HCOTY 2016: The Votes Are In

hcoty-vote_edited-1
The time has come, my friends, to declare a victor in the 2016 Hooniversal Car of the Year proceedings. And it isn’t even a car. Or running. Or finished. It may not be any of those things, but it certainly is awesome, and as voted by the fans, deserving of the victory, and by extension, the much-vaunted and highly coveted participation ribbon.
As with most votes in 2016, this one held a major upset that the vote organizers could never have predicted, and even the nominee was almost not nominated without a little cajoling from Jeff and a bit from me. Did anyone expect it to win? Not really, not even our resident Motorcycle Maven Tanshanomi. Click the jump to see more.

Here is that cajoling I was talking about. Jeff plays the part of the good cop, convincing Pete that surely there must be something he’s enthusiastic enough to write about. Meanwhile, I play the part of the tyrannical dictator. Ultimately we convinced him to make this nomination happen, and you all made it your HCOTY.
do-it
So here it is, your HCOTY victor; The “BMW Alpha” custom streamliner motorcycle, having taken 35% of the overall vote with 223 votes. Even someone like me, who has very little motorcycle affinity, can admit that this project is really cool. It’s minimalist and yet full of details, it’s a gorgeous affectation of modern component design mixed with 1950s design language. The builder is a better man than I, for getting even this far with a project.
hcoty-alpha-concept
The design was initiated by a Turkish designer named Mehmet Doruk Erdem, and you can see his original renderings on this design website. Then, a bike designer in Salt Lake City (who goes by Makr on the ADVRider forums) decided to make this bike a reality with a wrecked BMW K75 that was sitting around in his back yard. The guy is still in the process of building the bike, but looks close to finishing it, as there were updates to his build thread as recently as a week ago. The truth is, there were a ton of really great nominations this year, and any one of them deserved to win this prestigious award, but only one of them got the votes. Makr, sir, here is your ribbon.
 
participant
If you want to read more about this project, here is the original design post, here is the bike’s build thread over on ADVRider, and here is Tanshanomi’s nomination post.

 

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55 responses to “HCOTY 2016: The Votes Are In”

  1. nanoop Avatar

    …but, like, Tanshanomi wasn’t even trying! Nice turn of events, though.

  2. CraigSu Avatar
    CraigSu

    So, the fix is in? Except this time it’s Turkish motorcycle enthusiasts instead of Poles?

    1. mzszsm Avatar
      mzszsm

      We like Turkish coffee and are not above bribes…

  3. Kamil K Avatar

    YOU PEOPLE!!!

    1. ptschett Avatar
      ptschett

      Don’t blame me, I voted for McMullin …oops wrong context the Challenger II.

  4. mdharrell Avatar

    The true honor lies in crushing all of one’s opponents, but I’m keeping the Allegro anyway.

  5. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    Where’s the vote table?

    1. Bradley Brownell Avatar
      Bradley Brownell

      On the vote page? Where you voted?

      1. 0A5599 Avatar
        0A5599

        That helps explain why my wife looks for a periodic table every month.

      2. Sjalabais Avatar
        Sjalabais

        Yeah, but…convenience?

  6. Victor Avatar
    Victor

    An unfinished mostly useless motorcycle as Car of the year? I will be over at Jalopnik if you need me.

    1. Kamil K Avatar

      YOU PEOPLE VOTED FOR IT!!!
      Bye.

      1. Victor Avatar
        Victor

        YOU people voted for it,not me.

        1. Lokki Avatar
          Lokki

          Not MY HCOTY, eh?

      2. Lokki Avatar
        Lokki

        Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, I’ve already been educated twice in the last year about the irrelevance of the popular vote.

    2. crank_case Avatar
      crank_case

      I won’t be over at Jalopnik, but I don’t get the love for this thing either. I appreciate the craftsmanship for sure, but my vote went to the GT86 cup car (and not the butchered drift thingy either), because even though it’s pretty “normal” by Hooniverse standards I guarantee you’d have more fun in it than anything else on the list. The Bowman things nice if you like sleeping in the arse end of nowhere I guess, at least it could tow the GT86…

    3. 0A5599 Avatar
      0A5599

      While I agree with your sentiments (except returning to that J site) for all the same reasons, I appreciate the tradition of HCOTY frequently getting it wrong due to outside influences. Or just getting it wrong.
      Still, who among us hasn’t fostered an unfinished useless project (*coughWOMBAT/SKYLINERcough*) for far too long?
      But don’t be surprised if one day mangled pieces of it are found in the underside of Bowman’s front bumper.

