• Home
  • About Evelyn Kanter
  • Evelyn Kanter’s Books & Apps
  • Evelyn Kanter In The News
  • Workshops
  • NYC Travel Guru

Evelyn Kanter ecoXplorer

smarter traveling, driving and spending

  • Green Hotels
  • Green Cars
    • Best Cars under $20,000
    • Test Drives
    • Diesel Cars
    • Electric Cars
    • Hybrid Cars
    • Hydrogen Fuel Cell
    • Luxury Drives
  • Travel Deals
    • Free
    • Budget Travel
    • Discount Tickets
  • Xplore More
    • Safety and Health
    • How To
    • Five Best
    • Travel Pioneers
    • Motorcycles
    • Vintage Cars
  • Scam Alert
  • Where to Go Next
    • Historic Travel
    • Epic Adventures
    • National Parks
Home » Concept cars show road to the future

Concept cars show road to the future

Leave a Comment

The road to the future is paved with concept cars, an important glimpse of the technology and design we’ll be driving one day soon. Concepts from Jaguar, Mitsubishi, Chrysler, VW and Toyota are being showcased at current auto shows.

Some concepts are just for show, while others are really pre-production models, giving the R&D team the time and permission to make final tweaks before the model goes on sale, and others are in between. But all exhibit the best of whats to come, down the road.

Jaguar I-Pace concept car

Jaguar I-Pace is a sleek electric mid-size SUV with 200 horsepower motors on each axle, providing a 400hp kick that launches it 0-60 in a Jaguar-like 4.0 seconds, and high-tech liquid-cooled lithium ion batteries with a 220 mile range. If that sounds like a Tesla, the answer is yes. The I-Pace will be a direct competitor, in performance, style, luxury leathers and woods in the cabin, and bragging rights.  It’s less a “concept” than pre-production model, due next year, most likely as a 2019 model.

Mitsubishi concept cars

Mitsubishi Concept GC-PHEV is a next-generation full-size SUV with full-time 4WD. It is based on a front engine, rear-wheel drive layout plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) system, with a 3.0-liter V6 supercharged MIVEC engine mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, with a high-output motor and a high-capacity battery, to deliver all-terrain performance.  Active safety technologies and the advanced “connected car” technology  utilizes next-generation information systems including a danger detection system which activates the corresponding safety functions and a failure/malfunction early-detection system which urges the driver to seek repairs or other maintenance when necessary.

Chrysler Portal is an electric minivan with advanced batteries and a range of more than 250 miles on a full charge, and the ability to drive autonomously on highways, with more driverless features to come. The clam-shell doors are highlighted by a ring of LED lights, and seating can be reconfigured easily, just as in the bestselling Chrysler Pacifica minivan. But my favorite Portal feature is the super-tech facial recognition technology, which could make car keys obsolete one day.

VW concept car

Volkswagen I.D. features a 3D digital cockpit integrated with Amazon’s Alexa for voice-activated everything. The cockpit can be customized – nothing new about that. But what’s new is that each driver can have pre-set customization, just like dual driver seat settings that have been around for years. Settings, including for streaming entertainment, are all via a smartphone app, which updates wirelessly on entry. You can even link the car to your Facebook account, so the navigation system can take your like and follow preferences into account when planning a route. There’s also a sophisticated “head-up” display in the driver’s line-of-sight, to simplify all that information and help avoid distracted driving. VW plans to launch the I.D. in 2020, with full autonomous features arriving in 2025.

Toyota concept car

Toyota Concept-I has no conventional dashboard screens, replaced by a next-generation head-up display. Also, colored lights in the foot wells inform you when the car is in autonomous or driving mode, and similar lights around the seats warn you about blind-spots, and lights also greet your approach. I just love the idea of anybody or anything lighting up when they see me! More importantly, technology monitors driver attention and road conditions, adding more automated safety support when needed, including to help navigate dangerous conditions, such as when you are dozing off or glazing over.

The future will be here before we know it.  Which one do you want to drive?

 

Thanks for visiting ecoXplorer. Stay up to date with the latest news about green travel, green cars, smart spending and frugal living by subscribing. It's free. RSS feed.
Welcome back to exoXplorer. Stay up to date with the latest news about green travel, green cars and smart spending by subscribing. It's free. RSS feed.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Related Posts:

  • 2023 Toyota Crown Hybrid Sedan
  • Concept Cars Show Road to the Future
  • End of the Road for the VW Beetle
  • Electric Cars & Hybrids Arriving Soon
  • Hershey Auto Museum Showcases Brands No Longer in Business
  • 24 Best Historic Golf Courses in USA

Filed Under: Electric Cars, Green Cars, Green Travel, Hybrid Cars

What do you think? We value your comments and love hearing from you. Cancel reply

ecoXplorer is your guide to smart spending and eco-friendly living

Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and guidebook and smartphone app author – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.

Evelyn Kanter currently serves as President of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA), and is a past Board Member of a prestigious professional group for travel journalists.

Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.

Most Popular Recent Posts

  • Scam Alert: Kars4Kids Car Donation Charity
    Scam Alert: Kars4Kids Car Donation Charity
  • 2 Reasons to Avoid Jimmy John's
    2 Reasons to Avoid Jimmy John's
  • Fast Food Deals & New Menu Items in March & April
    Fast Food Deals & New Menu Items in March & April
  • Scam Alert: Mideast Peace Charities
    Scam Alert: Mideast Peace Charities
  • Free Hotel Rooms for Cancer Patients
    Free Hotel Rooms for Cancer Patients
  • Allergy-Free Hotel Rooms
    Allergy-Free Hotel Rooms
  • Lamborghini Stretch Limousine for Rent
    Lamborghini Stretch Limousine for Rent
  • Qiantu K50 is a Chinese-American EV
    Qiantu K50 is a Chinese-American EV
  • Where to Find Cherry Blossoms in NYC & NY State
    Where to Find Cherry Blossoms in NYC & NY State
  • Borrow a BMW From Ritz-Carlton
    Borrow a BMW From Ritz-Carlton

Search ecoXplorer by category

© 2010-2022 EcoXplorer by Evelyn Kanter. All the stories and photos on our site are protected by US (C) Copyright laws. Any unauthorized copying is strictly prohibited. Plus, it’s just not nice.

  • Home
  • About Evelyn Kanter
  • Evelyn Kanter’s Books & Apps
  • Evelyn Kanter In The News
  • Workshops
  • NYC Travel Guru

ecoXplorer.com is an independent information service which is compensated by advertisers and sponsors. This site includes some links to other websites which are compensated for by our sponsors when you click them.

 

Loading Comments...