July 24: The BIG tease

The BIG tease! For years the car manufacturers have tempted our car buying appetites with flights of fantasy, hinting at an upcoming new model, only to unveil a disappointment a few months or years down the road. Back in the day (remember "the day"?), these dream or concept cars were way far out........

........and quite frankly, if anything like this had shown up at the local dealer, mothers and children would run and hide. And with good reason. One swipe of those fins, as this Buck Rogers car drove by, would eviscerate more than a few innocent bystanders. Sanity prevailed. These days the concept car previews what the manufacturer will be introducing and it is very representative. Some more than others.

We get all excited when we see something like this at a major auto show, great looking and it certainly appears to be something that could easily be put into production........

......only to get this when the final product hits the streets.......

Not a bad looking Dodge, but one can dream about that concept. It wasn't far fetched and would have rocked the sedan world. Some companies, like Acura, get it right. They show a concept, which with maybe the exception of the wheels, is virtually the finished product. Example the new for 2019 RDX.......

Even the rims are production ready. But, then we have other companies that show one thing and then pull the rug out from under us with the real deal. I present as proof the sad case of the Pontiac Trans Sport, a dustbuster look alike.......

Another tear gets shed at the thought of what might have been, instead of what definitely was. How many designers at GM anguished over this beaut?

Also, check out how Subaru teases us with what we hope will be coming down the pike as the new Impreza........

......only to drop a nice, sedate sedan on us with the real thing. Let the grieving begin.

I love the look of my Maxima.........

......and was wowed by the original concept.........

..........thinking that there was no way, Nissan could possibly put this origami design into production. What a surprise, when the showroom doors opened on this model. Virtually identical. Way to go, Nissan! Get us excited and then don't disappoint.

Mazda is another, that to a lesser degree, actually gives us what the concept showed, toned down only slightly.......

Thank you, Mazda, as your Mazda6 was and is a beautiful design.

Over the years, the dream cars have evolved into concept cars. Instead of the dream car showing one or two design features, that would show up maybe years down the road, the concept car would presage the actual design of a particular model. As I said, some more than others. Tease us with the designers' best work and then give us a watered down production car. Or maybe if we are lucky, the actual concept, road ready.

I like the way the car companies do it these days, After all, is there anyone out there who would have been ready for this dream car to show up on their street?

Until next time.......