Tekknikal
09-17-2007, 12:57 PM
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/515dc498.jpg" alt="" />
But does it belong?
Time recently released their list of the <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,,1658545,00.html">50 worst cars of all time</a>. Cars made the list for a number of reasons including being dangerous, poorly designed, or impractical among other things. Browsing through the list however, I noticed one car in particular that stood out from the rest. <!--more-->
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/e85ef20f.jpg" alt="" />
The car is the Mosler Consulier. It was built by a man named Warren Mosler back in the 80s. Mosler, a successful economist, banker, and financial trader, had set out to build a car that would compete with some of the fastest in the world at the time, including the likes of Porsche and Ferrari. Like his economic & financial views, his engineering views focused on the basics in a way that seemed unorthodox. The car he built was all composite- fiberglass to be specific. It was powered by a Chrysler 2.2L Turbo engine producing about 190hp. Weight was in the 2200lb range. The car sat two with the engine moutned behind the cabin. The suspension and related components were bolted to forward and rear subframes which were shaped to directly fit into the body. As Time notes, the design worked, and the car was fast. On the track it was able to beat much more powerful cars, even if it had over a hundred fewer horsepower.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/8ce3e831.jpg" alt="" />
It went against what many of the other companies were putting into racing, being that other cars were built by larger companies with other things in mind (for instance others pulled from spare mass production parts). As a result of that and general feelings of dislike, Consuliers that raced had to carry weight penalites before being banned altogether.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/5a7a9da9.jpg" alt="" />
So why did the Consulier make it to Time's list? Because of how it looks. As they put it, "Mosler had thought of everything but a stylist, and the pride and joy of this arch-capitalist looked like something from an East German kit-car company. Truly one of the ugliest cars ever, the Consulier GTP proved once and for all that building a car is harder than it looks."
Harsh words for a car built in the 80s in my view, but I'll let you decide for yourself.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/cbbae117.jpg" alt="" />
Why is any of this significant? Well if you weren't aware, Mosler is a resident of St Croix. He even ran for Delegate to Congress in 2004 and 2006. You may have even seen this car on the roads before, in white. What's more, I've had the opportunity to drive it.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/24e5542d.jpg" alt="" />
I have to admit my reactions after having driven it were oddly mixed. The car did some things very easily: shifting gears was very forgiving. You could miss your shift points by a larger margin and the car wouldn't jerk around. It seemed more forgiving than most cars that I've driven including my G, Honda's S2000, Civics, Sentras, 350Zs, BMW 330ci's, etc. Also, the car felt very soft on the road. Compared to my G when it was stock, the Consulier felt almost lazy. Bumps at the apex of a turn do not seem to impact the car at all. That's good because that can upset the chassis, but it's also disconcerting because the steering had a natural tendency to stay at the angle it was pointed toward. (ie it did not want to return to center very much) That was partly attributed to the alignment settings that were dialed in, but the car also lacks power steering. Regardless, it's definitely different, and in that case- difficult to say 'better'. Having said that though, the car did handle well and felt capable and very well controlled, even if the controls weren't tightly wound to your fingers. It required a fair amount of effort- more so than I expected- but it was capable and did what was asked.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/f8fb07be.jpg" alt="" />
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/cea0d6ed.jpg" alt="" />
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/a4645419.jpg" alt="" />
As far as speed goes, Consuliers have 190hp with about 2200lbs of weight to push. Numbers wise, I read somewhere that it should be able to touch the 13 second range in a quarter mile pass. Stepping out of the G and into the Consulier, I'm not so sure. But it might be possible thanks to the turbo setup. Out of boost, it felt like it had maybe 150hp, thanks to a light body. 150hp isn't that much for a sports car thats supposed to be fast, but with such a low curb weight, it's not a problem. Under boost it starts to pickup speed with a decent pace though, and that's where the you want to be. Not bad for a car built two decades ago, but not so great either.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/0b60dc44.jpg" alt="" />
Then again, horsepower is never the single stat that defines a car. I thought the Consulier to be a good car after driving it, even if I wasn't accustomed to it. Which brings me to back to this list. There are cars on this list that deserve to be there- cars that are dangerous. Cars that are not useful for anything. But this is a car that has A/C, Radio, two seats and a mid engine in a 2200lb body. I have to grant that it probably won't win beauty contests... but if what you want is attention, it'll draw it. And people won't make ugly faces either- they're genuinely curious as to what you have. Many who see it in person are actually, honestly impressed.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/86b52367.jpg" alt="" />
So what you're left with is a car that challenges the notion of weight, construction, and usability: It's light yet fully featured. It's made of fiberglass but strong enough to drive away from crash testing. It's exotic in appearance but made from relatively common and reliable components.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/270e1321.jpg" alt="" />
You can't get away from looks. But looks weren't necessary for it to succeed, which it did. It's aim was never to sell en masse on its looks as others on the list did (Pontiac Aztec). So without having failed at what it set out to do, it's difficult to see how it can be associated with some the other cars on the list.
