Speculation Sliding door gravity?

[kerplunk]

Sliding doors are great. The parking spots are too narrow here.

I actually like minivans though, they are so functional. The proliferation of poor visibility, kid eating monster rigs with more unassisted blindspots than Daredevil is a net negative in my book.

"But I like to sit taller!" A consumer armsrace supplied by automakers. Eventually, we'll just be driving around in siege towers using every ounce of human ingenuity to keep from tipping over while we jump the curb in the Cheesecake Factory parking lot.

"But it's cool!" At a certain point, the SUV is just an automotive combover. Give it up man, it's over, unpop the collar, the gun show ended 10 years ago. Go home and be a family man.

"But it's safe!" That thought process is wild. When I eventually smash into something I hope it's smaller than I am is not a plan!

I digress, were all friends here. It's cool, some of my best friends are SUVs.

 

[Drendino]

A sliding door will guarantee @hydbob ’s purchase, as it will be reminiscent of his beloved Odyssey.

I actually wouldn’t have a problem with it. It would be a further acknowledgment of what it aims to be, a luxury people mover. There is almost nothing sexy about this segment of the market and function is going to be much more important than form with the soccer mom demographic.

 

[hmp10]

"But it's [an SUV} safe!"

Some years ago a coworker was vacationing with his wife and three kids in a Ford Expedition. His teenage daughter accidentally drove off the edge of the pavement onto a gravel shoulder. The Expedition flipped, killing my coworker and his wife and seriously injuring two of the kids.

A few years before I had rented a Ford Excursion to use while vacationing with a group of friends. It was the most miserable driving experience since learning to drive on my dad's 1954 International Harvester pickup. Many SUVs handle like pigs and have poor stopping distances. I just don't get their appeal, unless you really need to sit higher than the Starbucks order clerk at a take-out window, which is where I see so many of these beasts lined up in the morning with their sole occupants.

 

[quantum]

Some years ago a coworker was vacationing with his wife and three kids in a Ford Expedition. His teenage daughter accidentally drove off the edge of the pavement onto a gravel shoulder. The Expedition flipped, killing my coworker and his wife and seriously injuring two of the kids.

A few years before I had rented a Ford Excursion to use while vacationing with a group of friends. It was the most miserable driving experience since learning to drive on my dad's 1954 International Harvester pickup. Many SUVs handle like pigs and have poor stopping distances. I just don't get their appeal, unless you really need to sit higher than the Starbucks order clerk at a take-out window, which is where I see so many of these beasts lined up in the morning with their sole occupants.

Only reason people buy SUV;'s is you sit higher so you can see above the trucks and vans. More SUV's on the road, more obstruction, more SUV demand. Vicious circle.

 

[xponents]

Some years ago a coworker was vacationing with his wife and three kids in a Ford Expedition. His teenage daughter accidentally drove off the edge of the pavement onto a gravel shoulder. The Expedition flipped, killing my coworker and his wife and seriously injuring two of the kids.

A few years before I had rented a Ford Excursion to use while vacationing with a group of friends. It was the most miserable driving experience since learning to drive on my dad's 1954 International Harvester pickup. Many SUVs handle like pigs and have poor stopping distances. I just don't get their appeal, unless you really need to sit higher than the Starbucks order clerk at a take-out window, which is where I see so many of these beasts lined up in the morning with their sole occupants.

May he rest in peace. What a terrible story..

The excursion(super duty based) is terrible, my neighbors have one. It’s a big boat.

 

[Pete44]

I used to join in the levity aimed at sliding minivan doors from "real car enthusiasts". Then we bought our first Honda Odyssey. They are the most practical rear doors I've ever used. With the 2018 Odyssey (which we now own) finally managing to hide the rail track, they are not even discernible as sliding doors until they open.

With the Gravity being no compact vehicle and more parking spaces now being filled by gargantuan SUVs and pickup trucks the size of dump trucks, they are an eminently convenient way to get in and out of a back seat in today's parking lots. This is even more the case when one considers how long swing-out rear doors have to be to enable third-row ingress/egress on SUVs. We have had more than rear passenger wonder why sliders are so ridiculed after using them.

As no one has spotted sliding doors in the camouflaged Gravity test vehicle photos, I suspect that -- if the Gravity has sliders -- they are not noticeable as such.

I would seriously welcome sliding doors in the Gravity.

Agree 100%. My wife has owned many Odyssey’s (currently has a 2023 and 2019). She would love to move into the electric world and the Gravity would be the only option. We have a lift in the back of the Odyssey which lifts her scooter into the 3rd row area. I realize we are a small segment of the market but would love the option if we could do this in the Gravity.

 

[NewEnglander]

I love sliding doors. Most misunderstood automotive feature ever, they function great, and automatic!

The issue is, will the general public like it? Most people who buy minivans don't want to spend 80k, and when you cross that you get to the SUV crowd. There is a negative stigma around sliding doors due to them being associated with minivans, which I suspect will be bad for sales.

Sorry, respectfully disagree. Most people dislike minivans because of driving dynamics, not sliding doors. Sliding doors are a blessing and there is no dearth of people who would be willing to buy one.

 

[xponents]

Sorry, respectfully disagree. Most people dislike minivans because of driving dynamics, not sliding doors. Sliding doors are a blessing and there is no dearth of people who would be willing to buy one.

Wait, aren’t minivans PRAISED for the dynamics vs similar SUVs (Tahoe, etc)?

