When Did Concept Cars First Appear
For many years now folks have been astounded by what incredible vehicles can be discovered in motor shows around the world. The vehicles that cause people to stop and take another glance are not often the vehicles they end up owning, rather they are vehicles that the manufacturers have developed purely to astound the buyers, test reaction and make use of future technology, and naturally to try and get their name just a little more in mind then the other brands, these vehicles are named concept cars.
Concept cars began life during the 1930s when Harley Earl, a General Motors designer, designed a vehicle not for building, but only to display how a car might be sometime in the future, that car was named the Buick Y Job.
Harley Earl continued to design and represent such vehicles all through his long career with the concept car phenomenon really taking off in the 50s. Obviously the cars that Earl and others designed were not meant to be put into production, but were only a test in what might be achievable in a real vehicle sometime in the years ahead.
With the freedom of not having to be worried with safety, fuel consumption levels , weight, practicality and cost of manufacturing, the concept car stylist can allow his imagination to run wild, and that is why we often see examples of concept cars that look like they belong in a different time altogether and obviously will not be built as a production vehicle.
Concept cars often have layouts that break away heavily from traditional vehicle designs, gullwing doors, unusual seating layouts, abstract shapes and lots of other styling features which are not found in typical showroom vehicles.
Clearly, concept cars are pretty much an imaginative take on that which might be possible in future vehicle styling, and lots of concept cars try to blur the boundaries between what would be expected in a typical vehicle we purchase in the showrooms and concept cars with totally unrealistic styling or design.
Though the vast majority of concept cars not get anywhere near production, there are of course the odd few examples that influence what we drive on our roads, and its the excitement of seeing something amazing, that in another time could be a real option, that keeps both concept car stylists, and the viewing fans, both totally hung up on concept cars. If you are interested in concept cars, find the latest concept car news right now.
October 28th, 2010 at 7:15 am
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