Strudul

Even on a sandy beach or at a pool party?

That RX-7 looks amazing, would prefer it over the Z Good luck with the rust. Apparently it's a right bitch. Gotta cut it all out and weld in a new bit of metal, and even then it can come back.

+1 on skinnies. Look ridiculous and I have various things that wouldn't fit in them even if I tried. Also enhances the confusion on whether people i see walking down the street are male or female, which isn't helped by the fact that everyone (male) I know who wears skinnies, wears (or used to wear) women's skinnies (for some stupid reason I didn't listen to).

I bet the GT-R isn't as profitable as cheaper cars though.

No obligation to share, but can't harm to ask... I'd have thought any textiles shop would be able to provide recommendations / advice with regards to materials if I were to go and ask. Similarly there are probably dedicated forums with people willing to share. Not asking for trade secrets or a step-by-step guide. There is a big difference between knowing how to do something (or the materials to use) and having the ability to do it. Take vinyl wrapping, even with the best wrap, tools and a detailed guide (which are easy to find), there's no way I'd manage to do a professional job without a lot of practice, hence most people don't DIY. Or using the KFC example, the list of ingredients is freely available on the internet, the secret is the ratios. On the flip side, if you can convince me it's too hard to attempt, then there is a potential customer up for grabs.

Originally tried the "penny" mod - stuck some hard leather discs in the boot poppers, but they've become deformed and I wasn't keen on the extra pressure inside. Took them out and instead moved the boot latch itself down a couple mill and now it's popping open perfectly again. Didn't see a guide on this, so decided to make one (did just find one from 2013, but no pics, so hopefully this will still be useful to someone)... 1. Open the boot May require two hands, but hopefully we'll soon have that sorted. 2. Pull the rubber seal strip up out of the way This just makes it easier to get the trim off and on. 3. Pull off the plastic trim Get your fingers underneath at the edges and give it a jiggle up. Can be a bit stiff, but it's just held on with some clips. Work your way along and mind the interior light, it'll probably pop out itself, just don't go crazy. 4. Lay the trim to the side and find the latch screws Again, mind the interior light. 5. Loosen the nuts Highlighted by the red circles. I think it required a 12mm socket. A turn or 2 should do it, just enough so the latch can move up / down. 6. Re-position the latch Initially I moved it all the way down, but it was popping up too violently for my liking. Turns out I only needed to drop it my a millimetre or so - you can see the mark on the metal from where the washer used to be on the RHS one. Your results may vary, it depends how springy your springs are and whether you choose to do this in combination with the "penny" mod. 7. Re-tighten the screws Just do them finger tight and test it until it (hopefully) works. Once you find an amount that works, use your socket and tighten them properly. 8. Reattach all the trim Don't forget to push the rubber strip back into place. 9. Go show off that your boot opens with 1 press Hope it works for you, enjoy.

Why does any car cost more... Harder to produce and high design / development costs - costs which, unlike mass produced cars, aren't offset due to the low production volumes. Sure they could mass produce it, but as i said, the target market for an FT-1 is tiny in comparison. Some of us would be happy living with it, but the majority don't want a car that is hard to live with (won't go over speed bumps, won't fit in parking spaces, almost too big for the road, hell in traffic). That's before you start worrying about making it pedestrian safe...

Care to divulge any of the obstacles to look out for? I think the biggest problem will be getting the material the right shape / size so that it stretches perfectly, isn't loose, and doesn't bunch up. Also not sure how to pad it. Was hoping to just get some 6mm high density foam, stitch the leather to that (back stitch?), then Euro stitch it all together. Dunno if you can stitch the foam directly to leather though or whether I need to just stick it on with that magic-hem-web-tape stuff. As for leather vs pleather, any recommendations? (Quality / ease to work with / stretchiness.)

That'll be the "What car after a 370Z" thread which I kinda sorta maybe hijacked Considering the price (which is supposedly higher than a Vette), I'd have thought we could expect Lexus levels of interior.

Concept cars are there to demonstrate the capability of the manufacturer for publicity and research purposes. However, for various reasons (such as productions costs, viability, and having to adhere to laws / regulations) they often can't become a reality in the same form. They could make it like the FT-1, but it would be for a different target market due to a higher price and reduced practicality. As amazing as it looks, if they increase the price to match those of more prestigious brands, it won't sell well, as people spending that money would rather say they own a Porsche than a Toyota.

Considering how crap the GT-R concept looked, I guess there is still hope...

Well I guess in their defence, the FT-1 was never marketed as a Supra concept, we just labelled it as one. The new Supra just takes design cues from it.

Isn't that the case with pretty much every concept car ever? They never look as good when the real thing comes about.

Front needs work, but apart from being too squished (needing to be longer / wider / lower) I think it looks quite good from the back.

New renderings just came out. It's still no FT-1, but a hell of a lot better looking than we thought from the spy shots... Ugly Spy Shots: Sexy Renderings:

2nd cos it's a coupe.

Indeed, takes a certain knack

The same Nissan engineers who considered the position of the DE dipstick?

People put the phone numbers on Gumtree and seem to survive. Maybe chuck it in spoiler tags to avoid it getting picked up by spammers.

When you crash that can is going to go flying, airbag or not.

PM Alex Last I saw he had some kicking around in a selection of conditions.

Not true, this is the Lexus IS interior, and you can get a 2013/14 model for £12k: