Future's Past: The History of the Concept Car

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A classic car connaisseur tells the general history of the concept car. Why would a carmaker spend time and effort on making an ultra expensive and futuristic car that promises a lot of high tech, but rarely enters production? Why are we so carried away by these bizarre experimental vehicles? And happens after showing them on the car shows?
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[@jamesmancuso3666]

@Ed's Auto Reviews I enjoy most of your video content. Those that have content I don't care for I still enjoy. I like your accent, speech patterns, and the structure of your speech. Thank you for entertaining me even when content does not.

[@whyamihereimatthestart8444]

HA i dont give them my data because i tell them that i am 90 ha

[@arpitwankhede6062]

Best surfshark advertisement ever loved your creativity and it amused me 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@doffy2192]

​@@whyamihereimatthestart8444😐😐😐😐

[@YoutubeHatesJapaneseLetters96]

The Buick Y Job Was Extremely Ahead Of Its Time, A Car Made In 1938 That Looked Like A Car From The Early 1950s.

[@MarinCipollina]

We should not overlook the fact that the entire auto industry was in 'down time' for the duration of WW II, as Ed mentioned.

[@Durianlover69]

​@@crispindry2815 grammer police

[@mpetersen6]

​@@MarinCipollina All through the war I suspect the automotive companies had some of their staff working on new designs for the post war era. Maybe not actually building prototypes. But serious design work up to the clay model stage.

[@manitoba-op4jx]

@@Durianlover69 imagine being a grammar nazi AND getting grammar wrong

[@Diwasho]

Meanwhile, a typical car today looks mostly the same as cars from 20 years ago, just with more aggressive slanty headlights and hard angled indents lining the sides.

[@persjofors2586]

A neighbor of mine, a famous car builder, built an accurate replica of The Y Job. So I saw "The Y Job" driving up and down the local streets and at local classic car meets.

[@videojameplayer1448]

I’ve been looking for a video like this forever, I’ve literally searched “antique concept cars” in the search bar and never found much but my favorite historical car youtuber made one finally!!😂 You’re the best Ed! Keep ‘em coming

[@captlazer5509]

Went to the 1993 Detroit Autorama, the Plymouth Prowler shown was pretty much what was manufactured in 1997. Down to the purple paint and the automatic transmission and V6 engine. Yes, the concept Prowler was loved until anyone looked at the center console with an automatic. Then crowd reaction was mixed. There was in 1999 the Plymouth Howler concept with a V8 and a five speed manual transmission but alas never made. I still love concept cars and thanks for another great video Ed!

[@jamesslick4790]

Like the Prowler, the Corvette was a concept car that later went into production. Also with a 6cyl (although, inline) engine and an automatic transmission!

[@TheNightrider88]

@@jamesslick4790 But Corvette was quickly overhauled into a proper sports car, and Prowler... well, meh.

[@jamesslick4790]

@@TheNightrider88 True enough, But in the 50's GM was bigger than the entire rest of the automobile industry (worldwide!), and had manual gearboxes as well as the then "hot" Olds "Rocket" V8 available, But since it was a Chevy project they "HAD" to use the "stovebolt 6" and they used the powerglide tranny as they were more interested in selling THAT than the Corvette itself. (NEW!! was THE "thing" in the '50s) And '90s Chrysler well... was Chrysler. Plus, I don't think that the Prowler was intended to be a proper "sports car," per se. It was the at the peak of the "modern retro" movement, And I think the Prowler was a "toy" for aging boomers who want a turn key "hot rod" more for appearance than "go". The Corvette is unique in as much as I don't believe GM designed it to sell, But the overwhelming public reaction to it "forced their hand". Still, for the price point and it's intention it should have been Oldsmobile's project (Olds being the "hot" division at the time- People forget this today)

[@BELCAN57]

Packard's last Concept Car, the "Predictor" was saved from the scrapper and is owned by the Studebaker Museum.

[@MattPritchardOfficial]

I would have liked to have seen a segment covering the rare cases when a concept car is made in to production (Dodge Viper, Plymouth Prowler, Kia Soul, Audi TT, Lexus LF-A, etc ) or when the car company brings out to get people ready for a model coming in the next couple years.

[@claudiobizama5603]

There are also cars that were apparently really considered to be production ready but got axed. Nissan IDx, Toyota S-FR, Lambo Estoque, Dodge Copperhead.

[@miguelcastaneda7257]

@Claudio Bizama hmm wonder if that's like old track cars Detroit used to do ..for track they first built 500 available and sold to public before could be put on track ..if I remember correctly

[@gabrielv.4358]

wtf the kia soul?

[@nicolauslr9937]

Hey Ed, have you thought making a video about ,,people's car"? Like comprasion of beetle, 2CV or trabant etc

[@zerocool5395]

Model T.

[@llmkursk8254]

Nice to see the Dodge Deora! Amazing design, one of the most famous Hot Wheels models. Maybe you could turn Hot Wheels into a video? Not the weird and wacky designs, but the ones that have real-world basis, or models, such as when Hot Wheels made a real life version of the Deora II, based on a toy car that was a sequel to the Dodge Deora die-cast car. It came full circle! Or maybe a video on licensing car models for toys or video games?

[@IAmAnAdowablePanto2190]

It would be cool if Hot Wheels can make some of their fantasy cars life-sized again. I miss those times. The life-sized Hot Wheels cars are a cross between a concept car and a kid's dream.

[@IAmAnAdowablePanto2190]

I hope it is okay to make a life-sized version of a Hot Wheels fantasy car at home, if you had enough money to built a Hot Wheels life-sized fantasy car.

[@bobroberts2371]

@@IAmAnAdowablePanto2190 Hot Wheels has a competition where a full sized car is turned into a Hot Wheel every year.

[@IAmAnAdowablePanto2190]

@@bobroberts2371 Yeah, but it's just not as cool as making a Hot Wheels fantasy car into life-sized. Hope when people make a homemade Hot Wheels life-sized fantasy car, they enter the competition and win! Just like the dude who life-sized a Hot Wheels 2JetZ, which is good. I like it when Hot Wheels fantasy cars are life-sized.

[@dicksanders8206]

I worked at Sid Avery Photography in Hollywood when we made the infamous Hot Wheels TV commercial that was banned by the FTC because we put you (the viewer) into the driver's seat as the car went around a curve on a track. It was a difficult shot (actually many single shots that became an animated sequence) that took all day and most of the night. Blew the client's mind -- and thrilled kids -- but since the toy could not do anything like that, it was banned. That was 1968 or 69.

[@darkadmiral106]

I am watching every Episode. This guy is on his way to the top!

[@The_R-n-I_Guy]

Love your videos. I know it takes a lot of time and effort to make them. And I greatly appreciate it. They're not only informative, but enjoyable. Please keep up the good work

[@kennethobrien6537]

Being neiw nederlander I love every episode of Ed! Always great and humorous content.

[@TheQuarterrat]

What great insights. You point out way more about culture than cars. Thanks again for a great video.

[@AnthonyChukreyev]

Ed!!!!!! First off long time fan and I love your videos, this being no exception. But dude, it’s a damn shame you didn’t mention the Subaru SVX; the extremely rare example of a concept car that was nearly unchanged into a production model.

[@uncinarynin]

It's the same with science fiction films. Star Trek, the original series is showing a 1960s design, using sometimes clumsy devices that would be hard to justify even just half a century later (or a bit more). Being a train enthusiast, I've seen a few "concept trains" at InnoTrans. Those are either scale models or full-size mockups that don't go anywhere but you can get in and experience what the interior would be like.

[@EpicTyphlosionTV]

It's a sad fact that pretty much none of these ever make it into production.

[@TheCatOfAges]

they may not have, but their design cues did

[@jurassicchrist]

I think the prowler is the most conceptish car to make it into production by a major manufacturer

[@petrolak]

I'd argue Cybertruck is a concept car that made it to mass production.

[@Immortal..]

A sponsor! Now thats quite a new concept for your channel 😁

[@marcbeebe]

You are not wrong in your conclusion: the concept cars of any era do say more about that era than the regular cars do, because the regular cars actually were already designs from the past.

[@adrielklein189]

Another banger Ed, you never disappoint.

