TCC lists 10 concepts Detroit should have built
Show cars, dream cars and concept cars have long been a staple of the auto show circuit. Ever since Harley Earl dropped the 1938 Buick Y-Job on the unsuspecting public, automakers have been teasing us with concepts that more often than not fail to make it to production. Sometimes certain design elements or powerplants or nametags make it to showrooms, even whole vehicles occasionally slip through with minor changes, but there are always cars we wish automakers would have built but didn't. That's what The Car Connection addresses in its newest top ten list. "Ten Concepts Detroit Should Have Built," as you may guess, focuses on concepts American manufacturers should have made.
TCC gives a thorough description of each choice and an explanation of its merits, and also invites readers to weigh in on which they would choose as the pick of the litter. We encourage you to click over and check them out for yourself, but here's the list:
- Chrysler Norseman, 1956
- Chevrolet Astro II, 1967
- Chevrolet Corvette Four-Rotor, 1972
- Chrysler Phaeton, 1997
- Pontiac Aztek, 1999
- Jaguar F-Type, 2000
- Chevrolet Nomad 1999 and 2003
- Lincoln Continental, 2002
- Cadillac Sixteen, 2003
- Ford Reflex, 2006
[Source: TheCarConnection]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Hagetaka 6:09PM (4/12/2007)
Ford Forty-Nine, where the hell is it on this list.
We could have actually had it instead of the incredibly horrible new Thunderbird.
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riverhead 6:16PM (4/12/2007)
Cheverolet Bel Air Concept. Sebring would have been wiped of the map.
http://www.seriouswheels.com/2000-2003/2002-Chevrolet-Bel-Air-Concept-FA-Diner-1280x960.htm
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Talis 6:18PM (4/12/2007)
I like the whole list plus the Autoblog suggestions, but I would still take out the Aztek. That thing was bad from the start.
I would also like to see the dodge Powerwagon, and the Pontiac GTO from 1999.
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Mike 6:19PM (4/12/2007)
Talis: the 99 GTO and the Camaro concept are spitting images of each other... nearly identical in every aspect
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3cubedminus3squared 6:20PM (4/12/2007)
The Ford Excursion Desert. This basically could've had all the sales the Avalanche did.
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kcombs 6:33PM (4/12/2007)
Pontiac Banshee from 1964.
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MS3 6:32PM (4/12/2007)
Good list!
Though I would not mind seeing this car up there...
http://www.supercars.net/cars/425.html
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HotRodzNKustoms 6:52PM (4/12/2007)
I need pictures of these concepts! I'm too young to know most of these and google isn't helping much.
The Pontiac Aztek is a perfect example of when marketing and the bean counters get their fat stubby fingers on a great car without anyone fighting them to keep it just like the concept, for example Bob Lutz, with Bob's leadership we get cars like the Pontiac Soltice, Saturn Sky, and Pontiac G8, so let this be a lesson to all of you on how great Bob really is for GM.
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SobeSVT 7:36PM (4/12/2007)
What are these people talking about. The Aztek was very close to the Aztek concept. Pure visual offense, so ugly not even its mother could love it.
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Matt 4:38PM (4/15/2007)
Hate to sound cliche, but this post is worthless without pics!
RULE #1!!!! I have no idea what 1/2 this list looks like!?!
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Frank Filipponio 6:58PM (4/12/2007)
Click the read link for pics and descriptions of each.
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akatsuki 1:34AM (4/15/2007)
Too bad they are all large muscle cars and wouldn't bring too many people back into the fold who aren't already buying Mustangs and Corvettes.
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chuck goolsbee 7:03PM (4/12/2007)
The F-type Jaguar of course!
The world has been waiting 33 years for the successor to the legendary E-type Jaguar. 40 years if you count from the end of the Series 1. That is too long to wait for a sequel. The successful pre-Ford Jaguar always had a connection to racing AND had a killer sports car to sell the public, be it the SS90, SS100, XK 120, XK 140, XK150, XK-SS, or E-type. You can chart their demise in Coventry nearly to the day they started making the E-type a GT, and then finally replaced it with the XJS. Big heavy V-engined GT and Luxo-cars alone do not a Jaguar make. Ford has never figured that out for some dumb reason.
Nasser's quote came true I guess.
--chuck
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Reno 7:22PM (4/12/2007)
What about the Buick Lacrosse Concept back in 2000?
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Lithous 7:23PM (4/12/2007)
Separated at birth...
http://www.thecarconnection.com/images/gallery/tmb/11957_HVOUMAXHSPUCA.jpg
http://automobiles.honda.com/images/banners/2007/cr-v/exterior_gallery/large9.jpg
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HotRodzNKustoms 7:28PM (4/12/2007)
#9 The Aztek used to be so ugly you had to love it (like a Subaru, Element, or Scion). It was ugly it made sense to the family on the go. Then they softened it reshaped it, made it boring and no good for the family on the go so they all sat at the dealerships backed up against the wall.
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the vette makes them wet 8:07PM (4/12/2007)
what about that turbine chrysler from the 50s?
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Tool 7:54PM (4/12/2007)
The Ford 427 for sure should have been built along with the 2002 Lincoln Continental Concept.
I also like the lines and the boldness of the Cadillac Sixteen.
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Stephen 7:55PM (4/12/2007)
1.)Jeep Hurricane
2.)Lincoln Mark 9
3.)Plymouth pronto Spyder
4.)PT Cruiser concept (before it was emasculated)
5.)Either Chevy Nomad concept
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hotcams 1:24PM (4/24/2007)
I don't understand why it's so hard for Detroit to build a great car.
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