A concept car is a car prototype made to showcase a new vehicle’s styling, technology, and overall design before production. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced.
Autonomous cars have been gaining a lot of headlines recently with all of their testing and new state laws being enacted to allow their testing. One of the forerunners in this technology is, of all companies, Google. Google has been in the autonomous car testing project since 2010 and has logged more than 200,000 miles of automated driving.
That’s not the impressive thing, as Google recently had its first ever non-Google-employed test driver. To boot, this driver only has about 5% of his vision remaining. That’s right, Steve Mahan, this brave blind man, took a Toyota Prius fitted with Google’s automated driving doodads and went out for a spin.
Now, if you were legally blind and were driving for the first time in many years, where would you go? Maybe you would head to a nice restaurant, to visit relatives, or even to a friend’s house. Nope, not Steve, he immediately rode in the driver’s seat of this automated Prius to the nearest Taco Bell drive-thru, maybe that’s all Google has left in its testing budget for these cars. He grabbed a Taco, then headed off to pick up some dry cleaning.
The car performed well and Steve seems very happy to be in the driver’s seat again. He even added in the obligatory “Look mom, no hands” joke. The only thing we could see that this Prius did poorly was park, as it seemed to be parked at an angle when it stopped at the dry cleaners and when Steve parked it in his driveway.
Autonomous cars are cool, but will people ever warm up to them? We would be pretty nervous about the chances of the computer suddenly crashing and deciding to run the car head-on into traffic. Then again, if Toyota fills the Prius with foam during an accident, like Demolition Man, you’d never have to worry about getting hurt.
A few days ago, Jeep announced that they would unveil six new vehicles at the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah. Now, the company has unveiled the first official details on the concept. The first of them is the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk - a concept car that takes the car’s off-road capabilities to a new level, but also adds a more aggressive look.
The Trailhawk Concept is painted in Stone White and is combined with Mineral Gray on the grille surround, lower front applique, mirror caps, and rear light bar. Red is thrown into the equation on the grille mesh, front and rear tow hooks, Jeep logos on wheel center caps, and bolt holes in the alloy wheels. The concept will also get black headlamp surrounds, black exterior front and rear badging, Red "Trail Rated" badges on the front fenders, and a unique "Trailhawk" badge on the rear tailgate.
A more aggressive stance was provided thanks to the addition of a new set of 18" 5-spoke alloy Mineral Gray wheels wrapped in Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor off-road tires. Jeep has also added additional side-wall protection and modified Mopar rock rails – engineered to fully protect the lower body from rugged rocky terrain.
Make sure you are sitting down for this one… We all now know that Datsun is making a comeback in coming years, but Ford now plans to resurrect an old timer too. Ford just announced that the once maligned Merkur nameplate will return for the 2013 model year.
For those of you that are too young or just don’t remember it, there were two Merkur models built from 1985 through 1989: the XR4TI and Scorpio. The former was the maker’s coupe and the latter was the sedan. The XR4TI was actually a relatively fast car, bearing a 175-horsepower, 2.3-liter turbocharged engine. Unfortunately, Merkur failed due to terrible build quality which caused them to be on the side of the road more often than they were on the road – I know, I owned an ’86 XR4TI.
Ford has already procured a facility in Germany to manufacture these cars and they will not be rebadged versions of European Fords. The XR4TI will hit the market around Christmas time bearing the ECOboost 2.0-liter engine, which will pump out a massive 286 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque, after some minor upgrades that Ford is staying quiet on. It will be mated to a six-speed transmission and Ford is exploring the possibility of all-wheel drive, but nothing is in the works for it yet.
The Scorpio will follow a few months later, as it hits showrooms in early-2013, bearing a slightly less impressive 3.5-liter V-6 – the same engine that the base 2013 Taurus will have – that cranks out 288 horsepower.
Both vehicles are still in development, but Ford plans to unveil them at the New York Auto Show on April 5th. Ford also made it quite clear that its intentions with these vehicles are to compete with fellow German automakers BMW and Mercedes, so expect these models to bear very advanced features. Quite a lofty goal for a once failed car company.