But does it belong?
Time recently released their list of the <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/completelist/0,,1658545,00.html">50 worst cars of all time</a>. Cars made the list for a number of reasons including being dangerous, poorly designed, or impractical among other things. Browsing through the list however, I noticed one car in particular that stood out from the rest. <!--more-->
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/e85ef20f.jpg" alt="" />
The car is the Mosler Consulier. It was built by a man named Warren Mosler back in the 80s. Mosler, a successful economist, banker, and financial trader, had set out to build a car that would compete with some of the fastest in the world at the time, including the likes of Porsche and Ferrari. Like his economic & financial views, his engineering views focused on the basics in a way that seemed unorthodox. The car he built was all composite- fiberglass to be specific. It was powered by a Chrysler 2.2L Turbo engine producing about 190hp. Weight was in the 2200lb range. The car sat two with the engine moutned behind the cabin. The suspension and related components were bolted to forward and rear subframes which were shaped to directly fit into the body. As Time notes, the design worked, and the car was fast. On the track it was able to beat much more powerful cars, even if it had over a hundred fewer horsepower.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/8ce3e831.jpg" alt="" />
It went against what many of the other companies were putting into racing, being that other cars were built by larger companies with other things in mind (for instance others pulled from spare mass production parts). As a result of that and general feelings of dislike, Consuliers that raced had to carry weight penalites before being banned altogether.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/5a7a9da9.jpg" alt="" />
So why did the Consulier make it to Time's list? Because of how it looks. As they put it, "Mosler had thought of everything but a stylist, and the pride and joy of this arch-capitalist looked like something from an East German kit-car company. Truly one of the ugliest cars ever, the Consulier GTP proved once and for all that building a car is harder than it looks."
Harsh words for a car built in the 80s in my view, but I'll let you decide for yourself.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/cbbae117.jpg" alt="" />
Why is any of this significant? Well if you weren't aware, Mosler is a resident of St Croix. He even ran for Delegate to Congress in 2004 and 2006. You may have even seen this car on the roads before, in white. What's more, I've had the opportunity to drive it.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/24e5542d.jpg" alt="" />
I have to admit my reactions after having driven it were oddly mixed. The car did some things very easily: shifting gears was very forgiving. You could miss your shift points by a larger margin and the car wouldn't jerk around. It seemed more forgiving than most cars that I've driven including my G, Honda's S2000, Civics, Sentras, 350Zs, BMW 330ci's, etc. Also, the car felt very soft on the road. Compared to my G when it was stock, the Consulier felt almost lazy. Bumps at the apex of a turn do not seem to impact the car at all. That's good because that can upset the chassis, but it's also disconcerting because the steering had a natural tendency to stay at the angle it was pointed toward. (ie it did not want to return to center very much) That was partly attributed to the alignment settings that were dialed in, but the car also lacks power steering. Regardless, it's definitely different, and in that case- difficult to say 'better'. Having said that though, the car did handle well and felt capable and very well controlled, even if the controls weren't tightly wound to your fingers. It required a fair amount of effort- more so than I expected- but it was capable and did what was asked.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/f8fb07be.jpg" alt="" />
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/cea0d6ed.jpg" alt="" />
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/a4645419.jpg" alt="" />
As far as speed goes, Consuliers have 190hp with about 2200lbs of weight to push. Numbers wise, I read somewhere that it should be able to touch the 13 second range in a quarter mile pass. Stepping out of the G and into the Consulier, I'm not so sure. But it might be possible thanks to the turbo setup. Out of boost, it felt like it had maybe 150hp, thanks to a light body. 150hp isn't that much for a sports car thats supposed to be fast, but with such a low curb weight, it's not a problem. Under boost it starts to pickup speed with a decent pace though, and that's where the you want to be. Not bad for a car built two decades ago, but not so great either.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/0b60dc44.jpg" alt="" />
Then again, horsepower is never the single stat that defines a car. I thought the Consulier to be a good car after driving it, even if I wasn't accustomed to it. Which brings me to back to this list. There are cars on this list that deserve to be there- cars that are dangerous. Cars that are not useful for anything. But this is a car that has A/C, Radio, two seats and a mid engine in a 2200lb body. I have to grant that it probably won't win beauty contests... but if what you want is attention, it'll draw it. And people won't make ugly faces either- they're genuinely curious as to what you have. Many who see it in person are actually, honestly impressed.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/86b52367.jpg" alt="" />
So what you're left with is a car that challenges the notion of weight, construction, and usability: It's light yet fully featured. It's made of fiberglass but strong enough to drive away from crash testing. It's exotic in appearance but made from relatively common and reliable components.
<img src="http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t193/streetseen/Mosler/Consulier/270e1321.jpg" alt="" />
You can't get away from looks. But looks weren't necessary for it to succeed, which it did. It's aim was never to sell en masse on its looks as others on the list did (Pontiac Aztec). So without having failed at what it set out to do, it's difficult to see how it can be associated with some the other cars on the list.