Beater or Sleeper? GT6 Car of the Week Thread

[JackRyanWMU]

If there's ever a car that has become a classic more for its role as a social symbol rather than for its attributes as a vehicle, it has to be the Volkswagen Sambabus. Had the counter-culture not made an icon of this vehicle during the 60's, it likely would have been quickly ignored and forgotten by the American car-buying public. With the number of V-8 station wagons available at the time for a man who needed to haul family and cargo for a cross country trip, why would anyone opt for this car? Even if you were sufficiently drugged up to ignore the clattering engine note that sounds like an out-of-tune weed-whacker for hours on end, you'd still be struggling to make minimum speed on the newly built Interstate system and probably be holding your friends' pot stash ransom in order to get them to help push your Sambabus up steep mountain passes.



I would've liked this review to segue here to a comparison with an American station wagon, but since there's nary a Ford Country Squire or Buick Sport Wagon to be found in this game, I had to improvise a bit and bring up the '88 Volvo 240 GLT from the COTW archives. This too is a miserable car in every way, but taking it to the Road America circuit, the first lap there easily beat the best times recorded by the Sambabus, to the tune of 3:16.240.



The VW Bus is therefore easily a Beater, a car whose only value is its nostalgia for the old hippie. Pretty much any car we could have possibly gotten this week would have been a massive improvement.....


....except we got a Prius.

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[McClarenDesign]

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[Thomas2012]

Toyota Prius' what a shocking choice! This will be an interesting TT now that I have some time, although not much to set a lap. I'll go get some Fluro Pink and Chrome pink ready.

 

[McClarenDesign]

Oh, yeah... I have an old video of a Prius sitting around somewhere. I bet that @McClarenDesign won"t find it until Thursday.

Challenge Accepted!

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And mine...

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[MidFieldMaven]

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Yes, now I've realized; this tragic car is our steed for Week 100 of COTW... We could've had the world, we could've had a brilliant little star like a 106 S16 or a rocket launcher like a LFA, but instead we got a tree-hugging, mind-numbing antithesis to everything we know and love. Oh well, COTW has been known as a strange bunch of car fellows for a while after all, at least we stayed true to that image.

And who knows, maybe the TC can compensate for the awfulness of its dull brother...

Also, good review, @JackRyanWMU, enjoyed the makeshift wagon comparision with the weapon of choice for Geography teachers. At least that one has charisma and can go sideways relatively well...

 

[McClarenDesign]

I think I'm mostly caught up now...

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[Obelisk]

Challenge Accepted!

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And mine...

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...That was fast.

 

[basswerks1]

Yes, now I've realized; this tragic car is our steed for Week 100 of COTW... We could've had the world, we could've had a brilliant little star like a 106 S16 or a rocket launcher like a LFA, but instead we got a tree-hugging, mind-numbing antithesis to everything we know and love. Oh well, COTW has been known as a strange bunch of car fellows for a while after all, at least we stayed true to that image.

And who knows, maybe the TC can compensate for the awfulness of its dull brother...

Also, good review, @JackRyanWMU, enjoyed the makeshift wagon comparision with the weapon of choice for Geography teachers. At least that one has charisma and can go sideways relatively well...

Lol that's all lol

 

[McClarenDesign]

...That was fast.

No time for love, Dr. Jones.

-A Call To Arms-
I'm currently at about 88k total views on my YouTube channel.

If everyone here can share my vids and get me to 100k before Jan. 1st, I'll host a live Car of the Year show on Twitch or YouTube.

I'd like a few of you to also be award presenters. As with everything we do here, let's have fun with it! But first thing, lets get to 100k!

Who's in?

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

"Be in the black to be ahead of the game"?

View attachment 489190

Where does that put this then?

Damn, @Vic Reign93 , I've seen black holes in space that were a lighter shade of black than your car!

Cheers

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Damn, @Vic Reign93 , I've seen black holes in space that were a lighter shade of black than your car!

Cheers

You folks are clearly thinking wrong here. Painting a Prius TC in black or red defies the purpose behind such a meaningless race car. If I wanted to put things in different words, I could say that you would have to...

(And no, that is not a result of being a lapped driver. Believe it or not, I somehow brought this beat up hunk of eco-junk to 4th place in this exact race. It took some wrestlin' (that front end didn't damage itself, you know), but that was attainable. Mind you, that does not mean that I enjoyed driving the TC during that process; the Subaru BRZ provides you with far more of everything that matters...)