      1. mdharrell Avatar

        I should have known it would be disastrous to alienate the Skyliner vote.

        1. Victor Avatar
          Victor

          I do not know what that means ,but I am with you 100%

          1. mdharrell Avatar

            That’s fine. I don’t know the meaning of most of what I say.

          2. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar

            Yeah, a little more gravy would be lovely, thanks.

          3. 0A5599 Avatar
            0A5599

            Yes, but that’s expected. You’re in Academics.

    4. Bradley Brownell Avatar
      Bradley Brownell

      Why does everything you comment have to be negative?
      Don’t let the door hit you…

      1. Victor Avatar
        Victor

        Everything is not negative to me,mine was simply an opposing voice.

      2. theskitter Avatar

        He must be that guy who owns the Allegro.

      3. Victor Avatar
        Victor

        Bradley you are the guy that complained about people having the hood of their car open at a car show,so do not talk to me about negativity.

  7. Ross Ballot Avatar
    Ross Ballot

    Blasphemy.

    1. Bradley Brownell Avatar
      Bradley Brownell

      Someone didn’t campaign hard enough…

      1. Ross Ballot Avatar
        Ross Ballot

        It all works out in the end 😀
        (Which I’m happy to report now that the Hoons Choice Award was posted)

  8. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    Whatever. Each of us knows who the real winner is.

    1. Bradley Brownell Avatar
      Bradley Brownell

      Wait until tomorrow.

      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        I’m looking forward to your post about the Jaguar.

  9. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    Considering the precedent has been set, I suggest we hold the HCOTY ribbon until this is a functional and road-legal motorcycle.
    Perhaps Mr. Bowman could hold it for us. Makr can have it when he and the vehicle can pick it up in person (if they can find Zach).

  10. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar

    Said the BL production worker who had one shin longer than the other;
    “How do you make A Leg Grow?”

    1. nanoop Avatar

      I thought the offset pedals in the Mini were a solution to a packaging problem, not to an orthopedic challenge.

  11. theskitter Avatar

    ‘And it isn’t even a car. Or running. Or finished.’
    I thought those were the rules for every year?

    1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar

      Yes, but ignoring the rules is a hallowed HCOTY tradition.

      1. Jeff Glucker Avatar
        Jeff Glucker

        This is true

    2. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      Yes, but they didn’t want to keep the Allegro out…

  12. Victor Avatar
    Victor

    Remember that time guy took a golf cart and an aluminum body from under grannys porch and made that cool electric vehicle? that was hooning at its finest.

  13. CraigSu Avatar
    CraigSu

    Looks like we need to change this to Hooniversal Motorized Vehicle of the Year. Either that or have separate winning categories for Car, Truck and Motorcycle.
    Wait, that would imply this is a legitimate contest. Silly me, what was I thinking?

    1. Kamil K Avatar

      Dude, we have a hard time nominating as it is…

    2. mdharrell Avatar

      “…separate winning categories for Car, Truck and Motorcycle.”
      In that case why did I even bother buying a one-cylinder two-stroke pogo stick?
      https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7730/29263572542_efbb7640f4.jpg

      1. Victor Avatar
        Victor

        The footpegs are too small and needs stronger handles.

        1. Victor Avatar
          Victor

          Nice International Harvester,had an old truck like that with a plow and good gearing plowed snow like a caterpillar.

        2. mdharrell Avatar

          Allegedly one of the reasons these were pulled from the market was a tendency to fire out of time and break the rider’s thumbs. The handles, therefore, are strong enough.
          You’re right about the footpegs, though.

      2. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar

        You know, if Citroen built that you could bet your ass that it would offer a nice smooth ride rather than bouncing all over the place…

        1. mdharrell Avatar

          I understand hydropneumatic suspension is smoother but it tends to lean a lot in the turns. It’s something about the spheres.
          http://www.besportier.com/archives/underwater-pogo-stick.jpg

  14. Mark Makr Atkinson Avatar
    Mark Makr Atkinson

    Thank you. I am most honored. I am sorry Alpha has upset some of you. For the record it is done and running, although I wouldn’t venture to ride it far. Alpha really pales to Danny Thompson’s streamliner, and that is who should have won.

    1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar

      Don’t sweat it, Mark. It’s not a reflection on you or your machine, this is just mostly a four-wheel-centric website.

    2. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar

      P. S.: Wanna be a guest on our bike podcast?

      1. Mark Makr Atkinson Avatar
        Mark Makr Atkinson

        Sure. What would it entail?

        1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar

          I sent you a PM on ADV.