I don’t think anyone could accuse David or I of being people who make consistently good decisions, and I think one of our Velour-and-up member perks is a great example of why. We thought it’d be fun and make Velour members feel special if I’d do a little drawing of any car they wanted for their birthday. And, I think, sure, it is a fun idea, and so far I think people do like it, but if I’m totally honest, I made a lot of assumptions about doing this before we started. I figured people would probably pick the same well-known, iconic cars, and I could draw, essentially, a medium-sized library of some iconic cars, like 20 or so, and the majority of readers would likely pick from there, and it’d be pretty easy! Holy crap, was I wrong.
[Ed note: Matt here reminding you that you can become a member right here and, if you become a Velour Member, you can get one of these nifty drawings. Also, I don’t have to draw these, I just have to make this place sustainable, so please become a member if you love this website and force Jason to do more of these. – MH]
In hindsight, of course that was wrong. I know our readers better than that! Autopians aren’t the kind of car people that are just going to pick the same mass-appeal cars as anyone else. We’re a community of weirdo fetishists, and everyone wants something hyper-specific and different and unique, and as a result I almost never get to duplicate any drawing and there’s just so so many of these to do.
I mean, look at a selection of stuff that’s come up from the past few months here:
[Ed note: Hold on. I love this. One of our members requested “David Tracy’s next purchase” and got a Leaf! Mwhahahahahahahahaha – MH]
How do you predict these? You’ve got Malaise-era American heaps, Japanese econoboxes, Art Deco masterpieces, cars with massive dedicated followings, and heaps that nobody remembers. Oh, and Macho Man Randy Savage shows up there, too. In a Venza, of all things!
Even when the same kind of car shows up, it’s never exactly the same. For example, Beetles have come up more than once, but never the same Beetle, and our readers are particular. So when I get a Beetle request, it’s never just a Beetle, it’s a 1971 Super Beetle or a 1960 Beetle:
And yes, I know I forgot the Wolfsburg Crest above the hood handle. Crap.
The upshot of all this is I’m always drawing cars now. And they’re all different, somehow. And there are some of you who want, like Saturns and mid-’90s Buicks and you baffle me but, dammit, I still love you. And I’m happy to do all this, because that means we have more members! And that’s exactly what we want, and if you’re not yet a member, but want a car drawn just for you, along with all kinds of other member benefits, then, friend, you owe it to yourself, become an official, grille-badge-carrying Autopian!
At some point there will be repeats, right? There has to be!
Hey Torch, can I draw YOU something for a change? I’m not as talented as you, but I love this place 🙂
That also goes to Matt, David, Mercedes, Thomas… anyone, even Adrian or The Bishop, they do need a good laugh once in a while, after all!
I was very happy with the drawing of my ’05 Z4, I want to print a bunch of copies and try different paint colors
Guilty (’74 LeMans). But at least I made the best choice.
OMFG LMAO about the Leaf!
Maybe a bunch of us change our requests to point to other people’s requests. Move some of the work to following chains or webs of requests instead of art. Dunno what you do if we create some sort of recursive loop that never points to anyone who actually selected. I guess we all get one you already did, chosen at random.
Well, you already have one Honda City there, but if I upgraded to qualify it would be a City 2 Turbo, so guess that’s still a new one.
I’d be surprised if there was a popular request.
Try to feed what you already have to train an AI in your style and use that maybe? Would be interesting to see how that goes.
I was going to take it easy on you and ask for a Hormiga, but then I went even easier and decided you getting a little break on my birthday by not having to draw one more car was more important to me than the drawing at that time.
Honestly I’m at a bit of a turning point when it comes to my automotive preferences.
Right now I’m car-less as I’m in a place where I can practically get around to everywhere I need to go without a car and the ‘unkillable’ Hilux I have seems to have an incurable case of electrical gremlins that compromise the ability to safely drive it, and I’m still happy to pay velour prices without any benefits other having my Autopian account, y’all’s content is worth it alone imho.
