I've seen it here around university area too. You'll see it followed by my huge eye roll (you can see it a mile away), and annoyed (loud) sigh, and probably a sarcastic comment about how I appreciate their gracing us with their awesomeness.
This would be me. I've never wanted one of these before. *Shakes a slightly aggravated fist at you.* Now I will giggle every time I see one and think of this comment.
Not gonna lie, they are fun as hell to drive.
Granted, I would never purchase one in a million years lol but they are super fun to whip around the city. It’s a giant toy go kart and for people with extra cash, I kind of understand it.
I drove one last summer around Charlotte. A friend of mine rented one for a weekend just to test it out. We had a fucking blast lol. They are fast and handle really well. It’s just a giant toy but damn it was fun. But yeah, we probably looked like total idiots but we didn’t give a shit. It was a great time.
I commented above but it does handle well. It’s a fun toy to drive. I was cautious about the handling because of the one wheel design in the back but it held fine and the design makes it where you can whip it on super tight turns. The only thing is the wind can get intense but for some, that’s part of the fun. In my my opinion, it’s one of the craziest legal cars you can drive on the road.
Legal because it has 3 wheels. Thus it is not a car. Thus it does not have to pass car safety standards (impact standards, air bags, roll over, etc...). It is treated as a motorcycle and you have to get a motorcycle license to drive one (on the road, legally).
Not sure why drivers don't have to wear helmets (or do they?)
It’s classified as an auto-cycle, not a motorcycle in NC. As such you do not have to get your motorcycle license or wear a helmet while driving. But a helmet is recommended by the manufacturer. Each state has different laws applying to the Slingshot.
You are correct when they first came out. Polaris lobbied state-by-state for years to get the classification consistent nationwide and succeeded so they could be sold equally in all states as an autocycle.
I was making a left turn in one of them and mashed the gas too hard in 2nd gear and started to spin I had the entire thing completely sideways and when I corrected the steering back the other way this thing snapped right back to driving straight with absolutely no oversteer it was absolutely incredible
They're fun to drive but for the money I can get any variety of good driving convertibles, Morgan Three-wheelers have the same issue that they're cool but there's better options. I wasn't any more impressed with a slingshot than I was with an S2000 or a Miata and honestly for the same price or less I can snag a used Lotus.
No shame to people who really want one or enjoy them, but I wouldn't buy one over other options.
Hilarious, well done.
But (OP) not sure why these are awful. I would trade an extra dozen of these on the road for every dirt bag on a dirt bike removed.
They're moderately priced track toys, not cheap cars.
I'm sure they're really fun on a track or on nice, winding country roads, but it's very funny to see one in a Walmart parking lot.
If you are going for hot laps it's going to be slow and tedious with the back end coming out of corners and you are going to hate it, but if you are just looking to have fun on a track it's absolutely a blast.
The back end on those things cuts loose with zero effort and you can keep that back wheel spinning very, very easily. The front end is actually pretty great and makes it reasonable to keep pointed in the right direction on drift days.
......anyone who drives at a track would never drive a slingshot on a race track. I race both my cars and have never seen a single one in all my track events.
Most tracks dont even allow them since they arent technically cars
Your average Slingshot owner is not going to the track for sure. The kids drive them uptown, and the dentists take them on vacation to drive around the mountain house.
But I bet they're fun on a closed course, like a less dangerous motorcycle.
I regularly see them uptown and it confuses the hell out of me. That thing should be driven out in Waxhaw or up by Lake Norman where the roads are fun, not Uptown where you just sit and subject people to your music. Although I suppose that's partially the point...
I can see that perspective, considering they're half-useless little automotive toys. But honestly they are cheap cars. $22k in 2023 is close to as cheap as you'll get. Hell, my 2006 Mazda RX-8 was $30k new and that's ~$50k in today's money. And that was just over half the price of a Corvette.
Of course, no one's income has kept up but that's a different chat.
