Scott Adams comments on Automakers...

[Drew Dowdell]

Edited April 29, 2007 by Oldsmoboi

[Intrepidation]

Ford has the biggest track record of showing great concepts that never see the light of say. 427...Interceptor, Continental...the list goes on.

GM and Chrysler both have made production versions of concepts without changing much. Magnum, Durango, Solstice, Enclave, Camaro, and Challenger to name a few.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

Smells like Ford spirit.

[Intrepidation]

Although the "less attractive part" hints at Toyota.

[Satty]

The first panel seems to reek of Toyota, they've had some very good looking concepts that didn't translate into production. Ford, as noted, also has issues with this.

[aaaantoine]

All of the above.

But since that option isn't available, Ford.

[Hudson]

Ford has the biggest track record of showing great concepts that never see the light of say. 427...Interceptor, Continental...the list goes on.

GM and Chrysler both have made production versions of concepts without changing much. Magnum, Durango, Solstice, Enclave, Camaro, and Challenger to name a few.

Selective memory is a great thing. EVERY automaker has "concepts" that made it into production and many more that never did. While the Solstice, Camaro, and Challenger are the oddities, relatively speaking few concepts make it beyond the concept stage. Even Ford has their concept cars that became production cars...Ford GT? Ford Flex? Ford Aerostar? Lincoln Mark VII and Mark VIII? Lincoln MKS and MKX?

[PrimeGTP]

As far as the concept cars that are never going to be built, Mazda hands down!

[Intrepidation]

Selective memory is a great thing. EVERY automaker has "concepts" that made it into production and many more that never did. While the Solstice, Camaro, and Challenger are the oddities, relatively speaking few concepts make it beyond the concept stage. Even Ford has their concept cars that became production cars...Ford GT? Ford Flex? Ford Aerostar? Lincoln Mark VII and Mark VIII? Lincoln MKS and MKX?

Really? Every automaker has concepts? Wow I never realized that, thanks.

GT is an exception. Aerostar...oh thank goodness we go them to build that $h!box of a minivan! The Flex changed significantly from the Fairlane concept which it drew inspiration from, the MKS is changing, and the MKX changed from it's concept form..so did the Zephyr...and I'm not talking interior bits...the MKZ's body is different than the concept..if it had stayed true to the concept it wouldn't look so much like the Edge. The Zephyr's rear end was completely changed...the MKS looks like it will have a different front end at the least (although this may be a good thing).

While many concepts do not make it to production GM and particularly Chrysler have a track record lately of producing concepts with few changes. Here's another example: the Viper.

Edited April 30, 2007 by Dodgefan

[loki]

i put GM.... 1 cause few others did, and......the buick concepts before the enclave.... the velite, bengal, lacross oh the lacross....

[bowtie_dude]

FORD!! More specifically, Ford NA.

[A Horse With No Name]

As a Mustang guy I hate to say it but...Ford.

Chris

[mustang84]

I'd probably say Ford, but the fifth frame just reeked of Toyota and their aloe fiber seats or whatever the hell it was that is supposed to be great on the skin.

[AxelTheRed]

I gotta go with Ford. No other company has enticed me with their concepts and then disappointed me with their production vehicles quite like Ford has.

[VenSeattle]

I picked Honda... Honda & Acura historically released very striking drawings or over-the-top concepts only later to reveal generic production vehicles (at least with the exteriors.)

[Windy-57]

This seems to be a rite of passage in the auto industry. Even Hyundai has been showing a number of concepts that likely won't make production with their HCDs.

This thread begs the question, do automakers hurt themselves by presenting these concepts when in terms of price and practicality they can't deliver on them? Is it better to show concepts that are less impressive, but can be built?

To me, the answer is no. I don't say this often, but I do believe this is one aspect of the auto industry outsiders just don't get. It would do more damage to exactly build each concept because then you're essentially showing your future models which kills your current ones. Also, you lose the ability to use auto shows as a litmus test for design. And, if a manufacturer showed only production-ready vehicles while other manufacturers were showing concepts, they would garner no attention at all.

Edited May 4, 2007 by Windy-57