So, you're looking for a car that's small, easy to drive, fun to drive, and still comfortable, while sipping as little fuel as possible, and keeping a little under the radar so it doesn't get stolen or stopped by every cop for driving just that little bit too fast?
Storm Automotive may have a car for you. We've been bit by the retro bug when we set out working on this car, but we decided, "You know, everyone who does retro is stuck square in the 60's and 70's. Pony cars are cool and all, but they're not practical, small, economical, or all that useful. All they do is go fast and attract cops and thieves. Why not try something a little older, a car from a more interesting era, where a 'wind tunnel' was when the wind blew into the tunnel they blasted through a mountain with dynamite, when cars were swoopy and cool looking because it was easier to roll those shapes than to smash flat steel panels, and when drivers were actually in charge of their cars."
And so the Storm Swift was created.
- Storm Swift.jpg (193.95 KiB) Viewed 4856 times
Under the hood, a nearly-one-liter V6 settles in, making just-about-90 horsepower, while sipping on fuel because of the Direct Injection intake manifold, plus VVL and VVT to squeeze every mile from every gallon.
We kept the size small to keep the weight down, as we know that weight is the enemy of gas mileage. The small size makes parking the Swift a breeze, gives it an awesome turning circle, and guarantees that you can fit it in any garage.
The transmission of choice is a simple 6 speed manual gearbox, giving you the best 'true' feeling of an old car while updating things with modern conveniences, like having useful gear ratios. With power delivered to the proper set of wheels, the Swift even handles properly and feels a bit sporty. Tires shouldn't kill your budget, either, with low wheel-spin (but there is some, so you can actually do a burn-out in this car, should you wish to do so), and 175mm wide tires resting on 15 inch steel rims. Why steel, you may ask? Durability. Just try to gack a rim on a curb, pothole, or a rough gravel road. It'll be nearly impossible. A cheap alloy rim might shatter and then you're waiting for a tow truck. A magnesium rim might hold up, but could suffer some expensive damage if pushed too hard. Steel, however, is nice and cheap, and should you manage to damage one, replacement won't be that expensive.
Brakes are single piston solid discs on all four corners, because we fully believe that drum brakes are obsolete. We wanted to install them for a more authentic driving experience, but decided that it would be for the best to have stopping power instead. However, we feel it's fair to warn you that if you spend any time pushing the limits, there is a tiny bit of brake fade, so do keep that in mind if you choose to go down any mountain roads in this car. However, you do have six gears, and that engine does have a 9000 RPM redline, so engine-braking may be an option to consider.
We've fitted the car with an aerodynamic undertray to minimize drag, which might increase the cost of your average oil change a little, but we feel it's a fair trade when you consider that we're giving you 45 miles per gallon in this car. Without that undertray, well... Let's just say we felt it was worth the extra cost.
- Car -44.png (902.01 KiB) Viewed 4856 times
You'll also be pleased to know we managed to fit a proper standard interior and infotainment package in this car. Now, a minor sticking point, you did ask for 5 seats, but... We couldn't find any place to fit the 5th seat and still have seatbelts, and as much as our technicians wanted to install a rumble seat, it was deemed unsafe, and it'd take up too much of the precious little trunk space we had left. We managed to fit four seats in the car, though, so hopefully that'll be enough. We've also given you a nearly-top-of-the-line safety package, because in such a small car, we understand there's not much room for crumple zones. However, with our Advanced Safety package, you'll be fairly safe should you ever have an accident. You'll be pleased to know that we believe driving aids to be a good thing, so we've fitted the car with power steering, ABS, Traction Control, and Stability assistance. Underneath the radio, you'll find two toggle switches, one which allows you to disable Traction Control, and one which disables Stability Assistance. We know at some point you will do so, even though we don't recommend it, but this saves you digging around in the fusebox looking for which fuses to pull.
Suspension is simple, but effective. MacPherson struts up front and a semi-trailing arm in the back. Again, the engineers wanted to fit the back with leaf springs and a solid axle, but the test car rode so poorly that the decision was made to put something better back there. The springs are standard, which we picked to improve sportiness, and they're fitted with twin-tube dampers to keep the cost down. Passive swaybars decrease the body roll typically associated with old cars. The ride height is high enough that you won't be scraping up the bottom of the car, but we don't recommend trying to drive this like a 4x4, either.
- 2016-02-17_00001.jpg (265.92 KiB) Viewed 4856 times
We think you'll be happy with the price, at $14910, given what you get for that price.
Thu Feb 18, 2016 1:11 am 
i guess we think alike, but just go with what you intended.