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

Late to the party, I've been very busy recently.

I may have Wednesday off so should be able join this weeks COTW. I've used the Prius numerous times before and actually enjoy it, both stock and tuned.

As for last weeks contender, it was one of my favourite cars I modded on GT5. I gave it a Shelby Series One engine and drivetrain, swapped the chassis out with something else that I don't remember, some Sports Hard tyres and anything else was left stock. It was an amazing amount of fun, sounded great and had nice acceleration, before topping out between 135-145mph. Then I had a dragster version, boasting +1100hp with help from both the turbo AND supercharger that were fitted for the occasion. Posted a video back then, here it is, driven with all aids and ABS off. Wish I could go back to this beauty, I miss her!

 

[Vic Reign93]

I figured that I start with our recent camping trip for this instalment of "A day late and A review short" (Working Title ) and I'll hopefully be able to work backwards to the car I was meant to do awhile ago, the two faced, split personality Nissan Sileighty.

In the mean time, here's the VW Bus.

"Taking Stock Of The Wood"

The VW type 2, the van that alongside the Beetle was embraced by the peace loving hippys of the 60's and early 70's, but unlike the Beetle the VW Bus didn't have the stigma of a car that was originally commissioned by of all people, Adolf Hitler.

The Bus was all about space and comfort, but due to its simplicity, weighed less than 1100kg in game.

However we now come to the elephant in the room, It's 1.2 litre Flat Four making a dizzying 33hp so performance isn't all that great.

Actually that's putting it lightly, I'm pretty sure there's glaciers out there that move quicker than the Bus, we only went over 70mph like 2 or 3 times throughout the night of racing.

It did however show who can be good at keeping the now critical momentum around the tracks as even a 1 mph difference is huge when you're racing the Bus.

Now it would be easy to call it a Beater, but considering it was never ever designed to be sporty, I figure that would be unfair to it.

But it's not anywhere close to being a Sleeper either so I'll consider it a Neutral verdict for me.

Now if it had a bigger and turbod engine like a Subaru Flat Four or a Porsche Flat Six, then it would be a roller coaster ride.

Speaking of Rollercoasters...

@PR1VATEJ0KER is at it again, he's gone and built a track that's even nuttier than Devils Elbow.

I said in my previous write up on Joker's tracks that it had a 700 Meter climb which equated to a elevation difference of 2348.2 ft, a crazy number by GT6's standards.

But feast your eyes on this little number.

No, you aren't still feeling the effects from spending too long in the VW Bus, that does read 22 thousand ft elevation difference and its the result of a 7km hill climb.

It's not immediately apparent as you start the climb, but there comes a point where you'll start to feel your drive wheels starting to slip and you start slowing down rapidly.

My 600PP Esprit with near 800hp AND Nos couldn't climb it completely, but it was fun flying backwards back down at near 300mph.

Not even my fully tuned Veryon with nos can do it either.

But good God is it fun trying to do it.

Credit to Joker for making such a track and its on his and mine community page if you want it and I can't recommend it enough. 👍👍

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

@Niku Driver HC , not sure why you don't think the Prius TC is capable of winning races.

PAINT IT BLACK!!!



Cheers

 

[Niku Driver HC]

@Niku Driver HC , not sure why you don't think the Prius TC is capable of winning races.

PAINT IT BLACK!!!



Cheers

Well, I never said that it couldn't win races, in my fair defense. All you need is a capable driver... unless you've been tweaking your car a little bit on the sidelines.

 

[eran0004]

So, Prius... Well, to begin with, the transmission is amazing from an engineering point of view (epic, as in epicyclic gear!), but it totally kills the joy of driving.

And I'm afraid that's where it ends to me. Amazing engineering, but uninspiring to drive.

 

[McClarenDesign]

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[McClarenDesign]

Very tragic tale.​

 

[Obelisk]

McClaren, try not to double-post, ok? Don"t want the mods getting involved.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Very tragic tale.​

Very tragic, I cried many manly tears for such a sad tale... Never forget the Ted, even if he's dead.

McClaren, try not to double-post, ok? Don"t want the mods getting involved.

The mods cannot do much when there are no new posts between Mclaren's last two posts. Besides, Mclaren himself must already be aware of the AUP rules here, so there is no need for concern.

