The History of Concept Cars | WheelHouse

**Concept Cars: The Future of Innovation**

The world of concept cars is a fascinating realm where creativity and technology come together to create vehicles that push the boundaries of what's possible. From Pontiac's Stinger to Tesla's Model S, these innovative cars have shown us what the future of transportation might hold.

One of the most memorable concept cars from the late 1990s was the Pontiac Stinger. This sleek, beach-combing 4X4 was equipped with a range of unusual features, including a control panel hidden in the driver's side door, seats made of wet suit material that could be used as beach chairs, and a movable roof panel. The car also came with a CD player, a detachable AM/FM stereo, binoculars with a carrying case, and even a garden hose to hose it out with.

While Pontiac bigwigs were eager to produce the Stinger, they ultimately decided that its numerous features wouldn't be cost-effective. But what an intriguing idea! Imagine cruising down the beach with this car, enjoying the sunshine and the ocean views while soaking up the fun.

Fast forward to the present day, and concept cars are more popular than ever. One of the most significant innovations in recent years has been the rise of electric vehicles. Tesla's Model S, which debuted in 2012, was a game-changer in the EV market. With its impressive range, quick charging capabilities, and sleek design, it proved that electric cars could be both practical and desirable.

Tesla's success has encouraged other manufacturers to take notice, and we're now seeing a surge of innovative electric vehicles on the market. The Acura NSX, for example, is a high-performance sports car that showcases cutting-edge technology and design. With its sleek body and advanced features like voice and gesture controls, it's a testament to what's possible when innovation meets engineering.

But concept cars aren't just about performance and technology – they're also an opportunity for designers to push the boundaries of creativity. The Lexus LF-1 Limitless, with its bold, beautiful body curves and expansive touch controls on the steering wheel, is a stunning example of this. And with its autonomous capabilities and advanced features like face recognition technology, it's clear that the future of driving is looking bright.

As we look to the future, one thing is certain: concept cars will continue to play a vital role in shaping our transportation landscape. Whether it's electric vehicles, autonomous cars, or innovative designs, these vehicles are giving us a glimpse into what's possible and inspiring us to think outside the box.

So, which concept cars do you want to see make it to production? Let us know in the comments! And don't forget to hit that yellow subscribe button for more cool content like this. If you're interested in learning more about concept cars, be sure to check out Science Garage and get on our email list so you never miss a new video.

