Older alt modes

It's been said that the "shiny/new/rare" selection of alt modes is somewhat defeating of the whole theory of "robots in disguise". I mean, if they really wanted to be "robots in disguise" Bumblebee would have been a Honda Civic.

What are some models of cars and trucks that you think would have been more "disguisey" and would like to see, if corporate sponsorships weren't deciding the alt modes?

I never really understood the argument of "new shiny sports car or giant truck = blatantly not blending in". How does "Honda Civic" translate as "totally not an alien robot in disguise" over a concept Camaro? Do people not see slick sports cars around? Are they that rare? Seeing a silver $200,000 Mercedez cruising around is no more or less out-of-the-ordinary than seeing a restored 1980's Ferrari. I don't even live in a fancy part of town, but I probably see half-a-dozen vehicles a week that would be classified as "shiny/new/rare". They transform into vehicles. That right there is enough to warrant the "disguise" title. It's a car. Whether it's a red van or a black pickup truck, it's irrelevant. Who's first thought is that the vehicle is an alien robot (with the exception of characters like Megatron, the Wreckers, The Fallen, Shockwave/Driller, etc.)? I don't call the police ranting and raving about aliens if I see a black SUV. I'd rant and rave if I saw a 25 foot tall robot stepping on a grocery store. That's where the disguise comes in. They take the form of Earth vehicles. A Dodge Charger is an Earth vehicle. So is Ford Mustang. So is a rusty truck. So is a shiny Camaro. It doesn't matter. Trucks are trucks, whether they're white, blue or decked out with flames. Cars are cars, whether they're blue, red or silver.

I will concede that my suspicions would probably be aroused if I saw a flame-decaled semi, a bright yellow Camaro, a silver Solstice, a huge-@$$ Topkick and a Search & Rescue Hummer barreling down the highway together. But really, how is this any different than a red cab-over semi, a yellow VW bug, a white [whatever G1 Wheeljack is], an ambulance and a police car cruising through the desert? Even then, it's not like they scream "WE'RE ALIENS IN DISGUISE!". It's more of "well that's rather peculiar".

Anywho, to play along, if I had to alter their vehicle forms to make them more "mundane", I'd make Barricade a more traditional police car, remove the flames from Optimus, remove Starscream's tattoos, and make Ironhide a smaller pick-up truck.

Originally Posted by The Fanbase Oh, look! It's that thing that I hate and am not looking forward to. I better comment about how I hate it and am not looking forward to it.

Windcharger as a Kia Rio would be the Funniest alt mode

Well. Here a shiny sports car is rare. Maybe not a Porsche. But everything else, you watch them drive by. Most people have station wagons, smaller cars and young people often have cars that are 10 to 20 years old. The people who can afford a sports car are very few.

Even most trucks look like shit


But OK, the story of the movie is in the US and not here, so what do I know

Wheeljack turns into a Lancia Stratos, which IIRC is one of the rarest cars in the world, and to make it even more obvious he was the Rally Racer deco version, which really did not belong in some part of Oregon. Of course, he was also driving around with a LeMans Indy racecar (that was probably NOT street legal), the #4 Porche Rally car, a Japanese Firetruck (Inferno), and a car that can't possibly have realistically existed (unless you can actually find a picture of a Red Alert's alt. mode having existed in real life as the personal response vehicle of a Fire Chief). In comparison, the more modern Autobots are doing a MUCH better job of blending in than the old G1 guys did!

But I do think there is a problem with the Autobots almost always having cool, sportscar alt. modes. Namely in that they are very distinct and recognizable models of car (and even if they aren't the decos usually make up for it I.E. RID Sideburn's flames). Sure, you'll sometimes see a really fancy car on the roads often enough, but the fact it draws your attention is where the problem lies, as the whole point of disguise to avoid attention, not get more of it.

Personally, I think the better choice of alt. modes are more towards the basic consumer vehicles like the average sedan or soccer mom van. Yes, the alt. modes are boring, but that's the entire point. Everybody would notice a Z06 Corvette parked in a parking garage full of typical cars, but replace the Corvette with a dark colored Nissan Integra from the 90's and nobody would give it a second glance. Prime's trend of ground-based vehicle modes is probably a good example; most of them are unique enough JUST to make them slightly stand out from other vehicles, but are otherwise not really all that notable. Even Knock Out, who literally strives to stand out in both forms, looks like nothing more than a street racing version of a smaller sedan type car (I.E. a Nissan 350z or a Honda S2000), and as shown in Speed Metal, there's a very active underground racing circuit in Jasper, Nevada so he manages to blend in even then.

Originally Posted by Violator Autobot Burnout, I don't care what anyone says about you, you're a smart cookie.

Originally Posted by Mechafire Burnout, you are my hero.

Originally Posted by Escargon Nobody can defeat Autobot Burnout. I suggest you give up now.

Pretty much where I was going. If a Transformer needed to blend in where I live, he'd be a minivan or a pickup truck. Maybe a small crossover SUV.

Well, my father, he was a wheel. The first wheel!

his father was probably movie-verse scrounge lol

Originally Posted by seekerblackout I think GreednGluttony may be Squidward.

You know, I noticed that too. All of the vehicles that the Autobots take form are pretty unique and would certainly draw attention. The Dreads might be able to get away with not drawing attention to themselves but pretty much everyone else is just asking to be noticed.

Sideswipe, Red Alert, and Breakdown are all the exact same uber-rare customized version of a Countach---there were only 2 physically like that to start with. Both in Canada.

(Sunstreaker is too, actually, underneath all the chrome engine mods etc) So that's 4 copies of a two-of-a-kind car.

Even among Countaches, that's uber-rare. (it's a very famous type of Countach in Japan, so LOTS of toys/models from there are based on it and not a typical production version)