Concept Cars That Should Be Built Right Now

It's fun and easy to pretend play with someone else's money and there is nothing better than imaging how you would run a multi-billion dollar auto company. Fantasy sports are a close second though. It's particularly fun to greenlight awesome concepts that brands have deserted over the years. Usually this involves ignoring technological feasibility or market demands but there are concepts that seem to be guaranteed slam dunks if they were produced. Here are a few concepts from the past with awesome design and strong business cases that would need minimal updates to succeed today.

Volkswagen Microbus/Bulli

 The 2001 Volkswagen Microbus Concept is still one of the best concepts to never see the light of day. It's the one that got away. Certainly the minivan market is not strong enough today for Volkswagen to make a case for the Microbus anymore and the Routan experiment doesn't help one bit.

 

The Double Edged Sword of Profit

Raking in the profit for an automaker seems like the ultimate accomplishment, and when you sell millions of cars around the world the final tally can reach satisfying levels. For example, the Volkswagen Group recorded an after tax profit of 11.7 billion, Euros, last year. However, even such healthy profits are often times not enough in the eyes of investors as Volkswagen has recently targeted 5 billion Euro a year of cuts that it sees necessary to shore up its margins. Certainly some of the cuts will come from the usual places that make the most sense, smarter purchasing, cutting factory costs and even eliminating some of the least profitable models. Yet, cuts will be done to R&D as well as VW has seen its R&D spending surge by 80% in the last four years. In general R&D spending should lead to better products and the latest Passat is a good example, a family sedan (at least in Europe) will come with up to 240 horsepower from a 2.0 TDI diesel or 280 from a 2.0 gas turbo. Numbers never before seen from diesels and only on high strung gas turbos are now mainstream. Certainly these engine developments don't come cheaply and future improvements could be stymied with the cuts.

The cost-benefit analysis of additional R&D certainly creates some interesting questions about what a car company could do if given the chance to focus on its product and let the finances sort themselves out. Say if  your stock was closer related to your product, its public perception and future potential of the brand. In other words the life of start up gone public. This model has certainly worked well for years in Silicon Valley in tech and web. Would cars built with this mindset tend to maximize their performance or broaden their design? All the evidence so far points to a yes as the answer in the auto industry as well. How much, if any, of an effect will this have on the rest of the industry is something interesting to track over the next few years.

2011's Most Improved Awards

As seen in previous posts Kill It With Fire likes to reward improvement, so with that in mind lets reward some of 2011's most improved vehicles with some virtual awards. Keep in mid that this is not a list of 2011's best cars but rather a list of a few cars that have made great strides compared to their previous generation.

Most Improved Sales: Volkswagen Jetta

Even though the Jetta has been Volkswagen's best selling model for many years running its overall sales were just a fraction compared to its better known mainstream competition. In fact the Jetta often struggled to find true competition as it was too upscale to compete with most compacts but wasn't much of a premium product either (see Buick Verano). For the sixth generation Volkswagen created downmarket variants of the Jetta and priced them closer inline with the competition. The result has been a sales improvement of 70% on the year. While many have chided VW for taking a "step back" with the Jetta, the public has certainly rewarded VW. The cheaper base price has helped sales, the Jetta's new crisper styling has likely helped as well.

New Jetta sales are up 70%

Most Improved Design: Hyundai Accent (5 door)

Hyundai has been making some noise over the past few years with greatly improved products with better engines, interiors and styling. The Sonata and the Elantra are perhaps the most well known examples of Hyundai's new styling direction. However while these two models have certainly elevated Huyndai's design game, the new five door Accent is actually Hyundai's best design to to date. The hatchback Accent features excellent styling, rarely seen in the compact category, without the over-styled elements seen in the Sonata and Elantra. The new Accent simply blows the old one out of the water style-wise, even the not as good looking sedan is miles ahead of the previous generation.

The Accent went from this shapeless figure

To this stylish design

Most Improved Technology Update: Chrysler 300 8 speed Automatic

The second generation Chrysler 300 debuted to generally good automotive praise as it represented a good update on its groundbreaking design, new more powerful V6 and a significantly more luxurious interior. Perhaps the biggest complaint was the 5 speed automatic gearbox that was holding back the 300 when compared to competition with their 6 speed gearboxes. Enter the new 8 speed automatic that adds 4 additional mpg on the highway (31) and improves acceleration as well that makes the 300 a significantly more competitive product.