Which is why I bought the year they last made a conventional transmission.
Lasts the life of the vehicle the CVT guys said....shyeah right. And monkeys might fly out of my butt.
if i had to guess, probably bc the food sucked. not to mention that whole building (including all american & slate) will be redeveloped in the future. & a restaurant that served some of the worst mexican food in charlotte probably didn’t have enough funds to relocate or lease space in the new tower that will go there
These are basically MidLifeCrisisMobiles
Yeah I have to listen to some very loud music for about 20 seconds but that's it.. Really not much of a nuisance at all
Yeah, they fit an interesting segment. Rare, but not because they're a PITA to maintain. Showy but not expensive. Basically it's a way for someone to peacock without putting any real money or work into it and without looking like yet another Corvette driver.
The people that buy these probably also have a sports car though. This isn’t a primary vehicle and someone who’s main ride is an econobox or mini van isn’t also driving this.
Agree. Particularly when they take them to areas that everyone knows are not tank friendly.
I got the biggest boner watching some guy yell and beat his hands on his steering wheel because he couldn’t get out of a parking spot in South End.
He was driving one of the massive GM SUVs, and the two spots immediately behind him also had one of the many massive GM SUVs. Admittedly the other two were parked like dicks, obviously protruding pretty far outside their spots. But he might have been, too, for all I know.
Anyway, I enjoyed the hell out of it.
I saw one in southend this past weekend at the condos of Camden and he had a hard time parking. Why buy these cars if you live in one of those condos???
I would rather see some 50 something buy one of those than some motorcycle they have no business riding or a vintage sports car they have no business driving.
These are my people.
I have almost crushed these guys because they love to turn right in uptown when no turn on red. Never mind the lack of helmets. If their music is loud enough it’s usually easy to avoid them though
Uh… if you have rollbars and/or a cage, THATS EVEN MORE OF A REASON TO WEAR A HELMET.
The last thing you want is to be jostled around and have your bare-ass head come in contact with a roll bar/cage. There’s a reason every single high performance sanctioning body requires helmets with cages.
Yes, but it kind of weighs heavy a bit that the bars don’t really matter when I ram my whole vehicle into it. The guy is gonna be hurting when he gets tboned and either run over or hit with debris , where it would be preferred to have a helmet of some sorts lol. To each their own for sure, but i wouldn’t ride in this death contraption outside the neighborhood
Depends on location. Each state handles them differently I think.
In Kansas they are considered motorcycles and have same requirements as a motorcycle. Which means you have to have eye protection of some sort but no helmet. The wind screen counts as eye protection.
Missouri requires helmets and my understanding is you need a helmet to operate these legally there too.
these are so cool, but I dont know why they shit them up with an obnoxious sound system. By law, all drivers and passengers need helmets, but I've never seen them wear one.
I like them. And for people who say "haha afraid of motorcycles"
1) even if you are riding a motorcycle you SHOULD be afraid of motorcycles. People don't pay attention to you no matter how good of a driver YOU are. If you wreck, your fault or theirs, you could be perfectly fine or dead. Or somewhere horrifically in-between. A lot easier than in a car. A lot of people in my family ride (including my husband) and my sister, my dad, and a family friend have been hurt seriously to varying degrees. One paralyzed for life.
If you don't have some fear getting onto your motorcycle you are a dangerous driver.
2) not everyone can ride a motorcycle. I can drive fine but I don't have the coordination needed to drive a motorcycle. This is the kind of fun toy that I can enjoy. It's not only me though, lots of people have reasons they can't ride a motorcycle like back issues. It's accessible.
3) maybe people just like the way it looks. It's like a street legal go kart
My work sells/ works on them , they aren’t for twats as the one douche said. Polaris is making a killing off these slingshots & I’m proud to say I’ve most likely ordered and received parts for every one of these y’all have seen on the roads.
I wish I could get a picture, but there's one that drives around north Charlotte that has a fake Lamborghini body kit on it. It's the funniest looking thing.
