Thread: Need your guys help

You guys are oing to make me do a convertible arent you? I really didnt want to do one but I will start looking at those too.

How about something like this:

It is a 1981 Lancia Zagato. Very uncommon so it could stand out and it is a 4 seater. I even know where you could get one for a really good price. It has a convertible over the rear seats and a targa top over the front 2. Being older it would not have all the OBD stuff of a new car unless it had an engine swap but it has the room for something kinda cool.

The second thought would be that I know where you could get a nice 2001 Audi TT Roadster as long as I had something to drive while it was being built...(Plus I am local so MP3could use me for promos when needed.

Originally Posted by HiJackZX1

Also another thing is what if the PC acts up, you wont be able to control the car and make the suspension go back up. I mean I belive in tricking out the car multimedia wise, but control important features like that is a No No, for me.

I think the convertible idea is a good one. You dont have to go with some small 2 seater. You can go with a large convertiable, like maybe a Chrysler Sebring (before they f%^ked up the design). That is large and roomy and open.

Here is an example, although I hate the body kit he has: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3373230

It looks like a very wise idea.
It's something average Joe will surely have in 15 years. Economy wise, its a very good idea on an american car.
It will prove that technology is not only for ubber-dollars but a please everybody will someday be, just that we are already there .

Originally Posted by ARN1382

It looks like a very wise idea.
It's something average Joe will surely have in 15 years. Economy wise, its a very good idea on an american car.
It will prove that technology is not only for ubber-dollars but a please everybody will someday be, just that we are already there .

Exactly, plus you would also show you support for American car companies. Now you don't have to go with Dodge, you have so many to look at. There is the Mustang too. My favorite convertible car is fairly uncommon but I love the Dodge Dart. I was going to buy one when i was younger, but the only one I found had no interior and the motor was really f$&ked up. At that time i didn't have the money or knowledge to fix it.

I like the idea of keeping it american however it has to fit in a spot which eliminates alot of the older ones

Originally Posted by obstacleman

I like the idea of keeping it american however it has to fit in a spot which eliminates alot of the older ones

It is good to eliminate, that's the whole point of this post, getting into a good final choice.

So you guys are saying that a Sebring would be cooler than a van? Below are pics of the two and I cant imagine the convertible would be cooler. I could do so much with a van like a motorized 40" monitor from the ceiling and independent monitors for each seat with there own computer for web surfing or videos. Around here in the midwest these conversion vans are pretty common and you see them everywhere.

I would do a van if you want an over-the-top super tricked out van. Go with the convertible if you want to focus on what a computer install can do.

If you want to show off a car PC, then I think that a lot of the effort here will be in the software rather than the install. You need to be able to do stuff like the guy who can IM with his car and get status updates. Your phone should be able to autostart the car. You should be able to view the car's location on a web map in real-time. You should be able to voice control the car when you are inside it. The car should speak back to you when doing nav or when doing most anything. You should put one of those night vision cameras into the car and integrate it into the system.

In fact, you should have a web page control panel that lets you check in on the car, maybe even streams video from the car to the control panel, lets you Skype from the car, integrates phone functions, controls XM and so forth. Probably the car should have its own facebook page that updates automatically based on what is going on in the car itself. And of course, it should have the MiFi rolling hotspot or your own EVDO version in it.

All this is software stuff (well, except the nightvision camera). But it is different from cramming a bunch of flashy hardware into a van. My guess is that a lot of people who come to SEMA know how to install cool stuff in cars. If you are focused on what is cool about a PC, you're going to have to take a different route to impress people. They've already seen voice control and nav screens in the car. You need something like electronic gauges driven by the PC, a separate screen for dedicated nav, a different screen for system control, probably via network for 2 or 3 PC's running in your car or at your house. All the support stuff for the car like music or video should be on a server that is not in the car but sits off to the side and drives the demo screen. It could be the 'cloud car', pulling all of the data off the net as it drives around.

Pretty much everything you said and more is going in there. I have the system 75% designed and 12 programers already working on my secret stuff. As far as people at SEMA already knowing how to install cool stuff I am not trying to impress them. I have already proven myself in that arena. I am trying to impress the corporate big wigs that may think the software and hardware would work great for there company and then everybody involved gets a fat check. The purpose is to build an over the top vehicle that can show all the things a car pc is useful for. Of course I dont expect them to want everything but if it has a hundred features in and seven of those features they were wanting to introduce in there new product then its a matter of why pay to have R and D done when we already have it ready to go and unlicensed. I dont want the car to be the draw, if I did I would just get a Ferrari or something but thats not the point. I want to create a rolling command center that has every option a sophisticated office and home theater would have. Also, I am stuck owning this car and plan on it going where ever MP3car wants it........I dont want to drive a Sebring or any convertible that far. The problem with a car is its to small to show everything I want but you can take parts and peices of what I build and put them in a car. The trunk of a car would barely hold my cooling tanks............thats right..........cooling tanks. Why? Because I can