First off i understand that car manufacturers design and build concept cars to show off new technology/design concepts, thats a given. The thing that annoys me is when they produce cars that look awesome , when everybody knows its never going to go into production, It seems the french are the worst for this, and its Peugeot that have made me post this. Earlier i thought id have a look a pistonheads to see what cars were for sale, I do it on a regular basis as im looking to get rid of mine. On the home page i came across this Yes it is a peugeot and i love the look of it. But everybody knows it is never going to make it into production, despite it being probably the only new peugeot that looks good. If it did get built it would be in a form that resembled nothing of the concept. Why create such stunning concepts, and then pump out cars that are absolute ****?
I have to agree with you there. But eventually they do put some of the concepts into production. Just with a different design. Most awesome concept design I have seen in a while must be the Mazda Furai:
I definately agree here. I've seen so many pretty cars during motor shows, but it's a crying shame that nobody that works for these companies will ever make them. That Peugeot you posted is simply sexy, and despite the fact I generally hate French cars (bad quality), I would consider buying this, not to mention my fiance loves Peugeots for some strange reason.
Ahh, but I've actually seen the Furai run the hillclimb at Goodwood. Damn that thing sounds impressive..
concept cars always look great for 2 reasons. 1. they don't have to meet any regulations and 2. you don't have to design tooling and parts for mass production. These 2 things are the death of cool concepts.
Well, there's always the Pagani Zonda F. Looks pretty damn good, and you can buy one. It's slightly expensive, though.
QFT, the sole exception AFAIK was the Isuzu Vehicross which they made on ultra-cheap short-lived ceramic dies to suit production. Even when the concept does make it to production in a slightly productionised form, it's usually a disappointment after the concept. The Range Stormer is a good example; looks a lot like the actual Range Rover Sport, but had a cooler name, much bigger wheels, a more aggressive bodykit and glasshouse, a much better interior and vertical doors. It makes the actual car look rubbish!
02 Lincoln Continental Darn your " manufacturing costs", and your "retooling factories" I think the BMW GINA (sp?) was on the right track, at least with a user customiseable exterior.
Another big reason awesome concept cars don't make it to production, is because of the aim to make a car as profitable/cost efficient to produce as possible That Peugeot is sexy, real nice [SIZE="-7"]I do not like many Mazda's, expecially the latest generation of Mazda's, with the big stupid grin on their faces And that Mazda racing car has it too The last RX7's they made were the nicest production car they've ever built - shame they are a little small - a slightly larger model with a 20B turbo would have been seriously Cheesecake[/SIZE] That Lincoln doesn't do it for me either.
A few from the Chicago Auto Show: Buick concept: Saab concept: Mitsubishi concept: All could have been awesome, but nooooooo, we need to regulate them. I would take the risk of my car spontaneously combusting as a tradeoff to driving the Mitsu around town.
That's technically a bit more than a concept car.. since most concept cars don't even have working components, much less a working engine and drivetrain.. the Furai.. does:
It's marketing, plain and simple. It earns you interest your brand... then you sell 'em something they can actually afford
I appreciate that but, this is my main niggle what is the point in producing something amazing if you wont/cant build it? Surely its just a company saying 'We can design a stunning car, we'll show you it. you'll love it, but we wont build/sell you it). Using the peugeot i posted as an example, and i dont like ANY of the newer peugeots, (they died with the 205 GTi imo). If peugeot could build it and sell it at around 25-30K which i think they could, It would be the best looking 2 seat 'sportscar' in its price range. (at least i cant think of any that look nicer). I suppose you're right, but if it was a concept that made me take note of a car company, Id be extremely pissed if they weren't able to sell me anything like the concept that got me interested.
They use concept cars to showcase their next line of design and technological innovation. Any future cars produced will generally inherit pieces from the concept. If you'd like an example, take the Furai concept and look at the new 2009/2010 RX8, Mazda3, Mazda6, CX9, etc, models, and you'll see they incorporated much of the same flowing lines into the remodels.
If by "incorporated much of the same flowing lines" you mean "took that horrible grin, called it 'design language' and 'the family face,' then 'family facelifted' all the models but left all sheetmetal unchanged for cost reasons" then yes, I can see what you mean; - 2007 - Facelifted Eurgh. That's the only sports car in the range, and it's no Furai... A closer example would be the VW IROC concept and the new design language of the Scirocco, Golf etc.
Yeah, imo mazda have lost the plot with the 'orange slice in the mouth' look The only good looking car they've produced in the last 20 odd years was the RX7. Its just a shame nobody really knows about them. Before you can get the 7 out, people always go ' ohh yeah the rear doors are cool'. At which point i usually just walk away. Way to kill the RX series mazda.
There is, you're just thinking of a 1:1 copy, that's not how it works, they incorporate design cues and ideas, they don't just grab the bumper and stick it elsewhere. Only one of those is a sports car, but they all inherited the gills and the flowing lines.
I actually like the new Mazda look. I might be a bit biased though as I bought a Mazda 3 last September.