New 8 speed auto with new shifter

New York Auto Show Wrap Up

While many believed that the New York Auto Show would end up being overshadowed by the Shanghai Auto Show occurring during the same week, New York did quite well for itself with many production debuts and concepts. While the overall trend was towards 40 mpg compacts and subcompacts the show also delivered on the performance side with several 400+ horsepower debuts. Subaru, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Honda and Kia unveiled new sedans while Jaguar and Ford showed face lifted versions of the XF and the Taurus. On the concept side Scion showed its own version of Toyota's FT-86 concept while Mercedes previewed its next A-class with a shiny concept. Let's take a look at the highlights from the 2011 New York Auto Show:

Best In Show: Volkswagen Beetle

The best in show competition came down to the Beetle, Scion FR-S concept and the Chrysler 300C SRT8. The Volkswagen wins for its excellent job of following up a retro design with one that is even more retro inspired yet still manages to look newer than the model it replaced, not an easy task. Volkswagen would do quite well for itself if the Beetle creates the same brand excitement as the previous New Beetle.



Best Concept: Scion FR-S Concept

Featuring a multitude of sharp creases and pronounced styling elements the FR-S concept looks the part as a modern interpretation of a compact coupe. Featuring a more than expected styling departure from the Toyota FT-86 concept leads to questions if both versions will make it to the states. Also interesting will be to see how the FR-S and the current TC mesh in the Scion lineup. Nevertheless if Scion can keep the concept styling into production the other questions may not matter much.



Best Performance Debut: Chrysler 300C SRT8

Looking exceptionally well in white with contrasting black painted grille and wheels the the high performance SRT8 finally makes the new 300C look great. The 465 horsepower Hemi V8 provides the performance necessary to back up the great styling.



Most Significant Production Debut: Chevrolet Malibu

The Malibu is vital for Chevy to continue improving its car sales at home and expanding oversees. Facing tough competition in the important mid size segment Chevy unveiled an interesting design that aims to blend a curvy front end with a sharper Camaro inspired rear. Perhaps Chevy's desire to expand Malibu sales abroad played a role in the design process. Time will tell if the Malibu finally captures the mid size category after the last generation was so close to the top, but not exactly there.



Best Paint Job: Mercedes Benz SLS AMG

Mercedes Benz takes the category with the SLS AMG in the traditional Gulf color combo that always looks spectacular. The A-class concept takes second place with a nice silver color that meshes well with its metal grille.

Best SUV Designs On Sale Today

SUVs aren't particularly well known to be automotive design icons like coupes and sedans. Whether you blame it on the size or the need for functionality it's tough to see an SUV being remembered for its design along the lines of a classic E type Jaguar. Nevertheless this isn't to say that there aren't any well designed SUVs on sale today. As in any category to be the best requires you to stand out from the competition. In no particular order here are the best designed SUVs on sale today based on their visual impact, design cohesiveness and ability to convey their off-road capabilities.

Cadillac Escalade

The Escalade owns much of its sales success to its outstanding design. The large grille and chiseled traditional SUV styling give the Escalade a commanding presence that buyers want in this segment.




Dodge Durango

As the recent Dodge commercial points out the Durango did a lot during its two year absence, it transitioned from a pickup frame underpinnings to a Grand Cheeroke shared unibody platform. The Durango also returned with significant styling improvements and is now the best looking large crossover on the market today. A large grille upfront combined with sharp lines give the Durango presence while the rest of the design features softer lines yet still blends in surprisingly well.



Jeep Grand Cherokee

The Durango platformmate also makes the list as the latest generation combines traditional Jeep elements in a fresh new package. Looking more compact and tidier than before the latest Grand Cherokee still looks like a Jeep yet has exciting styling elements such as the character line in the doors, prominent wheel arches and chrome pieces throughout.




Lexus LX 570

The Lexus LX 570 features and incredibly clean design devoid of unnecessary elements that would mar its exterior. The grille, head and tail lights, and side creases result in a classy and elegant SUV fitting its price range.



Volkswagen Touareg

The second generation Touareg features sharper styling than its predecessor. Chiseled grille and headlights are a significant departure from the last model and give the Touareg a better first impression. Concave door design results in a 911 like Coke bottle shape that puts the sport in Sport Utility.




Honorable Mention: BMW X5, Range Rover