Video Interactive Games and Concept Cars (Video) 17
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So far, Timothy Lord has showed you the Tesla Model S, a CODA electric car, both gas and electric Smarts, and the Chevy Segway. Now, in his final wrap-up video from the North American International Auto Show, he looks at some concept car models he doesn't think will ever make it to production, along with some interactive games some of the car makers used to draw attention to their products.
We need more V12 powered vehicles (Score:0, Insightful)
V8s sound like iron buggery. I demand the sweet howl of a V12.
Re:I know is a bit offtopic, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
A) Free press. Create a cool concept car and your company gets in the spotlight for a few days.
B) Technical feasibility. Concept cars are a good way to see if something is technically possible, without worrying about things like safety, regulations, etc. Lets face it, as cool as some concept cars look, the chances of surviving in an accident are much better with more conventional designs.
C) Market testing. Even non-production concept cars can judge what the market thinks of a particular car design. Spending a few hundred thousand on one or two cars that are hand made is a lot less risky then spending millions on the infrastructure and production of an unpopular production model.
Re:I know is a bit offtopic, but... (Score:4, Insightful)
Perfectly on-topic, actually.
Car companies develop concept cars as part of their research and development strategies. While it is indeed very rare for a concept car to make it to a production line, they essentially serve as prototype platforms for a variety of technologies. If some engineer comes up with an improved anti-lock braking system (to use a random example) that differs wildly from tried-and-true status quo, they'll rig up a prototype and add it to a concept car where it can be tested in the physical world. If it works well (and passes all kinds of cost-benefit analysis), the company may decide to put it on a production model.
Concept cars are also very useful for trying out new styles and body designs that might be too far ahead of (or just too different from) the modern market's taste. You often see styling cues on new production models that were prototyped on concept cars a few years back.