{"id":21733,"date":"2018-01-18T14:18:52","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T18:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=21733"},"modified":"2018-01-18T14:18:52","modified_gmt":"2018-01-18T18:18:52","slug":"concepts-show-where-future-vehicles-are-headed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/concepts-show-where-future-vehicles-are-headed","title":{"rendered":"Concepts show where future vehicles are headed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/966c46f35bb30a0239abd9b855e4e1602574bd21\/c=166-0-2833-2000&amp;r=x404&amp;c=534x401\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/01\/17\/DetroitNews\/B99618762Z.1_20180117183338_000_GSR1QQ6K6.1-0.jpg\" alt=\"Infiniti-Q-Inspiration\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">Concepts once ruled auto shows. Flights of fancy looking into the far-off automotive future. Hydrogen-powered cars. Hybrid-electric supercars. Self-driving cars. You know, sci-fi stuff. Well, the future has arrived with production vehicles offering the future today \u2014 the Honda Clarity fuel-cell car, the Acura NSX supercar, the autonomous Chevy Bolt. Who needs concepts? Well, designers do \u2014 and so they continue to proliferate on the floor to give you a look at where their brands are headed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\"><strong>Infiniti Q Inspiration concept<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>What it is:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThe concept is meant to demonstrate future technologies and will not be available for sale,\u201d reads Infiniti\u2019s press release. But its technology is not far off. This is a mid-size sportback sedan with dramatic new design language for Nissan\u2019s luxury brand. The efficient variable-compression, turbo engine technology has already been introduced in the QX50 Infiniti SUV. The semi-autonomous ProPilot assist driving system is already in the 2018 Nissan Rogue SUV.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Payne\u2019s take:\u00a0<\/strong>From the sleek, sportback exterior to its minimalist interior and wrap-around digital instrument display, the gorgeous Q concept shows the dramatic effect Tesla has had on luxury makers. With one exception. The Infiniti is not an electric vehicle, but a cutting-edge demonstration of how a variable-compression combustion engine can provide better torque and less fuel consumption \u2014 without the compromises of a battery-powered vehicle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Lexus LF-1 Limitless<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-Qk7gb5ckrP8\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/d5b1f1df2d1e1efce1db0d27f0e1f3dabeef9cb4\/c=286-0-4914-3471&amp;r=x408&amp;c=540x405\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/01\/17\/DetroitNews\/B99618762Z.1_20180117183338_000_GSR1QQ6QI.1-0.jpg\" alt=\"Lexus-LF-1-Limitless\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2018\/01\/17\/DetroitNews\/B99618762Z.1_20180117183338_000_GSR1QQ6QI.1-0.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/4044b1e7645488621f157de466cf1a990870caa2\/r=500x333\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/01\/17\/DetroitNews\/B99618762Z.1_20180117183338_000_GSR1QQ6QI.1-0.jpg\" \/><\/aside>\n<\/div><div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>What it is:<\/strong>In 1989, Toyota\u2019s new luxury division debuted its flagship LS 400 sedan at the Detroit auto show. Nearly 30 years later comes the LF-1 Limitless as a concept previewing an SUV flagship, as the market has shifted to high-riding crossovers. The LF-1 offers an intriguing hint on where the polarizing spindle grille is headed. Inside, the controls are (encouragingly) steering-wheel focused, with paddles for controlling speed and buttons for shifting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Payne\u2019s take:<\/strong>\u00a0From its slavish Mercedes-like design on its 1989 LS original, Lexus has definitely created its own unique design direction for the 21st century. The car also hints at the brand\u2019s\u00a0<strong>\u201c<\/strong>Chauffeur\u201d autonomous driving capabilities. Limitless apparently refers to the drivetrains offered \u2014 Lexus says anything from gas to hydrogen to electric.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Nissan Xmotion concept<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-Qk7gb5dVNXs\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/ede9345b7734f04abb362033ea439b31f93cfae2\/c=164-0-3940-2832&amp;r=x408&amp;c=540x405\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/01\/17\/DetroitNews\/B99618762Z.1_20180117183338_000_GSR1QQ6MV.1-0.jpg\" alt=\"Xmotion\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2018\/01\/17\/DetroitNews\/B99618762Z.1_20180117183338_000_GSR1QQ6MV.1-0.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/47dfb57d08c7997f89e788d8ea4dd7b04e244f33\/r=500x344\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/01\/17\/DetroitNews\/B99618762Z.1_20180117183338_000_GSR1QQ6MV.1-0.jpg\" \/><\/aside>\n<\/div><div class=\"clearfix\">\u00a0<strong>What it is:<\/strong>\u00a0Xmotion is the SUV follow to the Vmotion sedan concept Nissan showed here in 2017. Similar in size to the brand\u2019s sleek, hot-selling Rogue sport-ute, the chunky Xmotion predicts a much more aggressive future for Nissan\u2019s utility vehicles. Maybe the template for an off-road adventure-ute like the dearly departed Xterra?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><strong>Payne\u2019s take:\u00a0<\/strong>The Xmotion\u2019s exterior \u2014 Xterior? \u2014 is a design preview, but the interior is good ol\u2019 fantasy. Festooned with seven video screens, the X imagines bringing all the technologies we love on our smartphones and laptops into the car: fingerprint ID to start the engine, gesture controls, even a digital assistant in the form of a Japanese koi fish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Concepts once ruled auto shows. Flights of fancy looking into the far-off automotive future. Hydrogen-powered cars. Hybrid-electric supercars. Self-driving cars. You know, sci-fi stuff. Well, the future has arrived with production vehicles offering the future today \u2014 the Honda Clarity fuel-cell car, the Acura NSX supercar, the autonomous Chevy Bolt. Who needs concepts? Well, designers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21733"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21733"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21734,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21733\/revisions\/21734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}