Another Lambo Door Question

[transio]

you gut reaction that it is ricer (due to your limited exposure to them in person or in the media) then they very much fit with the VX look and image.

It's not my "gut" reaction - it's my intellectual perception. Scissor doors and gullwings serve a purpose. They are designed to ease entry into cars that have high & wide sills due to frame components, which are designed to add rigidity to the chassis. The Vehicross has no such frame components. Its chassis is not designed to be rigid, because it's not a race car. Therefore, the purpose of scissor doors is nil, and they don't, in fact, "very much fit with the VX look".

If, however, you were to cut the doors in half at the cladding line and introduce a rollcage/frame inside the bottom half to increase rigidity, and cut your roof in half and make gullwings, then you would be increasing the functionality of the vehicle and creating a purpose for the vertical doors. This is what I plan to do with my next VX.

Understand that the difference is between function and kitsch. One is cool because of how and why it works, and the other is pathetic, because it attempts to imitate the "cool" while providing no functionality, and in fact often decreasing functionality. In the car world, "kitsch" is called "ricer".

I saw a sweet SL500 last time I went to the track and ricer never crossed my mind. I think that is a state of mind and predjudice.

Are you sure it wasn't a Mercedes/McLaren SLR? That car looks a lot like an SL with a body kit, and has gullwing doors because it's an exotic car with very high/wide sills, and therefore needs them for ease of ingress and egress.

[JAFO]

It's not my "gut" reaction - it's my intellectual perception. Scissor doors and gullwings serve a purpose. They are designed to ease entry into cars that have high & wide sills due to frame components, which are designed to add rigidity to the chassis. ...

The Lotus Elise has high and wide sills but still uses standard outward swinging doors.

[transio]

The Lotus Elise has high and wide sills but still uses standard outward swinging doors.

Right. And if you had ever gotten in or out of one with the top on, you would understand the purpose of vertical doors. The Lotus Elise has a serious design flaw in poor ingress/egress. Of course, it was originally designed as an open-top roadster. With the hard top in place, though, getting in and out is seriously debilitating. So much so that there's an aftermarket company that started making gullwing hardtops to make it easier to get in and out.

[kpaske]

Right. And if you had ever gotten in or out of one with the top on, you would understand the purpose of vertical doors. The Lotus Elise has a serious design flaw in poor ingress/egress.

So does the VX - it should have had two suicide doors for the rear passengers. If the Lambo or Gullwing doors address this flaw, then they become functional by your definition.

Actually, the mods are intended to mimic other mods that actually DO improve performance, like upgraded brake calipers (often painted bright colors by the manufacturer to help market their products) and aftermarket race wheels (which are often powdercoated, anodized, or painted black to decrease maintenance for brake dust cleanup). The idea behind painted calipers and wheels is to get the "racy look" without actually improving performance. They are, therefore, "rice" to the core.

Actually, since I know jack ***** about race cars, when I painted *my* calipers the intent was purely aesthetic - I think the blue paint helps to draw attention to the wheels and rotors and the contrasting colors just look nice. It *IS* purely aesthetic and was never intended to "mimic" anything. However, for the most part I agree with you. Most true "ricers" likely do it to make a regular 4 banger look like a tuner car.

[transio]

So does the VX - it should have had two suicide doors for the rear passengers. If the Lambo or Gullwing doors address this flaw, then they become functional by your definition.

I'll concede to that. But you'd have to cut into the B-pillars to do that, which would compromise the structural integrity of the vehicle unless you do some serious reengineering.

when I painted *my* calipers the intent was purely aesthetic - I think the blue paint helps to draw attention to the wheels and rotors and the contrasting colors just look nice... Most true "ricers" likely do it to make a regular 4 banger look like a tuner car.

Right, well most aftermarket brake kits are red or yellow, anyway, so I'd probably put blue calipers on the "bling" list. My Elise had red painted calipers and engine cover. I thought it was a little "ricer" looking, but they were high performance calipers straight from the factory, so I kinda shrugged it off. I probably wouldn't have done it myself, though. If anything, I might have painted them yellow to match the car.

[kpaske]

My Elise had red painted calipers and engine cover. I thought it was a little "ricer" looking, but they were high performance calipers straight from the factory, so I kinda shrugged it off.

I can't believe you'd ever think "ricer" and "Elise" in the same thought. Shame on you. I think it's usually obvious when mods are done to make an automobile look like something it's not, so the term is somewhat subjective for me. IMO even red calipers look great on a VX because it gives it more of a "customized" look. On a 1992 lowered Yugo with a body kit? That's just plain stupid.

[cyronman]

who's gonna try it?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Isuzu-Vehicross-Heavy-Duty-90-Vertical-Lambo-Door-Kit_W0QQitemZ150083043239QQihZ005QQcategoryZ88433Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem



This was one of the best threads I've read on here, by the way.