Show car
Encyclopedia
A show car, sometimes called a dream car, is a custom-made automobile
created specifically for public display, rather than sale. They are shown at auto show
s and other exhibitions.
Show cars generally fall into one or more of three categories:
in the 1950s, when most of the major U.S. automakers began to exhibit wild, fanciful dream cars. The preeminent dream car maker was GM, which displayed its work at a series of traveling Motorama
shows, mounted at tremendous expense, but with considerable value in publicity. In the 1960s American show cars became substantially more mundane, slight variations on typical production models (with a few exceptions, like Chevrolet's Mako Shark
prototype), and the practice of building them fell on hard times during the 1970s, when automotive whimsy was a low priority compared to safety
, emissions control
, and fuel economy
. The practice was revived in the 1980s, and remains strong today both in the U.S. and abroad.
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
created specifically for public display, rather than sale. They are shown at auto show
Auto show
An auto show, or motor show, is a public exhibition of current automobile models, debuts, concept cars, or out-of-production classics. It is commonly attended by automobile manufacturers. Most auto shows occur once or twice a year...
s and other exhibitions.
Show cars generally fall into one or more of three categories:
- Cars intended to preview an upcoming new production model or redesigned model, either to assess or to whet the public appetite. Such preview show cars may be thinly disguised or slightly retrimmed versions of the eventual production model, painted in bold or unusual colors or fitted with unusual trim to attract attention.
- Cars intended to assess the public reaction to a type of model, or a particular styling theme or feature. A prominent example was the 1938 Buick Y-JobBuick Y-JobThe Buick Y-Job was the auto industry's first concept car, produced by Buick , in 1938. Designed by Harley J. Earl, the car had power-operated hidden headlamps, a "gunsight" hood ornament, wraparound bumpers, flush door handles, and prefigured styling cues used by Buick until the 1950s.The car...
, a custom-built BuickBuickBuick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
created by General Motors styling chief Harley EarlHarley EarlHarley J. Earl was first Vice President of Design at General Motors. He was an industrial designer and a pioneer of modern transportation design. A coachbuilder by trade, Earl pioneered the use of freeform sketching and hand sculpted clay models as design techniques...
for his own use; although it was never produced, it contained features such as hidden headlights that later became GM styling features. Such cars typically are not intended for production themselves, but may become the basis of a production model if demand is high enough. The Dodge ViperDodge ViperThe first prototype was tested in January 1989. It debuted in 1991 with two pre-production models as the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 when Dodge was forced to substitute it in place of the Japanese-built Stealth because of complaints from the United Auto Workers, and went on sale in January...
is notable example of the latter. - Styling exercises built to reward successful designers, letting them blow off steam with a design more exciting than workaday, "cooking" sedans and truckTruckA truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s. Such exercises also serve to draw attention to the manufacturer's more ordinary products. - Alternatively, it could mean privately owned cars that have been extensively cared for by their owners for the purpose of entering car shows.
History
The creation of show cars dates back to at least the 1920s, but reached its zenith in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1950s, when most of the major U.S. automakers began to exhibit wild, fanciful dream cars. The preeminent dream car maker was GM, which displayed its work at a series of traveling Motorama
Motorama
The General Motors Motorama was an auto show staged by GM from 1949 to 1961. These automobile extravaganzas were designed to whet public appetite and boost automobile sales with displays of fancy prototypes, concept vehicles and other special or halo models. Motorama grew out of Alfred P. Sloan's...
shows, mounted at tremendous expense, but with considerable value in publicity. In the 1960s American show cars became substantially more mundane, slight variations on typical production models (with a few exceptions, like Chevrolet's Mako Shark
Mako Shark (show car)
The XP-755 Mako Shark concept car was designed by Larry Shinoda under the direction of General Motors Styling and Design head Bill Mitchell in 1961, as a concept for future Chevrolet Corvette production cars. In keeping with the name, the streamlining, pointed snout, and other detailing was partly...
prototype), and the practice of building them fell on hard times during the 1970s, when automotive whimsy was a low priority compared to safety
Safety engineering
Safety engineering is an applied science strongly related to systems engineering / industrial engineering and the subset System Safety Engineering...
, emissions control
Automobile emissions control
Vehicle emissions control is the study and practice of reducing the motor vehicle emissions -- emissions produced by motor vehicles, especially internal combustion engines....
, and fuel economy
Fuel economy in automobiles
Fuel usage in automobiles refers to the fuel efficiency relationship between distance traveled by an automobile and the amount of fuel consumed....
. The practice was revived in the 1980s, and remains strong today both in the U.S. and abroad.