Hit the Jump for the Press Release.
UPDATE 04/02/2012: In case you hadn’t realized it yet, April Fool’s!! This information is 100% false and was created for our amusement on this wonderful day!
Everyone knows that Opel is preparing to bring back the Calibra name, but an official debut is still a few years away. Until then, David Cardoso has created a very cool concept that may be a modern interpretation of the old Calibra. His concept is called Enigma and as you can see, it takes the Insignia design language to a sportier level.
The Enigma Concept is a sportive 4-seat coupe based on the platform of the Chevrolet Camaro. It will be offered with an all-wheel-drive and will be powered by the same engine as the OPC model.
When talking about his concept, David Cardoso says, that his "concept’s rear is inspired by the Insignia while the side and front have design features of the Astra GTC and the Flextreme concept."
We don’t know about you, but we would really like to see this concept put into production sometime in the near future. What do you think?
Of all the concepts Jeep rolled out at the 2012 Easter Safari in Moab, Utah, you’d be hard-pressed to find one any more imposing than the Mighty FC Concept.
Really, the name says it all.
Built in honor of the Jeep Forward Control that roamed our streets from 1956 to 1965, the Mighty FC Concept was built with the idea of bringing the old-school look of the Forward Control back while also taking into account maneuverability and overall utility.
In building the Mighty FC Concept, Jeep designers took a 2012 Wrangler Rubicon and reconfigured the whole set-up, including the repositioning of the cabin over and ahead of the front axle, the lengthening of the wheelbase, and the addition of a custom built drop-side cargo box. Moreover, the cab on the Mighty FC Concept makes use of a roof that Jeep took from Mopar’s JK-8 conversion kit while the addition of a custom-designed front clip makes for a more imposing look to the concept. As for the interior, Jeep dressed it up with a bold, heavy-duty Katzkin leather while the cargo area was set-up to fit a full-width, drop-side tray-style bed that measures more than eight feet in length.
More than just the old-school look of the Mighty FC, Jeep also wanted to improve the concept’s handling and drivability. For that, engineers added Mopar’s new Portal Axle set, which offers the greatest amount of ground clearance without requiring excessive suspension lift. These axles are controlled with King coil-over assemblies, and together with Teraflex control arms and track bars, a new set of 40" tires mounted on custom Hutchinson 17-inch headlock wheels, a Warn 16.5 winch, and a Corsa stainless steel exhaust system, it makes for a ride that performs as ferociously as it is intimidating to look at.
We are quite aware of the fact that the Nissan Juke-R has the same chance of appearing in Nissan’s lineup as the Prowler has a chance to come back into Chrysler’s stable of vehicles. Despite its rarity and the slim chance it’ll ever see production, there are more sightings of the satin black Juke-R than there are of Bigfoot. The latest sighting shows this twin-turbo 3.8-liter V-6-powered crossover SUV tearing up Goodwood Hill.
The Nissan GT-R simply sounds awesome and not much else can compete with it from a pure sound standpoint. Well, after viewing the video of the Juke-R accelerating through Goodwood hill, we are convinced that this supercrossover is right up there with the GT-R. You are likely thinking “of course it sounds as good as the GT-R, it has the same engine.” For some reason, the Juke-R has a different sound than the GT-R does. This could quite possibly be due to the lack of sound insulation, but you sure can hear the 3.8-liter’s two turbochargers whistling away more in the Juke-R.
There is also something extra in the exhaust note that the Juke-R emits. It just sounds more like a racecar than the GT-R. Don’t get me wrong, we love the GT-R, but we would prefer the Juke-R to dilly dally around town in… Well, dilly dallying at a rather high speed, that is.
Every year, Jeep makes it a point to attend the Easter Safari event in Moab, Utah, to show off some of their outrageous concepts. Last year, we saw a number of them in the Cherokee Overland, the Wrangler Mojave, and the Wrangler Blue Crush, among others.
For this year’s festivities scheduled on March 31, 2012, Jeep is bringing a new line-up of concepts - six in total - headlined by the Mighty FC Concept, the Wrangler Apache, and the J-12.
