Concept Cars

The design of a concept vehicle is limited only by the imagination of the dreamer. What might begin as an absent-minded doodle on a paper napkin may end up as a shining star on the floor of the North American International Auto Show. Showing off new technology ideas or some far-out styling curves, the concept vehicle is set out to gauge the buyer’s reaction and determine the probability of future sales were that concept to be produced for sale. The designers want to know if their innovations appeal to the public as a practical possibility or a momentary excitement.

Concept vehicles are not for public sale because the model is built to show off the specific technology it is presenting. The vehicle is not fully functional in all areas of safety and endurance and is definitely not street legal. The ideas are futuristic and only “concepts” that need to be explored and refined before they can be incorporated into the final build. The electric car is an example of a concept that was once futuristic in intent, but practical in application. For example, the Hyundai Kona is a practical and affordable vehicle that has made it from a future concept to a street legal option. Selling for somewhere around $40,000 give or take, this vehicle can go quietly down the highway for 250 miles before it needs to be recharged. However, before the concept model could be produced for public use, someone had to come up with a charging station that was universally accessible. Producing and selling the concept without a way to recharge was not a profitable venture. That is about as far as my brain can deal with the futuristic concepts in the automotive world.

I do, however, enjoy the imagination that creates concepts such as the DeLorean Time Machine in Back to the Future or the Batmobile, or the enchanted Flying Ford Anglia that belonged to Arthur Weasley which was equipped with an invisibility booster. While I seriously doubt any of these would be options for street legal production, one cannot overlook how each of us would dream about how we could accommodate such a vehicle for our own use.