 

[McClarenDesign]

McClaren, try not to double-post, ok? Don"t want the mods getting involved.

Over an hour between posts, I'm safe.

 

[RacingOtaku86]

Ok, I've raced in COTW's 100th week, and I am proud to say I was part of the milestone. But that's not the only thing I have to say...

First, the Prius G. Oh man, it is NOT what I hoped for. I've never driven the car before in GT6, but I didn't hold much expectation from it. I found myself going off the track a few times because I couldn't gauge how fast I was going in the turns due to the lack of engine revs. The handling was okay but not great, the motor is a little unusual to my liking, I'm running out of constructive things to say about this car, etc. Essentially, it's a lunch box on wheels, and I will not find myself driving it again in game.

But the TC I like more. I was hoping it would have a gearbox, but who are we kidding, eh? Of course the handling would be much better, among everything else with the car. If we had a version of the TC with a full time gas motor in it, I would jump on that faster than the Prius G, but since we have this, I'll return to this one in the future, it has potential.

 

[Cowboy]

Well I only have time to give a short review this week, so here I go.

The Review
by CowboyAce57

The Prius first made its appearance in GT2, but this is the '09 version I'm reviewing, along with the TC. Honestly I don't really care for either of these two, mainly because they're simply just too slow. Sure the TC is a race car version, but that's almost all you can say about it. I did notice @Baron Blitz Red posting the pic of him winning against GT300 cars, so maybe that could be its competition. The Prius G is primarily made for hybrid races. No, not hacked car hybrids, but simple, slow, single gear kind of races. It's not forgotten though, as I come across one as a troll car every once in a great while. That's all I have to say about these two cars, but before I go, I'd like to congratulate everyone who has helped this thread make it to week 100! Always is a pleasant thread to look through, and to have some laughs with the people who make this thread what it is .​

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

I did notice @Baron Blitz Red posting the pic of him winning against GT300 cars, so maybe that could be its competition...​

Although it did fairly well at Deep Forest, it got smoked at Suzuka especially on the home straight. It does surprisingly well on the twisties, but any straight away it faces is a daunting challenge due to its lack of ooomph compared to the GT300's.

One thing that it does rather well, is level the field in one make races. Reaching for the stars like @Vic Reign93 and @Lewis_Hamilton_ seems that much more attainable since it only has one gear. Given enough practice, anyone can be alien-like in cars like these. The Touring Car edition does show off its handling prowess, but it also shows off its failings too. The other hybrid Touring car (the CR-Z) isn't really a good comparison either as it has a normal gearbox. If Nissan had a Leaf TC, then we could have a truer comparison test.

Cheers

 

[McClarenDesign]

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[Niku Driver HC]

Actually, @Baron Blitz Red, the "other hybrid TC car" is the (Honda) CR-Z, not the "CRV". Just clarifying for facts' sake, although you do bring up an interesting point; Honda also has a Premium hybrid sedan in GT6 that lacks a TC model, which is none other than the Prius's rival, the last-gen Honda Insight. Much like the Prius, the Insight is a four-door sedan in its last incarnation, also featuring a CVT transmission. If the Prius could have a TC version, I can't see why PD did not create a similar model in terms of performance using the Insight... The potential is certainly there.

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Actually, @Baron Blitz Red, the "other hybrid TC car" is the (Honda) CR-Z, not the "CRV". Just clarifying for facts' sake, although you do bring up an interesting point; Honda also has a Premium hybrid sedan in GT6 that lacks a TC model, which is none other than the Prius's rival, the last-gen Honda Insight. Much like the Prius, the Insight is a four-door sedan in its last incarnation, also featuring a CVT transmission. If the Prius could have a TC version, I can't see why PD did not create a similar model in terms of performance using the Insight... The potential is certainly there.

Thanks @Niku Driver HC , that's what I get for going by memory and not having the game on or at least fact checking. As history goes however, I'd rather the Leaf to be honest. When we showcased the "Lack of Insight", it stood no chance against the mighty Nissan... at least in the Thunderdome anyways.

Cheers

 

[McClarenDesign]

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After our Car of the Week races on Saturday, I shall attempt all 24 hours of this. If you'd like to join, simply go to Twitch.

 

[Racer283]

After our Car of the Week races on Saturday, I shall attempt all 24 hours of this. If you'd like to join, simply go to Twitch.

Good Luck, hopefully you make it through all 24hrs of the race.