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18 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday A pril 5, 2006 Ideas to reality - The importance of concept cars By Jim Robinson I Rob Beintema Had it not been for a Lincoln design team's vision of the future, who knows what Batman might have driven in the '60s. The vehicle that became famous as television's Batmobile started out as the Lincoln Futura, a concept car that debuted at the Chicago Auto Show in 1955. Called "Dream Cars" and "Idea Cars," con cept cars' are chiefly designed to create buzz and attract crowds. Some are fully function ing vehicles with drivetrains borrowed from production models. Others are simply mockups, pieced together with any combination of glue, plastic, metal or fiberglass. The three-bar grill was also a part of the Ford F-250 Super Chief concept that debuted at the Detroit Auto Show in January. According to design director Pat Schiavone, the entire process took 18 months. "Before we even began a sketch, we had to create a story," he said. For the Super Chief, the team set out to answer the questions, how luxurious can a truck be and at the same time, how efficient can it be? The end result was an elegant glass-roofed vehicle with the world's first TVi-Flex engine enabling the supercharged V-10 to run for 500 miles between fill ups on hydrogen, E85 ethanol or gasoline. The interior featured premium amenities that included walnut, PONTIAC · BUICK brushed aluminum, leather and CADILLAC · GMC ottomans, that deployed from the floor space. Not only does the Super Chiefs styling turn heads, the engine, 2006 GMC ENVOY SLT which operates on three fuels, is 2006 GMC YUKON XL SLT ----- ;---- -v. MSRP 53,000" s\ M SR P64,280°° / I -- I ------- . Low Lease A capable of speeds in excess of 95 ^ Rates i f l B i ? ' % '\ \ mph. Schiavone expects the Super h Chief to be on the auto show circuit for the next two to three years. But when it's not touring he plans on SALE SALE $ C 9 9 9 0 0 bringing it back to the design stu PRICE PRICE J dio in Dearborn as a kind of SUNROOF, LEATHER, HEAD CURTAIN. AIRBAGS & MUCH MORE. SUNROOF, DVD, 2ND ROW BUCKET SEAT, LEATHER & MUCH UNDER 10,000 KM'S MORE. UNDER 10,000 KM'S mechanical muse that can influ "J ence future designs. "We're going to be pulling the Super Chief in for the design of G A L L F O R D E T A I L S every truck we do for the next cou 410 SO UTH 4 « BURLINGTON QEW TORONTO ple of years," he said. "We don't K i= = t^ e i- e SERVICE RD. W . SOUTH SERVICE RD.W. OUST WEST OF DORVAL) want to lose what we did there." O A K V IL L E I TO LL. F R E E O A K V IL LE But once the Super Chiefs mis sion is complete what will happen to the elegant behemoth? The ultimate fate of concept cars over the years has varied, from ending up in collections to being crushed. Unlike the Lincoln Futura that hit the Hollywood "big time," many of the older vehicles have been destroyed, according to John Biel, editor-in-chief of Collectable the driver's seat with a j Automobile magazine. "Concept vehicles do a great job of gener ating positive media coverage and helping to build the Ford brand image," said Tim Boyd, director of business development for Ford Global Design. "But even more, they are a means of product strategy and design explo ration." As an example, Boyd points to the Ford 427 concept that debuted in 2003. "It was a creative process that generated the whole three-bar grill design element. It helped make the Fusion such a success that we're rolling it out on many vehicles throughout the Ford lineup in North America," he said. OPTI MUIV I°PRE-0WNED^WEEKLY# S PECIAU S pF A VEHICLES WITH W p P i /' ^ UGE SAVINGS! J ^ J (888)215-4648 'You have to remember in the context of a day-to-day environment they didn't always see everything as timeless," he said. "The vehicle served its purpose and they moved on." Other reasons for trashing those early concepts included maintenance costs and legal concerns. "Most of them didn't meet any highway requirements or specifications so they were destroyed on the advice or lawyers," said Joe Bortz, a Chicago businessman who claims to own the largest collection of '50s and '60s concept cars in the world. "They wanted to protect themselves from any legal problems that might come up if the vehicle got into public hands." But while some companies may have let their concept vehicles disappear, Ford Motor Company held on to many of its classics until 2002 when it held a first-of-a-kind auction of 51 prototypes that raised $4,365,968 for the Ford Motor Company Fund. "I think that approach is a lot better then letting them collect dust," said David Woodhouse, the design director at Ford's Premier Automotive Group in Irvine, Cal. "Let's let people refit them to work properly and take them out to some of these classic car shows. "The auction was a great idea," said Boyd. "By going to the collector community, those vehicles will be loved, cherished and shared, plus we raised money for the Ford Fund. It was a win-win." 3 year subscription to Carguide. This high performance magazine I gives Canadian car buffs : a bi-monthly look at news, reviews of what's out there, and previews of models / to come plus much more. The Oakville Beaver Hi! My name is Malik Math and french are my favourite subjects. My favourite sports are track & field, basketball and football. I like the Cleveland Cavaliers and my favourite player is Lebron James. On weekends I go to the movies and hang out at the mall. My favourite food is Shepphard's Pie. I am saving my points to get something big. Malik W /O U N the newsstand price! ! j FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW, AND FAX TO 905-842-4810 OR CALL 905-842-6591 ! Name:____________ i Address:_____ . ___________ i City:--------! Province: I EmaiL | O Visa I * -------------- -------------- I-- -------- 8 ; I Winning Carriers receive a large 3 topping pizza courtesy of: Postal Code:_____________ ! . ; Phone:____________________ Fax:_____________________ O Mastercard O AMEX O Cheque* ; Card No.:________ _Expiry Date:__________ ] ! Signature:_____________________ Date:_______________ _ ! * Make cheques payable to Formula Media Group. Mail to: Circulation Department 447 Speers R d,, Suite 4, Oakville, Ont., L6K 3S7. Please allow 6 -8 weeks for processing. Add $10 for orders outside of Canada. nutuM'i&'s # 7 P ix x g,! To join our delivery team call 905-845-9742