[@TheGrumpyGangster]

In my personal opinion, the Y-Job is one of the most, IF not the most beautiful vehicle ever built!

[@dr.awesome5247]

yoo, I'm so glad to have refreshed my youtube page at the PERFECT time!! I love your videos so damn much!

[@whitsundaydreaming]

Once again Ed Van Halen gives his fans the best! Great presentation.

[@rogergoodman8665]

My favorite concept car is the Pontiac Banshee IV that toured the auto shows for several years in the late '80s early '90s. It was beautiful.

[@UberLummox]

Great video! Huge fan of early concept/show cars. Please do more on them! US and European for sure.

[@CUSTOMWORKS7.3PSD]

This is such a great channel absolute fantastic video's and a real kick in the butt with such low subs

[@DSP1968]

This video is a really great history lesson on the concept car -- thank you, Edward!

[@davioloplatinum7065]

thanks for bringing another video out! today is a stresful day at work and i am delighted to listen/watch it

[@theJellyjoker]

Concept Car: That's awesome! Production Car: That's hideous!

[@toddfraser3353]

I am sure a lot of people thought the concept car was hideous, but because they didn't have any option to get one there was not much of a fuss about it. A production car and you need a car you now have to back up your opinion.

[@ninetalis]

There is another reason why these concept cars might be kept away. A few years back I worked together with an automotive client. At some point I was requested to go to one of their testing grounds to photograph a number of 'heritage' vehicles for their social handles, which they had restored and kept in a warehouse. Upon opening the garage, I wasn't just greeted by these vehicles, but also a concept vehicle that had been presented to the public nearly 2 decades ago, which was supposed to be powered by 'ecological' engines. Except that, no engine had ever been installed. As a matter of fact, nothing on it was even functional, and was nothing more than just tubing with some tires. The steering didn't even function and the wheels had to be turned by hand. Sadly they also had two dozen of old heritage vehicles which hadn't been restored yet, and as far as I know the higher ups demanded them to be thrown away. I'm not sure what happened to them, as some say they were scrapped, while others say they might have been hidden away by some 'rebellious' staff members who felt that scrapping perfectly savable 40-70 year old vehicles was an attack on the brands heritage. I hope the latter is true.

[@wmarino2]

Anybody else notice Paulie's robot from Rocky IV presenting the Mercury vehicle at 1:43?!

[@bobroberts2371]

in 2002 Ford auctioned off many concept cars from the past. Also, the only steel bodied Corvette was rescued from the crusher some time back. The car was in a GM warehouse in the UK for some reason. ( the car used a Porsche 914-6 as a basis but had a rotary engine and auto trans. )

[@leecrt967]

Harley Earl, yes. But his custom car works that predicted future styling predated 1938 by a wide margin. One of his earliest, and probably most influential automotive designs was that 1919 Pierce Arrow 66 A-4 tourer comissioned by Roscoe Arbuckle. Earl's sweeping body style was arguably the harbinger of automotive styling in the 20s. Although not a "show" car in the strictest sense (not featured at any autoramas, AFAIK) it WAS highly influential. Consider it, Ed.

[@Low760]

The Holden hurricane was one that had a rear vision camera and drive guidance also in 69'.

[@jimcurt99]

GREAT video- you always deliver!!

[@johnd8892]

The 1955 Citroen DS could be thought of as a concept car on release , but went straight into production. Especially when they had the revised faired in late sixties headlights they still looked like something from the future. Often used in Sci Fi films of the future.

[@SiqueScarface]

I was always wondering what would happen if you brought a bog-standard production car from today to a car show 50 years ago. Nothing fancy, just some compact crossover with today's standard features like car audio with mobile phone connection and navigation system, airbags, LED lights and rearview camera. I doubt that more than 10 percent of the visitors actually understand what you are presenting.

[@jimmeltonbradley1497]

Definitely one of your best, Ed .Loved it.

[@davidev4844]

Love ur channel Ed always great stuff u really go down in ur research

[@ronaldmiller2740]

HI ED GREAT TO SEE YOU BACK,,.. GREAT VIDEO!!!

