Autoblog

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

Add our votes for the Astro II (pictured), the Nomads and Cadillac's Sixteen concept, though ourl list would have also included the Dodge M80, Ford 427 and Buick Velite.

[Source: TheCarConnection]

The Car Connection spoke to GM vice chairman Bob Lutz at the Chicago Auto Show who told them a bigger, badder Cadillac built on the new Camaro chassis could be in the works. Lutz said the reason Camaro's expected on-sale date was delayed was so that the platform could be better integrated with future products.

While Lutz never utters the name "Sixteen" in the conversation, we just have to wonder if the ultra luxury Caddy is what GM has in mind. We reported back in December that GM had absolutely no plans for the Cadillacs of Cadillacs, but maybe, just maybe, Lutz has changed the beancounters' minds and the company will, after all, make real the Sixteen concept.

[Source: The Car Connection]

Yeah. We're bummed too. Not surprised, just disappointed. Way back in 2003 when GM rolled this 16-cylinder beauty onto a NAIAS stage, it was easy to believe in a revived Cadillac. The grand Sixteen would be the pinnacle of all American-built cars and would lead the way for U.S. automakers' return to the forefront of vehicle design and engineering.

Automotive News reports that GM looked at the market, and decided the world just wasn't ready for the Cadillac of Cadillacs. So for now, the Escalade will just have to be the, uh, Cadillac of Cadillacs.

[Source: Automotive News (sub req'd)]