You could always convert any relatively inexpensive simple old manual-transmission small or small-ish car with a decently low mass and CdA to electric.
I recommend the following as donors: VW Karmann Ghia, VW Beetle, VW Squareback, Triumph Spitfire, Triumph GT6, MGB GT, MG Midget, Austin Healey Sprite, Toyota MR2, Toyota Echo, Opel GT, Porsche 914, Subaru Justy, Subaru XT, Subaru 360, Fiat Spyder, Fiat X1/9, Fiat 600, Fiat 850, Alfa Romeo Spyder, Geo Metro, Honda Insight(1st generation), Honda CRX, Saturn SC1, Saturn SC2, Saturn SL1, Saturn SL2, Citroen 2CV, Citroen DS, Citroen SM, Mazda Miata NA or NB, Chevrolet Corvette C5, Datsun 1200, Datsun 240Z…
If you don’t mind getting on the pricier side of things, a Lotus Europa as a donor would be all kinds of interesting. Find one where there’s no functioning engine.
There is a possibility I’d do that and your list seems pretty on point. A BEV Hormiga would be pretty sweet.
The Hormiga’s aerodynamics are really bad though, so your range won’t be so great. Even in the city at low speeds, aero drag still makes a significant difference. It’s also close to 3,000 lbs. Driving around town at 30-35 mph cruising speeds, expect a Hormiga converted to EV to need roughly 300 Wh/mile. That consumption will almost double doing 55 mph on the highway. You will have to size your battery pack accordingly to get your desired range, and do make sure to size it so that your longest drive between charges doesn’t discharge the pack more than 80% if you want to maximize life span.
A VW Trug kit might be a better choice if you need a truck.
If you’re really set on a Hormiga, you need to figure out what you want it to do and pay accordingly for the battery pack you’re going to need. Your $spent/mile-of-range is going to be most heavily influenced by aero drag, followed by mass.
Oh I know it wouldn’t be efficient or go far, I just like it.
Toecutter,
I’m curious about your Subaru list. Iirc, the XT had at the time a very decent cd (.29?). Are you including the Justy & 360 because they’re pretty lightweight? Or is it more about simplicity?
Justy for its AWD, general simplicity, light weight, and copious space for batteries.
The 360 because it would be inexpensive to convert it into a 50 mph capable low-performance city car with a 70-100 mile range(doable for $6k with brand new parts, significantly less with used parts). That 360 is so light that in the city at < 50 mph speeds, it would get about 8-10 miles per kWh, and its small frontal area helps its overall aero drag too. A 10 kWh pack in the 360 is really all you need, and it will weigh close to stock with modern battery tech.
My need for a simple, 2-pedal car becomes increasingly obvious with each year my joints age. You really have me thinking…especially with your various comments underlining how a basic BEV can be built to be not just fast, but fun. Thanks for your evangelism
With a transmission delete and a single speed, you are going to need more continuous horsepower, which will mean a bigger/heavier/more expensive drive system.
However, electric cars don’t need to maintain idle to remain ready to drive. You could operate the car in 2nd gear and keep it there all day around town if that works for you, and it will have zero issue starting out in 4th or 5th gear either. So you’d have 3-pedal car, where you didn’t need to use the third pedal often. Nor would you need to feather the accelerator pedal to use the clutch because the electric motor is never going to stall out on you.
If you do keep a manual transmission, I would recommend against going clutchless. You can do it with an EV conversion, but IMO it creates more problems than it’s worth.
My focus on 2 pedals is prompted by my father buying a cvt model for his final car because of his knee, so this is really good to know. If I might take a bit more of your time, what would you think of converting a Volvo 1800ES? Online I see they’re just over 2600lbs, so I could hopefully keep it to not much over 3k which is about the maximum that I find fun for my style of driving.