I showed my parents that it might have sliding doors, and their immediate reaction was that if true, we would not be immediately reserving like we planned to. For Asian families like mine, image is very important (although I don’t care).

 

[BACamster]

Sorry, respectfully disagree. Most people dislike minivans because of driving dynamics, not sliding doors. Sliding doors are a blessing and there is no dearth of people who would be willing to buy one.

Do you mind explaining what minivan driving dynamics that people dislike? If you say minivans feel numb and lack feedbacks, is that also true for most SUVs?

 

[NewEnglander]

Do you mind explaining what minivan driving dynamics that people dislike? If you say minivans feel numb and lack feedbacks, is that also true for most SUVs?

Most people who do not buy minivans and pick SUVs buy it because SUVs have better driving dynamic. Minivans are not known to be sporty. Infact I hear all the time from many people that then picked an SUV 5 or 7 seater because they wanted a sportier drive. That’s why SUVs sell Lot more than minivans. Minivans are comfortable family haulers, not known for sportier driving. But their sliding door convenience is heavenly. A sporty Galaxy with sliding door is best of both worlds.

 

[NewEnglander]

Wait, aren’t minivans PRAISED for the dynamics vs similar SUVs (Tahoe, etc)?

I showed my parents that it might have sliding doors, and their immediate reaction was that if true, we would not be immediately reserving like we planned to. For Asian families like mine, image is very important (although I don’t care).

Asian family here as well and well aware of the image part. Since when did sliding doors become an image issue?

 

[BACamster]

Asian family here as well and well aware of the image part. Since when did sliding doors become an image issue?

Funny, isn't posh minivans being used as limo in Asia? In the US is all about keeping up with the Smiths and Jones.

Back onto the topic, it would be nice to see a SUV with sliding door especially when there isn't many of these kind of vehicles on the market.

 

[hmp10]

Sorry, respectfully disagree. Most people dislike minivans because of driving dynamics, not sliding doors. Sliding doors are a blessing and there is no dearth of people who would be willing to buy one.

I’ve owned two Odyssey minivans and rented several SUVs. The Honda beats the pants off any SUV I’ve driven in the handling department. A smallish Cayenne might be a different story, but not the likes of Explorers, Tahoes, Armadas and their ilk.

 

[BACamster]

I’ve owned two Odyssey minivans and rented several SUVs. The Honda beats the pants off any SUV I’ve driven in the handling department. A smallish Cayenne might be a different story, but not the likes of Explorers, Tahoes, Armadas and their ilk.

Agreed! Cayenne, X5, X6, Q5, Q7, etc these are more like big/giant hatch back.

 

[xponents]

Funny, isn't posh minivans being used as limo in Asia? In the US is all about keeping up with the Smiths and Jones.

Back onto the topic, it would be nice to see a SUV with sliding door especially when there isn't many of these kind of vehicles on the market.

Oh, I love those. The Lexus LM, toyota alphard, upcoming electric EM90, v class.. but nobody brings them to the us. My family wluld want a 7 seat suv, limo like 2nd row room(maybach and lwb rangie level), electric, and a good cargo space between frunk + regular cargo. If desired, that 2nd row should be able to move forward to have an adult in each of the three rows. So far, it looks like gravity will NAIL all these oddly specific requirements.

 

[xponents]

Funny, isn't posh minivans being used as limo in Asia? In the US is all about keeping up with the Smiths and Jones.

Back onto the topic, it would be nice to see a SUV with sliding door especially when there isn't many of these kind of vehicles on the market.

Not in the US, but toyota just unveiled the century SUV with sliding doors.

 

[xponents]

I’ve owned two Odyssey minivans and rented several SUVs. The Honda beats the pants off any SUV I’ve driven in the handling department. A smallish Cayenne might be a different story, but not the likes of Explorers, Tahoes, Armadas and their ilk.

Essentially, other than a minivan there have been no vehicles with good handling and legitimate third row/cargo space, right?

The gravity should fix that.

 

[BACamster]

Here is a good description how Derek Jenkins of what the Gravity should behave like (starts at the 11:00 minute mark).

 

[Steveinarizona]

Sorry, respectfully disagree. Most people dislike minivans because of driving dynamics, not sliding doors. Sliding doors are a blessing and there is no dearth of people who would be willing to buy one.

I disagree. I think minivans got a "soccer mom" reputation and that turned folks who want performance (or want to pretend that they want performance) off on minivans. There is a tuner in Los Angeles (Bisimoto) who turned a minivan into a minirocket:

The sliding doors just got caught up in the whole soccer mom dynamic.

Steve

 

[hmp10]

As I learned in switching from Audi R8s to my first EV (a Tesla Model S P90D), center of gravity has a huge effect on handling, all other things being equal. (The R8 line really focused on center of gravity, even using dry sump lubrication to drop the engine a few inches deeper into the chassis than an oil pan would allow. Even so, I was shocked at how close the heavier and relatively under-tired Tesla came to my R8s in terms of handling, due largely to its lower center of gravity.) That alone gives minivans a head start in handling over SUVs, which generally ride considerably higher. That is not to say that some particularly well-engineered SUVs (such as Cayennes and some other German offerings) might not out-handle less ambitious minivans, but Honda did a crackerjack job with the Odyssey in the handling and power departments. I have great expectations of Lucid when it comes to the Gravity, whether you want to call it an SUV or a minivan or something altogether novel. Frankly, I think it will be in a category of one when it lands.