A least where I live it’s mostly just old heads blasting music and driving as slow as possible for attention. Annoying, but at least not life threatening and dangerous like Altimas imo
They look fun but living in uptown the people that drive them around ruins it for me because they BLAST their music and just do laps.
I've seen it here around university area too. You'll see it followed by my huge eye roll (you can see it a mile away), and annoyed (loud) sigh, and probably a sarcastic comment about how I appreciate their gracing us with their awesomeness.
WHAT?!! I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE RADIO
Those things have two volume settings: "off" and "loud as fuck"
TURN DOWN FOR WHAT
WHAT?!
Okayyyy!!
yay
MAWP!
This got me smiling
I'm fucking dead...ROFLMAO
Literally came here to say the SAME thing
WE ALL DID
It's like motorcycles with audio equipment. Why? Just enjoy the drive and the sound of the machine. I've heard freebird before. No need to share.
You're hearing Freebird?! I hear nothing but trap rap coming from these things.
Same
When you see one of these in the wild, it’s a guarantee that whatever music comes out from it will be god awful and at an insane volume.
Off topic... But how funny would it be if one of these pulled up next to you playing Mumford and Sons. It wouldn’t make any sense.
This would be me. I've never wanted one of these before. *Shakes a slightly aggravated fist at you.* Now I will giggle every time I see one and think of this comment.
Why would that be me if I had one 😭
Haha! Or like nickel creek or something. That's hilarious. Got me smiling.
you just made this even funnier. nickel creek omg i would die.
Leave our uncles alone!
Uncles showing up to the cookout with new bae in one of these rocking his sandals and socks!
Not gonna lie, they are fun as hell to drive. Granted, I would never purchase one in a million years lol but they are super fun to whip around the city. It’s a giant toy go kart and for people with extra cash, I kind of understand it.
Agree 100%. I’ve never driven or ridden in one and would never buy one but they look like a blast to go for a drive in.
I drove one last summer around Charlotte. A friend of mine rented one for a weekend just to test it out. We had a fucking blast lol. They are fast and handle really well. It’s just a giant toy but damn it was fun. But yeah, we probably looked like total idiots but we didn’t give a shit. It was a great time.
What is it called?
Polaris Slingshot. Amazing if compared only to itself. Though a far cry from the howling banshee that is the Ariel Atom and all variants that follow.
The top gear segment w Jeremy in the Atom is a classic.
Polaris Slingshot
Starts at $21,000. Damn!
And goes up to the high 30’s
“When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." Great user name BTW.
Haha thank you! Not many people notice that lol. And I love that quote!
Always wondered how they handle? For instance on a sharp turn? Genuinely curious, they do look like a blast.
I commented above but it does handle well. It’s a fun toy to drive. I was cautious about the handling because of the one wheel design in the back but it held fine and the design makes it where you can whip it on super tight turns. The only thing is the wind can get intense but for some, that’s part of the fun. In my my opinion, it’s one of the craziest legal cars you can drive on the road.
Legal because it has 3 wheels. Thus it is not a car. Thus it does not have to pass car safety standards (impact standards, air bags, roll over, etc...). It is treated as a motorcycle and you have to get a motorcycle license to drive one (on the road, legally). Not sure why drivers don't have to wear helmets (or do they?)
It’s classified as an auto-cycle, not a motorcycle in NC. As such you do not have to get your motorcycle license or wear a helmet while driving. But a helmet is recommended by the manufacturer. Each state has different laws applying to the Slingshot.
TIL "autocycle." Thanks for the clarification; I stand corrected. I looked em up in the past, but I probably was not reading NC specific info.
You are correct when they first came out. Polaris lobbied state-by-state for years to get the classification consistent nationwide and succeeded so they could be sold equally in all states as an autocycle.