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WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en-Trendsetting, crowd pleasing,outlandish, it's the concept car.A fantasy vehicle filledwith possibility and wonder.But don't fall in lovewith that Nissan IDX,or Porsche Mission E,because the reality is,the rubber will never meet the road.What, it's just a showpiece?Ah, so why build these dream machinesif they're never expected toroll of the assembly line?This is Wheel House, andwe're talking concept cars.Concept cars are oftenstocked with innovative andover the top features, butlack economic viabilityor practical application.They are dream big cars, andautomakers will spend the timeand money to show off newtechnology and styling,or simply to gauge customers'reaction to new ideas.In the early days of the auto industry,the only people building themwere the people who had beforebeen building coaches,and that's why they lookedlike horseless coaches.In 1896, the French, Idon't know, all of them,launched an effort to set the automobileapart from the horseless carriage.A well-known departmentstore in Paris held a contestand invited all types of creatives,from painters, sculptors,and even architectsto come up with their ownideas for a modern motorcar.The winning entry was by anarchitect and furniture designernamed Pierre Selmersheim.His scale model designcalled the Car House,was made of wax, cardboard, and glass,and was a fairly radical andadvanced model for the time.I mean, look at it.It looks like a Steampunk funny car.That's the first and lasttime I'll ever mentionSteampunk on this show.(lively music)While Selmersheim's Car Housenever got past the sketchand model stage, manyconcept cars that got builtfeatured some pretty impressive designs.With improved infrastructureand safety of paved roadsin the US, car designers wereable to trade the rugged,bulky, tractor-like modelsfor more attractive looking vehicles.The decade also saw afascination with the burgeoningaviation industry, and theautomobile was even seenas your own personal flying machine.One concept car to capitalize on thiswas the Auburn Cabin Speedster.Their concept car designwas promoting as havingthe speed of a racing carwith the comfort of a closed car.The cabin on this beauty waspushed to the back of the carand was characterized as cabin rear worth.The hood was long and sleek.Designed in 1928, just ayear after Charles Lindberghmade his famous Transatlantic flight,the aeronautical themes ofthe Auburn Cabin Speedsterare clear cut.Position yourself behind the wheeland you might thinkyou were in the cockpitof a two-seater airplane.Sadly, the excitement overthe Auburn was short-lived.While on display at a car show,either a cigarette wascarelessly discarded,or there was an electrical short,because the tent went up inflames and 320 cars were lost,including the Auburn Cabin Speedster.This car had a ton of influence,you put it next to the Jaguar E-Type,or Dodge Viper, or even the Mercedes GT,and the lineage is pretty clear.(lively music)Moving into the 1930s, weactually saw a couple concept carsthat predated the minivan of today.Buckminster Fuller was a famous inventorand visionary of the 20th century.He was an accomplishedpoet, architect, engineer,mathematician, the list goes on.You name it, he probably did it.And he built one of the most significant,and progressive cars ever.The Dymaxion was a 20 footlong pod like three-wheeledcontraption that Fullerdidn't see as radical,but as logical.This highly streamlined carused the Ford V8 at the rearto drive the two front wheels.And the single back wheel steered the car,like the rudder of a ship.It could carry up to 11 passengers,got 30 miles to the gallon,and claimed to travel asfast as 120 miles per hour.This thing is awesome.I could see it in a Wes Anderson movie.The Dymaxion could turn on a dime,and parallel parking was a breeze,just pivot its wheels toward the curb,and zip sideways into the parking space,like a crab or something.And there were no rearwindows, just a periscope.Excentric, definitely,but it was also stylish,efficient, and attractedlots of attention.Celebrities wanted to take it for a spin,and the rich wanted to invest in it.Unfortunately, the same month that Fullerapplied for a patent,one of his prototype Dymaxions crashedand killed the driver.Ultimately, only threeDymaxions were completedbefore Fuller ran out of money.Curiously enough, a few yearsago a guy built a replicaof the Dymaxion andsaid it was the scariestdriving experience of his life.Yeah, no duh, it handles likea forklift, but can go 120.(lively music)The 1938 Buick Y Job was thebrainchild of General Motor'sdesign chief Harley Earl.This guy represented a wholenew approach to auto design.His guiding principle was oblongsare more attractive than squares.Harley's intention wasto build a dream carthat would test theboundaries of consumer taste.So why is it called the Y Job?Experimental cars had alreadyused the X designation,but Harley believed thiswas beyond experimental.And what comes after X?Y.With its aviation influenced design,this two seat convertiblewas the first Buickto use the bombsight hood ornamentand featured power-operatedhidden headlights,recessed tail lamps, flush door handles,electric windows and doors,and a hidden power-operatedconvertible top, in 1938.Technological innovations that wereway ahead of their times from the 30s.And every one of thesedevices found their wayinto production cars.In 1939, the press called theY Job more than a concept car,it was the car of the future.This observation was dead on,because the oblong shaped,long and low slung body of theY Job had a massive influenceon American car design thatlasted well into the 50s.When you look at the car,you're probably thinking,oh, I've seen that before.And you might have, but youmight just think you have,because for almost two decades,manufacturers were tryingtheir best to emulate it.