An Unusual But Important Car

Category: Import Cars | Nov 02, 2009 |  

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An Unusual But Important Car

It is always someone’s dream. It may or may not be produced. It may be produced but only on a custom basis. It will always appear in a car show. It may or may not be drivable. The design may be radical.
It can be a test laboratory on wheels for new ideas. What kind of car is this? It is a concept car. But why do manufacturers produce something that may be only a one or two of a kind?

The concept car, is, as the name implies, manufactured to introduce a new concept in car production. The concept may be in design, styling, or technology, or all three. The concept may even be radical. Concept cars are formally defined as “experimental vehicles that showcase stylistic and technological innovations.”

If they appear in no other place, they will appear in a car show. And they are entered there often to give manufacturers feedback from the public on new technology and designs.

In the hey days of the model T, the idea of the concept car was non-existent in the automotive industry. The concept car was the brainchild of Harley Earl, who was General Motors’ Design Chief from 1927 to 1958. He was responsible for the design and production of the first concept car, the 1938 Buick Y (Fireball). For this, Detroit dubbed him “Father of the Dream Car.”

Actually the Fireball was not that radical. It was built on the standard Buick chassis of that time. However it featured a long, low streamlined body with hidden headlamps. It also had power windows, a convertible roof, and air-cooled airplane type brakes. Although the car itself did not go into production, Earl attracted attention in Detroit as he did adopt it as his personal car and used it for several years.

Another concept car that was never put into production but did have one customer was the 1949
El Kinemo. Earl designed this car especially for Richard Kleberg, who ran the King Ranch in Texas.

Kleberg wanted both a utility car and a luxury car combined in one package. The car had to be rugged enough to follow game and cattle over the ranch’s rough terrain yet luxurious enough to carry important visitors.

The car had some features to cope with heat, sand, and dust such as an oversized radiator, tinted windshield and sealed brakes. Earl also had a two-way radiophone installed so the driver could communicate with the ranch at any moment.

The luxury features were mostly contained in the interior and included a fully stocked bar behind the front seat.

Another concept car was the 1951 LeSabre XP8. It featured a high grille that hid the headlamps. It had a tail resembling a jet and the first curved panoramic windshield. The LeSabre was an experimental model for new materials but proved too expensive for mass production. However, again Earl took it for personal use and logged 45,000 miles on the speedometer.

The concept cars were also accompanied by some amusing incidents. An official for General Motors was driving the 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 from Detroit to New York. In spite of the fact he was driving lawfully he was pulled over by a highway patrolman. It turned out the officer was just intrigued with the car and wanted a closer view.

So while the concept car itself may never be produced, it showcases certain features that, if accepted by the public, will be installed on other cars in the line. Some examples are power windows, tail fins and panoramic curved windshields.

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