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]

click on image above to view the high-resolution gallery of Barrett-Jackson dream cars

A few more concepts from the Barrett-Jackson catalog should prove to be interesting lots. Nobody really expects these to draw the same kind of money as the F-88 or Bonneville from years past, but you never know. Heck, they probably won't even approach the value of the Dodge Firearrows we previewed earlier. But these are pretty interesting vehicles in their own right, starting with a concept for one of America's most iconic limos, carrying through to a GM mixed moniker model, to an early electric dream car. A rundown of each is available after the jump and as usual, a high-res gallery of my own and Drew Phillips' pics are available by clicking the above image.

click on the image above to view our full high-resolution gallery of the Firearrow concepts

Now these are the cars that make Barrett-Jackson otherworldly. The cars that bring 2, 3, 4, or even more million dollars and create that surreal atmosphere of "How high will this kook go for this car?" The last few years have seen the Olds F-88 concept crack the $3.2 mil mark, and then the Pontiac Bonneville Special and GM Futurliner follow that up with $3 and $4 mil respectively. This year's crop of concepts is perhaps a bit light compared to those, but there are some fun ones in the group this year: The Dodge Firearrow II (pale yellow) and Firearrow IV (red) Hemi convertibles from 1954 should be the big ticket items.

[Source: Barrett-Jackson]