(lively music)In the 1950s and 60s, theauto industry's concept carsstill reflected a loveaffair with aircraft,but the approach was more futuristic.It's no wonder, because withthe space race it was game on,and jet planes and research rocketswere blazing across the sky,so car makers were inspiredby this exciting jet age.Oldsmobile was a powerhouse in the 50s,and was also very ambitious.In 1956, it showed its bold sidewith the shark-nosed Golden Rocket.The Golden Rocket wasjaw-dropping, sporty, and strange.It had round headlights tuckedbetween the skinny grilland high-set missile-like fenders.Its luxury features included apower tilting steering columnand seats that automaticallyraised and swiveledwhen the doors opened.Unfortunately, few of itschic, styling featuresmade it to production,with the exception of the incredible,wrap-around split rear window treatment,which appeared in the 1963 Corvette.Around the same time,General Motors took an evenbolder step in its concept cardesigns with GM's Firebird Show Cars.These series of conceptFirebirds were built,not just to showcase futuristic design,but also to test the usefulnessof gas turbine enginesin passenger cars.The GM Firebird Three's aim wasto build upon the high speedability of the first Firebird model,and the electronic feats ofthe second Firebird model.This extreme jet fighter shaped vehiclewas, to say the least, astounding.The GM Firebird Three offereda keyless entry systemand a double bubble canopy,continuing with the Jet H3of the first two Firebirds.The Firebird Three would bethe only one in the seriesthat actually influenced design of GM car.You'll find the Firebird's rear skegs,that's kind of a weird name,or the stubby little finsthat hung down off the bottomsof the rear fenders on the 1961 Cadillac.With no parallel linesand very little chrome,the Firebird Three broke anumber of GM styling rules,and that's one of the reasonsit became such a significant design.This car series also delvedinto a surprising rangeof technologies that can befound in current car models,anti-lock breakingsystems, (jumbled words),and powered luggage compartment platforms,that's not as exciting as the first ones.(lively music)Fast forward 30 yearsand the landscape of concept cars shifted.We were seeking not justsleek and flashy designs,but also cars aimed atparticular lifestyles.You see, in the 1980s marketresearch found that consumersunder 35 were interestedin buying vehiclesthat would match theirleisure and recreational life,like hiking, biking,camping, kayaking, surfing,all those other things thatyou see on Tinder profiles.With the burgeoning sport utility marketbeginning to dominate thelate 80s and into the 90s,Pontiac responded withthe 1989 concept carcalled the Stinger.This neon green, open-top,two-door dune buggy/jeep combowas a true attention grabber.The Stinger was aimeddirectly at young buyerswho spent all their time at the beach,and needed a vehiclethat centered entirelyaround the beach-going experience.The folks at Pontiac went all outwith an endless supply of gadgets:electric memory seats and steering wheel,a control panel hidden inthe driver's side door,seats made of wetsuitmaterial that could be usedas beach chairs, and aremovable roof panel.You could also raise therear seats up 15 inchesat the flip of a switch.But wait, there's even more,a CD player, a detachable AM/FM stereo,binoculars with a carrying case, why?Are you like, spying on anude beach with this car?A pullout drawer that storedtwo long-distance cell phones,a drink cooler mounted in the doors,a tool case, an extensioncord, an extension cord?Two dust busters, a firstaid kit, a sewing kit,a flashlight, a campingtable, biking bags,and I'm not kidding, a gardenhose, to hose it out with.I'll say it again, a garden hose.Crammed with all that, you may wonder,is there anything the Stinger couldn't do?Well, it couldn't get made.Even though it's unlikelya production versionof the Stinger would have to comeequipped with all those extras,a roofless, beach-combing4X4 with some of that stuffwould be pretty sweet.It seems Pontiac bigwigs at the timewere eager to produce the Stinger,but they decided withall those extra features,it wouldn't be cost effective to build.And you'd have to get your dust busterat the Black and Deckerlike the rest of us.One of my favorite conceptcars rolled out in the late 90sand was heralded as thecar to save American Cars.Buick unveiled their LaCrosse concept.It was sleek in rear wheel drivewith a powerful V8, andit had suicide doors.Surely, this meant Buickwas back in the game.The LaCrosse did make it toproduction about a decade later,as an unremarkable family sudan.(lively music)For concept cars, it's a glamorous,although short life expectancy.Most are dismantled afterthey've made the roundsat that year's given carshows, on display at a museum,or end up in the hands of private buyersvia an auction house.But sometimes car makers actually promisethe future and deliver.Tesla was one concept carthat made it to production,against all odds.Debuting at a private event in SoCal,the electric 2009 Tesla Model S show carhoused enough battery power to boastan estimated 300 mile range.The proposed specs on the sleek sudanwere ambitious, a 45 minute quick charge,a 17 inch infotainment systemwith 3G wireless connectivity,and a top speed of 120, and much more.It honestly sounded impossible,and a lot of people said itwould never make it to market.However, in 2012 Elon Muskand his team deliveredon their performance claimswith the Tesla Model S.The dual-motor versionhit 60 miles per hourin three-point-two seconds,and had a range of 295 miles,a truly impressive feat.And it's because of this car,the big dogs of the industry are takingelectric cars seriously,and that's awesome.With environmentally friendlyand sustainable energythe name of the game nowadays,the 2000s and beyond have seen a big focuson green concept cars.Now we have conceptcars debuting at venuesoutside of auto shows.Shiny, startup Byton unveiledan all-electric SUV conceptat this year's Consumer Electronics Show.This polished four-door featuresvoice and gesture controls,and face recognition technologythat will probably breakafter like two years.Side mirrors are nixedand replaced with cameras,and of course there'sautonomous capabilities.Earlier this year, Lexusintroduced the striking LF-1limitless concept car, withthe goal of making the drivingexperience easier, thisslick, luxury crossoveroffers expansive touchcontrols on the steering wheel,and a touch pad on the center console,because what we needis more touch screens.Its bold, beautiful bodycurves give the appearanceof melted steel, or arumpled sack of sheets.These cars are a chance for designersto push the envelope anddisplay radical designsthat may never see production,but at least gives consumers an ideaof what the future may bring.For those of around in 2050,we're sure to seeautonomous driving vehicles.And if that's the reality,will a steering wheel even be necessary?We put out cool stuff prettymuch every single day,so hit that yellow subscribebutton right there.Go to shop.donut.media,get on our email listso you never miss that.If you wanna know more about concept cars,here's an up to speed on acar that was one at one point,it's the Acura NSX.Check out Science Garage.Be nice, see you later.Bye, Reggie.