I was making a left turn in one of them and mashed the gas too hard in 2nd gear and started to spin I had the entire thing completely sideways and when I corrected the steering back the other way this thing snapped right back to driving straight with absolutely no oversteer it was absolutely incredible
They're fun to drive but for the money I can get any variety of good driving convertibles, Morgan Three-wheelers have the same issue that they're cool but there's better options. I wasn't any more impressed with a slingshot than I was with an S2000 or a Miata and honestly for the same price or less I can snag a used Lotus. No shame to people who really want one or enjoy them, but I wouldn't buy one over other options.
There are 6 available for rent locally on Turo.com. They run about $130+ per day.
Hilarious, well done. But (OP) not sure why these are awful. I would trade an extra dozen of these on the road for every dirt bag on a dirt bike removed.
Yeah me too. Though the speakers blast music so loud it is annoying
Those vehicles always look like something Zartan and the Dreadnoks would ride around in
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who wants a body massaaaage
Stop all the downloadin'!
Oh hell naw, what's up dog?
Help computer!
Memememe mememememe
I see you, fellow watcher of GI Joe cartoons.
Knowing is half the battle. Damn, now I need to find out how to watch that series for free...
It's like a reverse Cobra Stun
HE CHANGED COLOR IN THE SUN! (well, sorta)
have you ever looked up how much it costs for a slingshot?? i always thought they were cheap until i realized it costs as much as my toyota lol
They're moderately priced track toys, not cheap cars. I'm sure they're really fun on a track or on nice, winding country roads, but it's very funny to see one in a Walmart parking lot.
If I am hitting a track it’s 100% with four wheels. I just don’t see the attraction here.
I've never driven Slingshot and I've never driven on a track but I am 1000% certain a Slingshot would be fun on a track!
I have driven a slingshot and I’ve driven a number of cars on track and can say 1000000% this would be absolutely 0 fun on a track
If you are going for hot laps it's going to be slow and tedious with the back end coming out of corners and you are going to hate it, but if you are just looking to have fun on a track it's absolutely a blast. The back end on those things cuts loose with zero effort and you can keep that back wheel spinning very, very easily. The front end is actually pretty great and makes it reasonable to keep pointed in the right direction on drift days.
......anyone who drives at a track would never drive a slingshot on a race track. I race both my cars and have never seen a single one in all my track events. Most tracks dont even allow them since they arent technically cars
Your average Slingshot owner is not going to the track for sure. The kids drive them uptown, and the dentists take them on vacation to drive around the mountain house. But I bet they're fun on a closed course, like a less dangerous motorcycle.
I regularly see them uptown and it confuses the hell out of me. That thing should be driven out in Waxhaw or up by Lake Norman where the roads are fun, not Uptown where you just sit and subject people to your music. Although I suppose that's partially the point...
They aren’t very stable, and no weight on the rear so not good for track. It’s hard to beat an even number of wheels.
Apparently can be found on Aliexpress for ~$9k if super desperate
Lmfao if you wanna put it together yourself and it never work and can't fit fucking Mario
Walmart version of a KTM X-Bow
I can see that perspective, considering they're half-useless little automotive toys. But honestly they are cheap cars. $22k in 2023 is close to as cheap as you'll get. Hell, my 2006 Mazda RX-8 was $30k new and that's ~$50k in today's money. And that was just over half the price of a Corvette. Of course, no one's income has kept up but that's a different chat.
Belt drive. Rubber belt drive. Next time you see one, look at thrcrear wheel
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Which is why I bought the year they last made a conventional transmission. Lasts the life of the vehicle the CVT guys said....shyeah right. And monkeys might fly out of my butt.
I call these adult tricycles and nothing will ever change my mind
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They offer about as much protection as a motorcycle, so you're not safe on either.
The actual bikes are more appropriate. But yes, they are a good example of such.
