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The no-show cars: a reader rant on mad concepts

Instigated by Harley Earl at General Motors in the late 30s with the quaintly named Buick Y-Job, show cars, or concept cars, were presented to an excited public eager for new things. As the world recovered from a depression and then a war, these vehicles pointed to a better future that many people believed in, including the people who produced them. And, although many of the concept cars of the 50s, with their Jetsons plexiglass roofs and notional nuclear powered engines seem ludicrous now, in their time they weren’t that cynical.

Tomorrow's world: Ford's downsized 1.0-litre Ecoboost

Direct injection petrol and diesel, hybridisation, downsizing, turbocharging, twin-charging the list of efficiency-boosting, fuel saving features being offered in new cars is becoming so long, buying a new one is like revising for exams. Is there room for another? Apparently so, but since there’s no official name for it yet we’ll call it ‘super-downsizing’ or in other words, using a very small engine in a not so small car.

Design Contest: NDA wins 2009 LA Design Challenge

A future where environmentalists and car enthusiasts - not to mention sober-minded adults and thrill-seeking young people - all coexist in harmony just might be possible with Nissan's V2G concept vehicle. The hypothetical design study, which runs on a futuristic grid of electric roadways but can also be customized for 'off grid' joy riding, won the 2009 LA Auto Show Design Challenge for the way it embodies this year's 'Youthmobile 2030' theme. The focus was to create vehicles that would appeal to a generation of young drivers raised on cell phones and social media.