Damian Knight
Member
After 2 years of development and pushing through the split bus system of the XLR, optimizing for the Bose system, seeking full integration to operate the HVAC, the seats, the steering wheel controls, the speedometer, etc., those who took a chance on KnightDriveTV are installing the units. I initially built 80 units (78 of which were sent to customers) to much skepticism in the XLR community.
Ironically, you'll never see a person in here hate on a Kenwood or a Pioneer install, I've even seen people put magnifying glasses in front of their radio and folks are like "hey that's a great product there!"...brands that have zero connection to the community get plenty of love, how strange. My brand KnightDriveTV (youtube channel and dot com), which is very dedicated to Corvette product development, decided to make this product for XLR at the suggestion of one of my customers. To my surprise, when a person within the community develops something specifically FOR the XLR itself, here in the USA on my youtube channel, I faced huge opposition from folks who had nothing but negative things to say about the venture. Celebrate Kenwood...defame KnightDriveTV?
Well despite that negative push, 78 XLR owners decided they'd do what they wanted to do and supported the project which helped us get past the largest single financial hurdle, the large mold to make the main trim face. If you like your Kenwood...so be it, but this is on an entirely different level of functionality, integration and execution, completed by a small business in the United States, for a car that's all but forgotten by the aftermarket. I did it anyway...
The additional part of this story is, I'm not done yet. I will develop other things that work in symmetry with this unit, creating a centralized ecosystem. This is step one in making the XLR more of a modern day "Evoq" as we move into an OEM+ appearance system that starts on the inside and will move to the outside (much like my push for Corvette C4, C5 and C6). I built this to OEM standards, plugs right in to your car, no adapters, no plastic parts and pieces to add, no PAC modules or steering wheel control wiring...plug it in to the factory harness and done. Look at the fit and finish of the unit...it belongs in the car.
People want a special car, so why promote Kenwood or Pioneer so enthusiastically that does NOTHING to make the car special or noteworthy? This makes the XLR look like a concept again...it's one step toward something truly unique in todays world. Haters will hate!
Ironically, you'll never see a person in here hate on a Kenwood or a Pioneer install, I've even seen people put magnifying glasses in front of their radio and folks are like "hey that's a great product there!"...brands that have zero connection to the community get plenty of love, how strange. My brand KnightDriveTV (youtube channel and dot com), which is very dedicated to Corvette product development, decided to make this product for XLR at the suggestion of one of my customers. To my surprise, when a person within the community develops something specifically FOR the XLR itself, here in the USA on my youtube channel, I faced huge opposition from folks who had nothing but negative things to say about the venture. Celebrate Kenwood...defame KnightDriveTV?
Well despite that negative push, 78 XLR owners decided they'd do what they wanted to do and supported the project which helped us get past the largest single financial hurdle, the large mold to make the main trim face. If you like your Kenwood...so be it, but this is on an entirely different level of functionality, integration and execution, completed by a small business in the United States, for a car that's all but forgotten by the aftermarket. I did it anyway...
The additional part of this story is, I'm not done yet. I will develop other things that work in symmetry with this unit, creating a centralized ecosystem. This is step one in making the XLR more of a modern day "Evoq" as we move into an OEM+ appearance system that starts on the inside and will move to the outside (much like my push for Corvette C4, C5 and C6). I built this to OEM standards, plugs right in to your car, no adapters, no plastic parts and pieces to add, no PAC modules or steering wheel control wiring...plug it in to the factory harness and done. Look at the fit and finish of the unit...it belongs in the car.
People want a special car, so why promote Kenwood or Pioneer so enthusiastically that does NOTHING to make the car special or noteworthy? This makes the XLR look like a concept again...it's one step toward something truly unique in todays world. Haters will hate!