I was starting to shop for an ES early this year, then realized that a fully sorted, turn-key example would be tough to find on my barely 5-figure budget. The money vs effort equation looms large for me as I prefer cruising backroads to wrenching nowadays, so it’s important that a project as big as an EV conversion be on a vehicle I am passionate about—not just something future me needs. So I’m thinking rwd and as lightweight as practicable.
I loved my 87 XT 5mt 4wd, but, if I were to have another, I would want to lift it some & go with larger AT tires which is at odds with the ‘lightweight efficient city car for doctor appointments in a decade’ I’m toying with here. The Z3 M roadster I bought instead of an ES has me mainlining the rwd-with-decent-torque koolaid. I’ve never owned anything approaching its balance & capabilities, and I’m loving even having to learn how to drive it properly.
Sorry to run on: I really appreciate your time & the knowledge you share! If I actually pursue this…do you do consulting on the side? 🙂
So, lightweight, rwd, preferably a hatch with a bit of capacity as I won’t have a work van when I retire. And has to be weird/cool enough that I covet it enough to follow through on the conversion.
I couldn’t find drag coefficient data, but I think this would be a good choice. My best educated guess is that this car will require 200-250 Wh/mile on the highway. So if you want a 100 mile range to 80% discharge, you’ll need roughly a 31 kWh battery pack. As such, expect to spend about $15k converting it to EV if you want performance close to or slightly better than stock, $20k if you want a hot rod. This assumes you do all of the labor and design yourself converting the car, aside from having a machinist or mechanic fabricate the coupler, adaptor plate, motor mount, and battery box that you will also have to install yourself, and assumes the donor car is not included in the cost.
These are neat cars, and they appear to be quite slippery by the standards of the time period. The engine in them and its related components are heavy, which will leave a lot of room to fit parts without going over GVWR. If you go with a direct drive system and eliminate the transmission, it will weigh about the same as stock with a 30-ish kWh battery composed of modern Panasonic NCR21700 batteries.
One hand: I’m a brokeish freelance writer who pays for a lot of different media because I understand the hell of job offers that pay in “exposure,” which no matter how hard I try cannot be exchanged for food, gas, or any other physical goods. I have the cheap bastard membership in order to spread my paid media money as far as possible and as such don’t get to demand a drawing.
Other hand: I want an S5 FC RX-7 TII like I had in my early 20s and have been kicking myself for selling since my late 20s. Unlike the S4 1986-1988 FCs, these had color-matched side bumper strips, clear FTP lenses (though I know Torch would’ve preferred the amber S4s), updated wheels, and a factory-available front lip and rear spoiler. I will know if the sketch of a 1980s Mazda that only existed 7 years is pre- or post-facelift.
Whoever asked for the Pontiac Vibe is a legend.
User name checks out.
Now you know how the chefs at the Cheesecake Factory feel. This menu is too expansive.
Not surprising that everyone wants something different and specific. I totally get the Bug thing, because they want their (favorite) car, not just any Bug. Just like someone would be unlikely to ask for a Mustang without saying what year.
I was genuinely impressed and surprised at all the little details on the one he did of my Super Beetle!
Thanks again for my ‘67 Cobra!
This Mark with the turquoise parsh has the best taste.
Can you draw a Toyota ECho Shooting brake? The front end from a 2 door Echo Coupe with the tail of the 3 door hatch? Id be pleased as punch if you can!!!!
I love mine! And I’m glad I have a second car so I can compound the problem for next year! Yaaaaay!!!!
We still want to see them all at some point. When you get to the end of the first year, do a post with every car you have drawn for the past year. The variety of drawings are so great!
My favorites are the ones that clearly show a very idiosyncratic request made of Torch, to make it even more personal.
As in, Adrian, I like your style.
Torch you draw some really decent looking drawings. Well done.
And much safer than battery removal by chainsaw. (yeah never gonna let that one slide amigo.)
