Originally Posted By skinnerbox After the "should the carousel building be saved?" topic careened off course into discussions about Autopia, it got me thinking about the 10-year contract Chevron signed in 2000 to sponsor DL's Autopia. Now that the contract is up for renewal (unless it's already been renewed for another 5 or 10 years -- does anyone know for sure?), I think it's time for this TL attraction to get a major refresh. While I haven't personally been to HKDL, I know of several people who have, who have nothing but high praise for their Honda sponsored electric cars version of Autopia. I've seen the photos of the "other world" landscaping, and feel it's a perfect fit for TL. Does anyone else besides me think Disney should be picking up Honda as the new DL Autopia sponsor, and revamp Anaheim's attraction into what HKDL currently has? Ditching the smelly, noisy petrol engines in favor of the quieter, cleaner electric cars with onboard audio? I think this one is a no-brainer. There's nothing "futuristic" about petrol powered automobiles.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 Bean once posted about the idea of redoing Autopia with a show stop building along the track with some sort of AA scene inside. The fact they should have already gone electric goes without saying, and I love the way the HK track looks at night with all the neon, so yeah... it could use some sprucing up. - Anatole
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <a href="http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/09%20Autopia.jpg" target="_blank">http://land.allears.net/blogs/...opia.jpg</a> Looks pretty cool. I agree, if you're going to keep it where it is, move to electric and install some interesting landscaping. As a compromise, they could also halve its length and create something new on what remains. Kids happily went on the autopia for decades when it was just the TL autopia or FaL autopia, as opposed to the combined track they have now. The only kids who would be disappointed at the shorter length will "age out" of it soon enough, and the new crop of kids will never know the difference.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 I remember Bean posted a link over where the track went and some of it goes over the Sub show building, so I don't think you can put a big show building on top of that area without expensive retrofitting. I believe that was the argument before, but I could be wrong. - Anatole
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Some of it does go over the sub building, but not all. That's part of the reason I suggest a compromise (i.e. a shorter autopia, like existed for most of the park's history) might work.
Originally Posted By believe >>>>>>>>> it got me thinking about the 10-year contract Chevron signed in 2000 to sponsor DL's Autopia. <<<<<<<<<<<<< You kidding me, has it been 10 years already?!?!? Where has the time gone?
Originally Posted By Bellella YES! YES! YES! The Autopia cars must go all electric! I can't tell you how sick I am of driving those cars and being directly exposed to noxious carbon monoxide fumes. I hate it! I would love and enjoy the DL Autopia so much more if I could breathe good, clean air while I drive. I bet the air quality around the ride hasn't been decent since before opening day. And an electric Autopia would be a wonderful tie-in to Tomorrowland's overall futuristic theme. About time they started paying more attention to that. The landscaping of the DL Autopia is fine the way it is, and so is the track. So long Chevron with your gas-powered cars, and good riddance.
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance You know what bugs me about the Autopia cars? I hate how when you take your foot off the gas, they kind of "shut down". It always puts me in a kind of panic. I picture not being able to restart the thing then having 30 people piled up behind me all getting angry and yelling and screaming derogatory slurs at me. Then I have to flag down a CM to come over and get my car restarted. Sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat at night worrying about it.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< The fact they should have already gone electric goes without saying >>> Funny thing that it hasn't happened during the 10-year sponsorship by an oil company, eh?
Originally Posted By believe >>>>>You know what bugs me about the Autopia cars? I hate how when you take your foot off the gas, they kind of "shut down". <<<<< You would hate the Toyota Prius then. It does a similar thing.. When Disney redesigned the Autopia, they made them "clean". That included the "no-idle" mode.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "You would hate the Toyota Prius then. It does a similar thing.." But just put your foot on the break and it will start right back up for you! : )
Originally Posted By Dabob2 My last rental car was a Prius. Weird at first, but it's amazing how fast you get used to it.
Originally Posted By happilyeverafter06 I was talking about this with my husband. It seems like DL is really going green these days and those cars are WAY bad for the environment!
Originally Posted By mousermerf <<<It always puts me in a kind of panic.>>> I've stalled out, near the top of one of the hills, and ended up rolling backwards down the hill. Not fun.
Originally Posted By Bellella They've done great with the LED lights around the place. But now they need to make a BIG change- with Autopia.
