[Concept Cars, A Milestone in Automobile History] - Hankook & Company Official Website (2024)

FAQs

What is the idea behind concept cars? ›

A concept car is made to express and test some new idea. Many models are actually not suitable for production, but they show us what might be possible and give us reason to imagine what the future may bring. All concept cars are made by hand.

Key Milestones and Innovations:

- 1885: Karl Benz's Motorwagen marks the birth of the modern automobile. - 1908: Henry Ford introduces the Model T, making cars affordable and accessible. - 1920s-1930s: Streamlining and aerodynamics become important design elements.

After a concept car's useful life is over, the cars are usually destroyed. Some survive, however, either in a company's museum or hidden away in storage.

The Buick Y-Job, the vision of famous General Motors designer Harley J Earl and launched in 1938, is generally considered to be first concept car.

Companies have a test track and the vehicles are ferried over on a trailer, concept cars are not approved to drive on the highway.

“We're fairly open about selling our concept cars after we no longer have use for them,” Sproule says. “A year, year-and-a-half on the show-car circuit, and then we're happy to transfer them to private owners. They're sold as works of art: there's a big, thick contract explaining that they aren't road legal, etc.

Our pick of the best prototype cars ever made are: Audi Le Mans Concept (2003) BMW Nazca C2 (1991) Buick Y-Job (1938)

The features included in concept cars can be quite ahead of their time, or even very expensive. If put into production, this would increase their price, making them less attractive to customers.

Although scale-model concept vehicles may cost less than $100,000 to produce, the cost of developing a full-sized clay concept car for a major automaker is generally greater than $100,000 and can be as high as $300,000 or more, with much of this money going to pay the salaries of the highly skilled designers and ...

The easiest car to recommend to just about anyone looking for a good first car is the Honda Fit. Affordably available, solidly reliable, extremely space-efficient, and easy to drive, the Fit carries on the tradition of lightweight Honda hatchbacks from the EG and EK Civics.

Is Ford still family owned? ›

The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family; they have minority ownership but the majority of the voting power. June 16, 1903 in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

There are dozens of different reasons behind the invention of cars. The main sources of these reasons are facilitating the transportation of people, enabling them to reach another place more easily. In addition to transportation, the car has become a frequently used product in the military sense.

An electric vehicle uses a battery to store electrical energy that is ready to use. A battery pack is made up of a number of cells that are grouped into modules. Once the battery has sufficient energy stored, the vehicle is ready to use. Battery technology has improved hugely in recent years.

What is a self-driving car? A self-driving car (sometimes called an autonomous car or driverless car) is a vehicle that uses a combination of sensors, cameras, radar and artificial intelligence (AI) to travel between destinations without a human operator.