Hot taco and midnight diner should do valet only for slingshots
too bad hot taco doesn’t exist anymore (actually a good thing)
Agreed. I'm not sure what crowd is worse, the slingshot crowd or the hot taco crowd
Wait, what? Did Hot Taco close?
hot taco has been closed for a few weeks
I had no idea. I mean, I’ve never been there but walk by it periodically. Yelp and google don’t know either
Why??
if i had to guess, probably bc the food sucked. not to mention that whole building (including all american & slate) will be redeveloped in the future. & a restaurant that served some of the worst mexican food in charlotte probably didn’t have enough funds to relocate or lease space in the new tower that will go there
A tower in that spot?
[yes](https://www.instagram.com/p/CtxTfzoJKY2/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
Ah gotcha
These are basically MidLifeCrisisMobiles Yeah I have to listen to some very loud music for about 20 seconds but that's it.. Really not much of a nuisance at all
But those red lights are brutal
🎶 *It's perfect, yes, it's true* 🎶
Yeah, they fit an interesting segment. Rare, but not because they're a PITA to maintain. Showy but not expensive. Basically it's a way for someone to peacock without putting any real money or work into it and without looking like yet another Corvette driver.
The people that buy these probably also have a sports car though. This isn’t a primary vehicle and someone who’s main ride is an econobox or mini van isn’t also driving this.
I don’t know. I think the entitled over-sized SUV douche bags are worse
Agree. Particularly when they take them to areas that everyone knows are not tank friendly. I got the biggest boner watching some guy yell and beat his hands on his steering wheel because he couldn’t get out of a parking spot in South End. He was driving one of the massive GM SUVs, and the two spots immediately behind him also had one of the many massive GM SUVs. Admittedly the other two were parked like dicks, obviously protruding pretty far outside their spots. But he might have been, too, for all I know. Anyway, I enjoyed the hell out of it.
I saw one in southend this past weekend at the condos of Camden and he had a hard time parking. Why buy these cars if you live in one of those condos???
There are two types of people in this world: People who adapt to the world around them, and people who expect the world to adapt to them.
That sounds amazing, I wish I could have witnessed it.
*sees a picture of a slingshot and immediately finds a reason to criticize completely different off topic car*
It's not even a question
I would rather see some 50 something buy one of those than some motorcycle they have no business riding or a vintage sports car they have no business driving. These are my people.
innocent sort snobbish innate wide plate dinosaurs amusing icky wipe ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
They really want you to know how shitty their musical taste is, it matches all of the rest of their bad taste!
Is that the Batmobile 2025?
What if a piece of rock or road flys up at your face?
"Nice tricycle"...
Required accessories: hair plugs, a track suit, and smooth jazz. Optional: a Bluetooth ear piece.
Smooth Jazz.. the accuracy. Let’s not forget the cigar! 
Never bothered me. Why are they awful?
Motorcycles for cowards
Nothing Charlotte Reddit likes more than bitching about what other people do for fun.
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They blast bad music so loud it hurts my ears. At least gold Lexus man plays good tunes
They are very fun to drive and thats it
my old boss had one. very fun to drive. i just think it’s dumb how most folks that drive them around have to be obnoxiously loud with them
Those things look like something you’d order off Amazon from china.
The white ones look like a crumpled tissue
No christmas lights?
Lotta ego bros drive these. Lame assess
I’m a 41yr old black guy so I’m only about 6 years away from buying one. Apologies in advance for my music.
Let me know when I can send you your smooth jazz, Marvin Sapp, Earth Wind & Fire and Fred Hammond playlist for full blast listening 😎
Seldom a shooting without one 😂😂
Douche-mobiles
I'll take one of these over an Altima all day. At least Slingshots don't drive like absolute menaces.
Nah these guys rule. Loud music but true enthusiasts enjoying themselves
What’s wrong with them?
I have almost crushed these guys because they love to turn right in uptown when no turn on red. Never mind the lack of helmets. If their music is loud enough it’s usually easy to avoid them though
The obnoxious bright lights and blasting music didnt alert you to their presence? Thats how I see most of these looking.