[@desert7868]

the BAT 9 was sitting in a body shop i do business with a number of years ago. was driving by dropping off a customer from another shop and saw it parked. one of the few times during work hours i stopped and looked at a car. super cool.

[@kellingtonlink956]

This was a great concept for a video! Thanks.

[@MrThomas2587]

Another great video Ed, always looking forward to your next one!

[@octobertwentytwenty9027]

Thank you Ed! I always look forward to your new car history videos. As an Old Man, I have enjoyed learning about the auto industry thanks to your great research and breezy delivery. Please keep it up! Can we get to 100 episodes?

[@christopherkraft1327]

Hey Ed, thanks for another great video covering the history of concept car!!! Fascinating stuff indeed!!! 👍👍🙂

[@ehsankazemi5109]

After following every other car history channel over the years, I have to say I really enjoy your delivery, great job ed

[@Donald_Shaw]

Ed, you always post and interesting and well researched video. Thanks for posting your excellent videos.

[@dontbeasadsoulja]

I myself thought a few times about the "Concept car paradox", now I know it has even a name. It's true, the concept cars really show more the thinking of that time period they were made in.

[@Fourth_Monk]

Very interesting thought at the end of the video.

[@rodoherty1]

Great video, Ed. The final "paradox" section was particularly good and not something I had considered. Nice one!

[@brentritchie6199]

Excellent video as always thanks Ed

[@allenwayne2033]

Excellent presentation as always Dude!

[@mcsg_pelecan]

Great Job! 70's era death traps...LOL!

[@MrMont-ue8kh]

Congrats on the sponsor, Ed! You handled it beautifully.

[@nathanjoseph4284]

Imagine a world where production cars look JUST like their concept counterparts.

[@mrducky179]

well there are a couple of production cars that actually end up looking like their concepts

[@nathanjoseph4284]

​@@mrducky179 Yeah like that new Nissan Z for example

[@starflyt1150]

Always a pleasure Ed. Keep up the good work!

[@MrJayrock620]

1:33 I hope Lincoln actually makes a vehicle called Machete and has Danny Trejo promoting it

[@BayAreaMike99]

Yo, you’re editing is something else man it’s like straight out of a TV show 👌🏽

[@TheClintb17]

Thanks ED, for another fantastic story about cars, well done, cheers CB Australia 🇦🇺

[@BobPruett]

Thanks Ed, always love your stuff!

[@sirflex-a-lot3811]

Nice to finally see another Edward

[@Fljeff7]

Another great presentation, thank you Ed

[@maxpayne2574]

Buick Y looks like it took some Cord styling, that's a good thing.

[@angeldiaz3463]

Great video ed thanks

[@zphyr6780]

What a great video! I was actually working on a similar video where I talk about reviving a particular concept car (which does actually show up in this video) and bringing it back for full production. But after watching this and hearing some of the points you made, I’m now giving it a second thought. Oh and the car I’m talking about is the 2009 Corvette Stingray Concept. It shows up at 17:19 (A lot of you might instantly recognize it from Transformers)

[@AndrewGruffudd]

Concepts like the Ford Probe III (which became the Sierra) and Vauxhall's Equus (which became largely forgotten), gave me nightmares back in the early 1980s, when I was a teenager x

[@bobroberts2371]

14:39 Looks like the rear pod detached from the front and the front lowers it's rear wheels. Kind of like a James Bond villain detachable boat or the " Boater Home "

[@MrJJSimonds]

Oh Goody, a new episode.... great channel.

[@whydidtheballooneatthefox282]

HAH GLAD TO SEE YOU UPLOADED I’VE BEEN BINGE WATCHING YOU FOR THE PAST FEE DAYS 😂

[@danielc3472]

Another great episode! I always wondered why they mode these one off cars.👍🏼

[@maxsmodels]

Some truly amazing designs

[@blackscotydog]

EAR..The best car channel on yt.....Great work Edward.!!!!!!

[@joeskop]

Not many other words than WOW. Thank you!

[@morenofranco9235]

Aahh! Memories. This is where I started learning to design cars - back in 1964.

[@kbckj]

i drive a cadillac cts coupe, it was a concept car at first and they fought to keep it as close to concept as possible. maybe one of the few examples of companies doing as such.

