
Retrofuturism: Futuristic car concepts of the 1980s (2018) - prismatic
http://www.bobave.com/2018/12/retrofuturism-15-futuristic-car.html
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derekp7
Why is it that concepts cars looked so desirable, yet never were made into
production cars? Instead most cars are rather bland when compared to the
concepts of the time. Is it because the concept can't be easily manufactured
the way it is designed? Or are they really impractical cars in practice?

The only "far-out" examples that I can think of that went from concept to
production are ones like the Dodge Viper, and the PT Cruiser. Of course, I
probably just answered my own question -- the Viper was really expensive, and
the PT Cruiser was cheap so it became common enough that it turned into a
somewhat bland less desirable car.

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staplers
"Bland" is just catering to the mainstream audience. There's a reason
McDonald's has owned the food world for 50 years selling the same hamburger.

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linksnapzz
Pretty much this; often the concept is a design exercise for the stylists to
show what styling elements they have in mind for future production...put in
place on a vehicle that doesn't need to meet the needs of real customers, so
as to gauge interest. Those elements get watered down once someone starts
asking about how they would translate into a real car, sold for real money,
built with real existing components in a real factory.

Certain cars (Vipers & Prowlers, specifically) were low-volume enough such
that the concept could be productized; often at a loss, so as to serve as
marketing for the rest of the brand's vehicles. In the case of the Viper, the
goal was also to see if AMC-style small integrated engineering and
manufacturing teams could be used at Chrysler. The car was a nice side effect,
almost. The Prowler was a similar project, not only for the stylists but also
as a way of experimenting with new aluminum components on a limited-run
vehicle.

Some makes are more adventurous than others. GM often produces gorgeous
concepts...that will never even get close to production in any form. Mazda and
Volvo often drop significant hints about the styling for near-future models in
their concept cars.

Citroen and Renault (in the 80s-90s) seemed to _very_ willing to try and
productize these concepts:

Renault Avantime [https://goo.gl/images/o5YW7G](https://goo.gl/images/o5YW7G)

Citroen XM [https://goo.gl/images/pvn7Gh](https://goo.gl/images/pvn7Gh)

Citroen CX interior
[https://goo.gl/images/xLdVw9](https://goo.gl/images/xLdVw9)

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scrumper
I can't figure out that Athon steering wheel at all! I know it's just a
cleverly-shot photo but it looks like it's floating there, connected to
nothing. (The rest of the car is painful to look at though; to my eyes the
ugliest on that page.)

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denlekke
[http://i.imgur.com/0UpM41M.png](http://i.imgur.com/0UpM41M.png)

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scrumper
D'oh. Got it. Thanks!

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excalibur
I think it's a little weird how the gallery of concept cars gives way to
production vehicles at the end. Who in 2018 needed to be reminded what a
DeLorean looks like (much less a Camaro)?

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pnongrata
To me, it is a bit weird nowadays to start with the most interesting item on a
list.

I was hoping to be blown away by #7, but it wasn't the case. /s

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1001101
Sadly not included in the list (probably because it was 1991) was the Audi
Avus [1] whose construction and J Mays design language can still be found in
Audi production cars. The quattro Spider Concept would have felt at home on
that list as well.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_Avus_quattro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_Avus_quattro)

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RcouF1uZ4gsC
The Ferrari Testarossa has aged really well, and still looks gorgeous.

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diggernet
That site gives me this modal pop-up:

    
    
       Notification
       Press 'Allow' to continue
              DENY   ALLOW
    

Yeah, no thanks.

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ganeshkrishnan
It's a fake popup. Clicking deny brings up another page with "congratulations
you have won" stuff.

