In the world of
concept cars, there are basically two categories: the kind that are ready to
show up in your local dealer's showroom, and the kind that are created for pure
imagination.
To be clear, this
car falls into the second category.
It's the Buick Riviera
concept car that General Motors unveiled in China recently, and — while it's
not going to appear at your local Buick dealer any time soon — it is perhaps
the most talked-about vehicle from what is quickly becoming the most important
car show in the world: the Shanghai Motor Show.
Part of its appeal
is that the design is just so stunning. It's the kind of car of which childhood
dreams are made, with gullwing doors, futuristic styling and a low-slung, sexy
shape that you never see on the road today.
GM pulled out all
the stops for this concept car because China is a critical market for the Buick
brand. In fact, Buick sells a whole lot more cars in China than it does in the
United States, making it a great market for showing off a dream-inducing
supercar just for fun.
The excitement
around this car goes beyond its pretty, classically inspired styling that draws
on Buick's rich history here in the United States. It's also for GM's
forward-thinking designers to imagine what features cars might have in years to
come, including:
• A plug-in hybrid drivetrain that charges wirelessly. Instead
of literally plugging into an electric wall socket, which is all the rage among
eco-minded cars today, this concept car can charge via a "sensory recharge
panel" that receives power when you park over a special pad.
• Four-wheel steering, a suspension that is controlled by
electromagnetics and air springs for the ultimate in comfort. These are all
real-life technologies in use today, but they've never been combined in one
production car before. The Riviera imagines that mixture.
• Better mobile internet systems than today's cars. It uses 4G
LTE signals from cell phone networks to offer information on traffic, weather
and news, and it uses iPhone-style touch gestures to control it.
• A high-tech safety system with 10 video cameras and 18
sensors that work together to project a holographic image on the windshield in
front of the driver.
My favorite part of
this concept car, though, is how it ties all these futuristic elements into a
car that still respects Buick's history. Even its famous name, Riviera, is
pulled straight from the Buick history books.
The brand's famous
waterfall grille design, for example, not only looks great on the Riviera's
sleek nose, but it also uses electronic shutters that can close off the airflow
at high speeds, which improves aerodynamics and fuel efficiency on the highway.
Even Buick's iconic
portholes are turned into charging ports for power-up its electric drive system.
To me, this is
exactly what a great concept car ought to be. It's exotic enough to make you
imagine a different automotive world, but not so esoteric that it loses its
link to the past.
Courtesy of the
Stanly News and Press
