trucks with all the chrome and dozens (hundreds?) of lights across the front? Nothing like that here..

Ok..there's probably a Kia version of it that's even cheaper and nastier, though. Rio?

Well, customizing is very subjective...I'm not sure how one can get objective about it. Some people find George Barris' customs of the '50s-60s fantastic, I find most of them hideous. Same with chopped '49 Mercurys. One person's gorgeous custom is another's nightmare. ... ... ... ... I have to admit, though, when I was 9, I thought a '70s Dodge Tradesman panel van w/ bubble side windows, chrome wheels, and side pipes would be a very cool thing to have. Saw something like that in a Dodge 'Street Van' ad for dealer-installed custom parts. Something like that now would have a wierd kitchy appeal today, wouldn't it?

Those vans remind me of Pokemon characters...very pointy

Hardly...I'm talking about stuff I vaguely remember seeing in car magazines 25+ years ago. I'm sure they exist...there were a lot of outrageous van customs in the '70s...and it's all subjective, anyway..what might seem outrageous to me might be mild to your expert eyes.

So you say they are losing $10k per Solstice/Sky? That's outrageous...too big of discounts, or are they underpriced? Or not enough volume relative to the development costs?

Here's a Prius w/ an ultra aero body kit by Auto Labo:

Yes, they are pretty wild. Speaking of customized Toyotas, I'm really surprised I haven't yet seen any tuner-style or other modded Priuses....must be because they mostly sell to people that aren't car people. Though I remember the 6dr one and the convertible, those are mild though. A quick search turned up this custom Prius, which was done by George Barris--pretty mild compared to the outrageous stuff he did 40+ years ago:

Whatever...I'm sure you have pictures in your files, since you seem to know everything there is know about automotive history...

Ok, maybe it was covered here previously...I forgot to consult with you, oh great expert on everything automotive. Why don't you lighten up and realize people other than yourself can contribute to threads??? And the US van craze in the '70s definitely had some monstrosities of this scale...I've seen pics of metalflake candy orange vans w/ gullwing doors, etc... Or something like this...

And of course, real American vans are big in Japan... More on Japanese van culture.. Vanning in Japan

Check out this van from Dream Factory Blow--looks like a scaled down '80s Chevy van grille. Or this '60s Dodge look.. or this '70s one.. How about a '69 Blazer front look for your Toyota bB? Japan fascinates me...

That sci-fi looking van craze is in Japan..don't know if it's here yet. Of course, the US had it's own share of often hideously customized vans 30-35 years ago. One interesting van trend in Japan in recent years I've read about is some company there making custom front ends that look like scaled down '70s Chevy and Dodge vans, to fit on tiny Toyota, Nissan, etc vans..

Sounds like fun.. I want to go out and search for America sometime...take a few weeks in June or September, a V8 convertible, a laptop, a cell phone, a bit of luggage, a good map and a GPS. Just drive to all the places in the lower 48 I've wanted to go to but haven't been to yet..

I don't know from what reality you got those numbers, but an '80 Impala definitely didn't get 35mpg or have 300hp. More like 120 hp, 20 mpg.

I've never been on a Greyhound, but I do want to do the coast to coast drive eventually. I've some pretty long drives (1000 miles +), both by myself and with others--driven from San Jose, Ca to Denver ('04 Impala), Ann Arbor, Mi to Colorado Springs via Chicago (87 Mustang GT), Ann Arbor to Boston (87 Mustang GT), Cleveland area to Boston (Mustang GT), Ann Arbor to Baltimore (Mustang GT) , Pittsburgh area to the Florida Keys (Mustang GT, Ford Escort), but never all the way across country.

How about this: which would be worse to have to drive for a week coast-to-coast---a Yaris, an Aveo, a G3 (you'd have excitement!) or an Accent--about the lowest of the low I can think of for new cars. I think I'd rather take a Greyhound bus coast to coast than drive one of those.

At my last apartment, I got back about $20 out of a $300 security deposit. Besides the destroyed garage door (I backed through it when closed), I also pretty much destroyed both bathrooms (weak modern low-flush toilets always stopped up, the tub separated from the wall, carpeting pretty much worn out, etc.. It was a brand-new place, I was the first resident, stayed there 5 years until I bought my 1st condo.

That first gen Camry has Ohio-grade rust!

I finally got around to seeing the first Transformers movie last night. Cheesy dialogue (then again, it is Michael Bay), but some cool cars and decent special effects. I never got into Transformers as a kid--I was a bit too old when they were the big deal--but I knew the basic themes. Fun popcorn movie. Looking forward to the sequel.

Ah...that's the car that's supposed to be in the Transformers sequel.

Yeah, I'd take a hatchback over a trunk anyday in a small car. And hatchbacks usually have a cover over the rear area. When I'm traveling for myself and need to rent a car, I try and avoid anything smaller than a midsize...I'm happy with a Taurus, Grand Marquis, or Town Car (which are the cars I've rented the most frequently over the last 6-8 years), or a Mustang convertible if I'm someplace fun in warm weather.

Sounds like something straight out of 2002-2006 or so. Kia's a bit behind the curve, it looks like.

I'm sure Avis, Alamo, Enterprise, etc are happy with it.