I (german) also already had an exchange of my K.I.T.T. model... The reason was the grille in the front bumper which was installed (and glued) in a way that caused an ugly bending of the plastic "stripes" (sorry, I do not know more proper words without looking them up...) So I think you're ...

Given that, are the Elite's wheels REALLY too small? Damn it, i sold my ERTL directly after having herad about the upcoming Hot Wheels' KITT - and it looked so good in my shelf... I never minded the missing accuracy in details. Now i fear that the new one always lets me think about this kind of disc...

Really? In "real" life, K.I.T.T. got 15"-rims???
That is not much...