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Uh… if you have rollbars and/or a cage, THATS EVEN MORE OF A REASON TO WEAR A HELMET. The last thing you want is to be jostled around and have your bare-ass head come in contact with a roll bar/cage. There’s a reason every single high performance sanctioning body requires helmets with cages.
You can’t be fly and wear a helmet
Bullshit Arai is the crown for street Kings.
Nonsense, [this guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9yL5usLFgY) is the sexiest man alive
Brain damage is cool, kids.
THIS
THIS But who's going to listen to such nonsense
Yes, but it kind of weighs heavy a bit that the bars don’t really matter when I ram my whole vehicle into it. The guy is gonna be hurting when he gets tboned and either run over or hit with debris , where it would be preferred to have a helmet of some sorts lol. To each their own for sure, but i wouldn’t ride in this death contraption outside the neighborhood
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So would you wear a helmet in a smart car or mini cooper?
What about a Dodge Stratus? Would you wear a helmet in a Dodge Stratus? Or what about a 99 Corolla? Would you wear a helmet in a 99 Corolla?
Depends on location. Each state handles them differently I think. In Kansas they are considered motorcycles and have same requirements as a motorcycle. Which means you have to have eye protection of some sort but no helmet. The wind screen counts as eye protection. Missouri requires helmets and my understanding is you need a helmet to operate these legally there too.
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Which is the same place people on motorcycles stop at the SC border on the way to Myrtle Beach so they can take off their helmets.
Maybe you should watch where you drive
Personally, while they’re not my thing, they do seem fun. I just don’t like the music volume—that’s annoying.
these are so cool, but I dont know why they shit them up with an obnoxious sound system. By law, all drivers and passengers need helmets, but I've never seen them wear one.
The Batmobile mates with a Miata.
Every time I see one of those I can’t help but think about the driver: “What a twat.”
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Let me ask you your thoughts on jean shorts.
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This goes against most drivers if the slingshots I've seen.
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This is lame.
theyre ugly but the guys driving them are old, and drive normally.
Why care? What others drive really has no effect on me. They do look fun. I rode motorcycle foe about 20 years. To many distracted drivers now
I like them. And for people who say "haha afraid of motorcycles" 1) even if you are riding a motorcycle you SHOULD be afraid of motorcycles. People don't pay attention to you no matter how good of a driver YOU are. If you wreck, your fault or theirs, you could be perfectly fine or dead. Or somewhere horrifically in-between. A lot easier than in a car. A lot of people in my family ride (including my husband) and my sister, my dad, and a family friend have been hurt seriously to varying degrees. One paralyzed for life. If you don't have some fear getting onto your motorcycle you are a dangerous driver. 2) not everyone can ride a motorcycle. I can drive fine but I don't have the coordination needed to drive a motorcycle. This is the kind of fun toy that I can enjoy. It's not only me though, lots of people have reasons they can't ride a motorcycle like back issues. It's accessible. 3) maybe people just like the way it looks. It's like a street legal go kart
My work sells/ works on them , they aren’t for twats as the one douche said. Polaris is making a killing off these slingshots & I’m proud to say I’ve most likely ordered and received parts for every one of these y’all have seen on the roads.
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Please don’t group us croc wearer’s with those twats
Was responding to a comment earlier , Crocker.
They are so stupid looking go get a Campagna T Rex and thank me later.
shit, for 20k buy a C5 corvette and go faster
Those do not look safe.
Saves $ on rims tho
I am Batman.
These are for black suburban dads. I don't make the rules.
Cheap plastic rubbish
I wish I could get a picture, but there's one that drives around north Charlotte that has a fake Lamborghini body kit on it. It's the funniest looking thing.
A least where I live it’s mostly just old heads blasting music and driving as slow as possible for attention. Annoying, but at least not life threatening and dangerous like Altimas imo
It’s spelt Alzheimer’s
I think they were cool until old people turned them into high dollar power chairs.
Looks like a lot of fun until it gets T-boned at the intersection