Our Two Cents: What concept car do you wish made production?

There are times when a concept car from a major automaker hits the auto show circuit, grabs you by your soul, and refuses to let go. It all started with Buick’s Y-job, and that car somehow naturally, organically turned into the Holden Efijy (above), a concept car that’s part Y-job, part custom hot-rod, and part rolling tribute to the brand’s storied past. It’s hard to fault this concept, except for the singular fact it never made production after its unveiling in 2005.

So it should come as no surprise that I wanted to ask the staff here at Hagerty Media about their favorite concept car, one that they wished came to production. Let’s see what cars are on our wish list.

Time for turbine

“It’s gotta be the Chrysler Turbine car! Such a futuristic concept for the time that seemed so close yet so far from being a mass production reality.” — Greg Ingold

Avus for us?

The Audi Avus quattro from 1991. Only slightly complex with its all-wheel-drive, triple-locking differentials, rear steering, and a mid-mounted W-12. And so, so shiny—it was like a funhouse mirror on wheels. — Stefan Lombard

This is a great one, because I have a die-cast of this model and it absolutely takes your breath away when it is in your hand. — Sajeev Mehta

The forgotten Ford GT

“The 1990 Ford GT90! I still support the notion of Ford making this supercar.” — Matt Tuccillo

A UUV for you and me?

“I don’t know if this qualifies as a concept car, but Toyota dropped a Sienna on a lifted Tacoma chassis several years ago and called the UUV, the Ultimate Utility Vehicle. I honestly don’t know why Toyota, Subaru, Ford, etc. wouldn’t just go ahead and make something like this.

Minivan the WORLD. Put dual sliding doors on EVERYTHING.

Could you imagine a Toyota Sienna TRD Pro? Or a Ford Aerostar Raptor? The world NEEDS factory off-road minivans!” — Ben Woodworth

Marry me, Ben. — Anonymous co-worker

An Avista cruiser?

“Part of me wants to say 2003 Cadillac Sixteen, because it’s so out there and ambitious. But instead I’m going to say the 2016 Buick Avista, because it was so much more realistic and could have been built on the Alpha platform to give Buick a much-needed shot in the arm. The Cadillac ATS-V (2016–19) should have had the LT1, while the twin-turbo V-6 could have made the Avista into a Grand National.” — Brandan Gillogly

Selections for a Need for Speed 

There are tons of good ones from Need For Speed II SE: Ford GT90, Italdesign Cala, Ford Indigo, and the BMW Nazca C2. — Chris Stark

The Microbus for us

One of the biggest missed opportunities of my career was, I think, the 2001 debut of the Volkswagen Microbus at the Detroit Auto Show. VW needed a product that would generate some excitement, and totally missed the boat by not building that Microbus, which looks suspiciously like the ID. Buzz that we met decades later. It was a big, big mistake to blow an opportunity to help rejuvenate the sagging minivan market. The Microbus was the star of the Detroit show, which should have told VW something.

But no, instead we got the Routan. — Steven Cole Smith

Top Cat and a fiberglass Poncho?

Damn, I love Cougars, and the El Gato woulda been the sleeker, speedier version of Mercury’s pony car. That fastback design with a nose that would make GTO fanatics weep—hot dog! Er, cat.

I know you said to pick one concept, Sajeev, but it’s super fun to imagine Pontiac sharing a piece of the Corvette pie with the Banshee (XP-833). What would the world look like today? Would Pontiac still be alive and kickin’?” — Cameron Neveu

Serve us up a CERV

CERV-II. Aside from looking like a car in Speed Racer, imagine what Corvette would be up to now if a production mid-engine, AWD layout debuted in the ’60s instead of 2023.” — Eddy Eckart

The forgotten snake?

I wish there was some deep, journalistic/economic reasoning behind this choice, but there’s not. The 1997 Dodge Copperhead was the first scale-model car that I was gifted as a 5-year-old. I spent hours looking at the strange front end and those Viper-esque tail lamps, and convinced myself that such a car was a good idea. It almost certainly wasn’t, but to see one cruising around today would make 5-year-old Nate very, very happy.” — Nathan Petroelje

The coolest E-bike?

“Long before electric motorcycles were being taken seriously, Honda put the concept into enthusiasts’ minds with the RC-E. The design called back to the seemingly timeless flowy design of ’60s race bikes and even incorporated the Honda Racing Corporation red/yellow/silver color scheme. With modern battery and motor tech, this looks like it would be a really fun bike to ride.” — Kyle Smith

This car coulda roamed your town

I know I am a creature of habit when it comes to my tastes in cars, but the fact that the redesigned Lincoln Town Car (2003) didn’t become the production version of this 2002 Lincoln Continental Concept is beyond tragic. Imagine this as your next cab in Manhattan, or a limo for prom. Or, well, perhaps something to aspire to when your grandparents want to sell their 2004 Town Car?

No matter, because this re-design of the 2003 Town Car was likely to come to fruition, according to a book (probably this one) I read by an industry insider. But it was jettisoned in a last-minute effort to cut costs, so those pricey rear-hinged doors never stood a chance. Or perhaps it was never meant to be, for the same reason the Retro Thunderbird rotted on the vine: Ford had no money to make the Continental Concept a reality, and the company likely regretted making it in the first place.” — Sajeev Mehta

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