Details behind all the concepts have not yet been revealed because Jeep is taking the slow and steady tease route to draw up some interest in the concepts leading up to the event at the end of the month.
All in all, Jeep released three teaser sketches of the concepts they’re bringing to Easter Safari. For our money, we think that the red Wrangler is the J-12, the blue Wrangler is the Apache, and the huge pick-up is the Mighty FC Concept.
Be sure to head back here because as soon as all the concepts are unveiled, we’ll be running our takes on all of them individually. For now, though, consume these teaser sketches, and let us know what you think of them.
The New York Auto Show is quickly approaching and details are still rolling in on vehicle reveals and concept showings. One concept that will be making an appearance in New York is an all-electric Infiniti vehicle, not to be confused with the hybrid ENERG-E (pictured above). Nissan Motor Co., Infiniti’s parent company, is holding its cards very close with this one, so the details are a little sketchy.
This new EV concept it is reportedly going to borrow the Nissan Leaf’s powertrain – including its 80 kW engine – but the Infiniti will likely sport a larger battery. Experts are claiming that this EV will be a ‘performance’ focused vehicle, despite the use of the Leaf’s drivetrain. To help add to the confused look on your face as you attempt to view the Leaf’s motor as anything near ‘performance,’ a sub-nine-second 0-to-60 time has been rumored – at least two seconds faster than the Leaf. How Infiniti plans to do that baffles even us.
Also rumored is that the Infiniti is going to feature high-end luxury items, as expected of a typical Infiniti. According to Nissan Motor Co., this new EV will borrow styling cues from both the G sedan and the JX crossover, which certainly adds up to a very stylish vehicle.
One thing is certain; Infiniti has slated an electric vehicle to be released in 2014. Whether it’ll be this EV or another future concept is still uncertain. As of now, this is all there is to share about this upcoming electric vehicle, but if more details roll out between now and the April 4th New York Auto Show, we will pass them on.
We’ve heard, but not seen, a lot about Fisker’s newest model, the Nina. At some point, it only seemed right for Fisker to finally give us a good look at what they’re working on, right? Well, they finally did, except that there’s not a whole lot to work with as far as what they have shown.
The image is a teaser sketch of the Fisker Nina, a plug-in hybrid coupe that appears to share the same design language of the Karma with the former looking to be proportioned a little bigger than the latter.
Not much was mentioned about the Nina, except that it’s set to make its debut at the 2012 New York Auto Show. We’ll be sure to keep you updated on any new developments surrounding the Fisker Nina. If for nothing else, we’ll at least have a good idea on what Fisker is planning for their post-Karma offering.
As we quickly approach the New York Auto Show, automakers are coming out of the woodwork announcing that they are debuting new cars or simply reveling redesigned versions of existing cars. One car in need of a boost is the upcoming 2013 Honda Crosstour – yes, Honda misses the mark sometimes too – and Honda plans to reveal its 2013 Crosstour Concept at the upcoming auto show.
Honda hopes that new exterior styling on the 2013 Crosstour will help boost its sales. We will be the first to admit that the Crosstour is in desperate need of a redesign, but the redesign will have to be significant to make a difference. Fortunately for Honda, the Crosstour isn’t the only strange looking crossover vehicle in for a reveal, as Toyota plans to reveal a redesigned Venza at the same auto show.
With additional competition from the firmly entrenched Subaru Outback, which also has a redesign to show off in New York, Honda needs to pull out all the stops to save the suffering Crosstour, which has sold just 51,380 units since its 2010 debut. Even worse, only 1,991 units have made their way into people’s driveways two months into 2012.
Will this refresh and the new four-cylinder be enough to save the Crosstour from elimination? Well, given Honda’s conservative nature, the 2013 Crosstour Concept will only receive very mild changes. Also, given the fact that it always has been and likely will remain based on the popular Accord, we wouldn’t expect anything drastic. Of course, no one expected Honda to do what it did to the Civic in 2006.
Honda has kept a pretty tight lid on this release, so we will all find out together on its April 4th release.