[@peloi111]

Another great video! Can't wait for your take on 50s concept cars, greetings!

[@SideSalad]

One of the few times I haven't skipped an ad for a VPN, entirely because there was Spy Fox 2 music playing.

[@davidzoller9617]

Always smart & entertaining.

[@johngraves6878]

Man, there were some wild, wild designs in there I had not seen before! Thanks! Dystopia Motors!

[@rareblues78daddy]

4:31 ...ah, that 1939 Willys Model 48. One of my favorite cars of all time. So unique, and _so cute!_

[@MrStrocube]

Brilliant as always, Ed. Cheers

[@mroxion8271]

My absolute favorite concept car that I would love to see a reality was the ford GT90. I think some minor design tweaks and an electric motor and it could possibly be made today.

[@laynsmith184]

Ed, brilliant episode, and brilliant integration of SurfShark ad, I even watched it, tbrilliantly

[@fredericducomet.boquier7920]

Brillant job and very brainy ! Thanks 🙏👍🤔

[@coyote102076]

awesome episode !

[@grantmccoy6739]

9:00 awesome. 14:40 this Plymouth has a detachable trailer. The rear wheels for the front vehicle is actually raised in this current setup. Such a funny concept. Reminds me of the space shuttle. That Nissan "Bevel" is actually pretty cool. I like it much more than the "Cube" it presumably was replaced by.

[@jdwarferc3754]

Very nice video. I like the conclusion, I think it's very true

[@mertulasdamlatv4166]

0:28 Fun fact: a man in Tennessee,USA found this exact 2002 Nissan Revel concept with Nissan Quest concept of same year in a junkyard! imagine how lucky you need to be for this ultra rare event ...

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Great vid!!! 👍👍

[@OLDS98]

Well said and thought out Ed. You clearly see the effort and thought placed into this video. I think it is great. Some of those recent Cadillac concept cars should have gone into production like the Sixteen and the Ciel. There are others I am sure. Some did show the future styling themes like the Evoq, and Sceptre by Buick. The Park Avenue Essence show the 1991-1996 Buick Park Avenue. The Alero Alpha showed the Alero and the Antares showed the Intrigue. Thank you Ed.

[@joeo.4546]

My favorite concept car is the Hyundai N Vision 74. It's beautiful. With one of the top people in charge of the N Division saying he'd like to make it production, even though I could never afford it, that'd be really cool to see

[@luisestebanr6311]

Nice! I love your documental content

[@Novalarke]

I went to every New York Auto Show from 1968 - 1972. I was a 10 - 14. I saw the GM Astro 3. That was amazing looking. Also the Astro 1. that was pretty snazzy.

[@fredherfst8148]

👌enjoyed!

[@kerzwhile]

GREAT Video Ed!!! 😉

[@josefradisz2133]

Fantastic !

[@gabrielv.4358]

So awesome!

[@briandesrocher6882]

Ed You did it again my friend you are a gentleman and a scholar great video 👍🏻

[@AlexDahlseid2002]

The Lincoln Futura is famous example of a concept car as it was basis car for the 1966 Batmobile from the 1966 Batman starring Adam West and Burt Ward. My favorite concept car was the Camatte which was an attempt by Toyota to market a car specifically for kids and this is given that they placed safety features such as safety control speed, braking and steering that was intended to be manually controlled by the parent sitting behind the rear of the child driver and this did had towing provisions for a potential capsule sized trailers.

[@lennartsvensson496]

Great episode... and I again I note your fine command of the English language, especially regarding vocabulary. Thanks

[@BrianS1981]

As Neil Gaiman wrote in his preface to the SF Masterworks reissue to The Stars My Destination: "Nothing dates harder and faster and more strangely than the future".

[@emilyadams3228]

The Fall 2005 issue of Vice (We Hate Your Parents, Too) talked about strange ideas about the future: "It's like that Cyber-something album Billy Idol made, where he's on the cover snarling and sprouting wires like some Radio Shack Chia head. It's like he's going 'I'm from the future aaarrrggghhhh!!!!' and we're all like 'Sorry, dude, the future is slick and modernist. If you really want to get futury, go back to the late 50's.'"