Modern Vespa

I can't figure it out. Looks real. But then again, the Transformers movie looked real too!

The fun starts at 0:40.

It's real. I saw one at a car show over a year ago.

I wonder how much more weight it adds to the vehicle?

While I can see the appeal of a disappearing door, it wouldn't be much fun in a snow storm.

Very much a "who needs it?" gizmo for folks who are intrigued by gizmos, like to drive oversized, overweight cars (and don't care if they make them even more overweight), and who have too much money.

It's no doubt for real, but only workable on a limited range of cars.

Can you imagine if you opened that door just as a snow plow came buy? LOL

Very clever Mr. Bond, but it won't save you THIS time!

I keep imagining being trapped in the vehicle if the motors controlling the door burn out. Or in a side-impact situation how stable the door is. If it folds inward on the horizontal, then that's a potential failure point in a side-impact. Or, God forbid, you develop a short circuit which causes the motor to engage automatically...

More info here:

http://www.disappearing-car-door.com/

hahahahaha....I was thinking, "Shoot, I'd love to have that kind of car door. What could go wrong?", then you made your list. Very good.

Of course, there must be a manual release as well, yes?

But the idea of that door coming down at speed...hilarious and terrifying (but probably really unlikely. I would think that there would be half a dozen safety measures to prevent such a thing, that one motor wouldn't trump)

Still, you made me larf.

Saw these a while ago. Custom made retro-fit designs, really. They really ought to have made them on something other than a Mark VIII. Hellooooo 1990s!

Awesome!!! I love that stuff - but how long before there is a line in a manual saying modifying the structure of your vehicle may affect the intended support in the event of an incident? (Think pet container - same logic)

I'd guess there's going to be a lawsuit because - 'You didn't tell me it was unsafe/hot/sharp/cold/high/low'


Much like the late 80's BMW Z1



Kaiser Darrin from the 50's


Or Hispano Suiza from 1938



Nothing is new.

Heh... manufacturers gave up on pop-up headlights a long time ago because they were a pain in the ass reliability-wise. I can't imagine that far more complex retracting doors involving much heavier hardware could possibly be any more reliable. So yeah, it's probably a good thing that this never caught on.

That said, and aside from the fact that I generally don't care for big American cars that have been produced during the last 50 years, I've always actually liked the styling of the Lincoln Mark VIII actually. I think it's particularly sleek, especially when equipped with these wheels:

Now those are some droolworthy vehicles right there!

I still remember the first time I saw a Kaiser Darrin at the first Hershey car show I went to when I was a kid, and I was fascinated by those hideaway doors. Strange, but gorgeous!