Sooo not surprised. It’s wonderful. Jason, your art takes me back to CARtoons, and I think I’m remembering Pete Millar?? And Ed Roth. If you get tired, just offer us a menu. I forgive you in advance.
“Hold on. I love this. One of our members requested “David Tracy’s next purchase” and got a Leaf! Mwhahahahahahahahaha”
That makes so much more sense now! Haha that’s hilarious though. They thought they’d get like a Nash Metropolitan and got a leaf. Speaking of which, what’s up with DT’s Metro?? I was looking forward to all sorts of craziness with that thing.
You mean nobody else has requested a Nissan Homy Super Long? I’m. Shocked.
I thought I read Nissan Horny Super Long and I had many questions.
Me too!
Wait, so no one else’s favorite car is the 1998 Camry V6 with factory spoiler option? Weird.
I had a 98 Camry, “American” version. Mine was an I4, but a part of the American Edition was the spoiler. Gold trim, pinstripes, logos, wood interior trim, and sunroof round out the package. It didn’t suck, but the suspension could have used some work, it was way floaty. I purchased it cheap because we lost a car to accident and we hadn’t built up our car replacement fund from the last loss, and I just wanted something dependable.
I would love for every manufacturer to offer an American Edition of their models: just kit out a car with all manner of dumb things that they assume we yanks enjoy.
I feel this is the Japanese version of like when GM changed the name of the Malibu to the “Classic” for a few years…
Oh man, you reminded me of a weird era from like 1992 to 2005 where it was a factory option for “gold” trim. Not being actual gold of course. The dissonance between seeing gold badges and chrome trim, or all gold trim and chrome badges, or all gold trim and badges but the callout badges were chrome, or all gold trim and chrome wheels…
So many green Camries and Accord Coupes of that era like that.
So nobody requested a 1982 Volvo Turbo wagon? It would be white with buttery leather seats.
The sheer variety in car tastes is extremely wholesome and wonderful. It shows there’s really no one best way to enjoy cars, everyone has their thing and everyone’s different, but somehow we all agree cars are good.
I also like to think of these as everyone’s special interest cars – we may also like the more conventional and mainstream popular cars, but for some reason it’s that one specific malaise lump that makes us irrationally happy, and that’s the one we like the most.
Now I wanna hear from everyone why they chose the car they did…
I chose a blobby ’97 Malibu in 90s beige because that was the car that I learned to drive in and therefore the car that started my journey down the rabbit hole of car enthusiasm. Didn’t have any photos of if so I figured I’d ask Torch to draw one so I don’t forget where I came from.
Cool story and reason, very autopian. Those Malibus were a decent package for what they were, and served their particular niche well – the gets you where you
need to go in a reasonable fashion domestic.
And of course now, they’re striking for their “normal” size and great visibility. Hope yours had the fake wood plastic trim…the last gasp of that particular bit of Americana!
Nice to meet a fellow appreciator of reliable A-B transportation! Indeed, it had the fake wood trim. The visibility sure didn’t help my brother avoid the parking pole that he drove it into on his first day of college, lol. Got a nice fender dent from that adventure.
True to the saying, GM makes things that run poorly longer than others run. I believe it had just over 200k miles on the clock before we finally called it quits. I think it was the transmission that gave out before the DexCool could finish the engine.
Now that I’m reminiscing so much about it, I’m pretty sure that vehicle was running long enough to be covered under the GM ignition switch recall…
I’d totally forgotten about that – GM’s “it’s your own damn fault for putting that rabbit’s foot on it” recall!
When I think of cars as art my mind wanders naturally to coach-built pre-war French cars. The T-150–especially the Figoni—has a swoopy elegance to it that I really admire and thought might be fun/interesting to draw. I also considered a ‘38 Peugeot 402 or a Delehaye 135.
I choose a Volvo 1800es because I wanted another long(ish) roof—was already idly looking for one in Rootbeer because it looks so good on them to my eye.
I have my picture hung with pride in my den.