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Crazy concept cars - the cars we never get to see
 Like a mince and cheese pie with a heart foundation tick, concept cars are fantasy; the insane dreams of designers with seemingly unlimited access to funding and mind altering substances. Sometimes brilliant, frequently bizarre and often just plain silly.
Car manufacturers use concept cars to introduce new technology, test new styling cues on the public and to make their stands at the world's motor shows more interesting. While most of them never get built, every now and then a pearler will sneak through the cracks and onto the car yards. Turners Auctions have a couple of crackers coming up for auctions soon including this 1966 Austin 1800 Campervan or this 1988 Citroen CX25GTi
Let's take a look at some of the cool, the ugly, the beautiful and the stupid.
1951 Buick Le Sabre
 Designed by Harley J Earl, the man credited as creating the first ever concept car (the Buick Y-Job), this car ended up as his daily driver. That's one expensive company car, reputedly costing between $500,000 and $1,000,000. Multiply by about ten to get that in today's money. The car featured such ground breaking technology as a moisture sensing hood that would automatically close if it started raining while the owner was away from the car.
Supermarket parking spaces were obviously bigger in the 1950's.
1957 Aurora Safety car
 It may have been safe but most people would rather die than be seen in this. Designed by Catholic priest, Alfredo Juliano, it's fair to say that God was busy elsewhere when inspiration was sought for this monstrosity.
The idea was to design a car that had safety as its sole focus, which was a revolutionary idea in the 1950's. Back then cars didn't even have seat belts (unsurprisingly, this car did). The very idea that a driver would have to wear a seat belt would have been seen as an assault on liberty and democracy back then. This car missed the target on every level “ even the name was terrible.
1955 Alfa Romeo BAT 9
 From the ridiculous to the sublime. The Alfa BAT concept project started with the BAT 5 in 1953, went on to the BAT 7 a year later and concluded with this beauty. If only this car had been put into production. Sure it would have spent most of the time at the garage being fixed but while you stood on the side of the road, waiting for a tow truck, you could admire your sexy piece of automotive art.
Tang Hua - Book of songs
 You've probably seen the famous image of two fried eggs with the caption "this is what drugs will do to your brain"? Well this is what happens if you design a car after you've fried your brain.
This amusing but ultimately silly car is made in China and runs on electricity. So, apart from the stupid looks, ridiculous name and sickly colour - not a bad concept. The people mover version in the background is called "A piece of cloud". Not pictured is the sports model, "Detroit Fish". JUST SAY NO!
1958 GM Firebird III Concept
 Is it a car or is it a plane? Well, it's a car inspired by a fighter jet - and why not?
In the 1950's people saw this sort of thing as the future. They would have dreamt that by the year 2000 we'd all be driving one of these but maybe without wheels. They were ambitious times. So imagine their disappointment if they were transported 50 years into the future to find that the biggest selling car is the Toyota Corolla. How did we get so boring?
The Firebird III wasn't just some standard production car with a crazy body thrown over the top. No, this car was a serious bit of kit. It was powered by a 225hp gas turbine engine and it had so many accessories that it needed a separate 10HP petrol engine just to run them. It featured Anti skid brakes, air conditioning, cruise control, remote door opening, air drag brakes (just like a fighter jet), automated guidance system and "no hold" steering. And just to finish off the fighter jet theme you steered it using a joystick.
After writing this I know that I'm going to feel a deep feeling of disappointment when I jump into my hum-drum, 21st century car. And in 50 years time the Corolla will still be the biggest selling car - and I'm willing to bet that it won't look anything like the magnificent Firebird III. Sigh.
Honda Fuya Jo
 Honda has long had a reputation for making cars that older people prefer. For instance, the Honda Jazz is a favourite of the over 60's. With this in mind, Honda told their design department to create a concept car that would appeal to a younger generation. This is the result; a car that is easy to get in and out of - for those with bad hips and knees - has a large stereo - perfect for the hard of hearing -and is incredibly ugly - for the sight impaired. So, a perfect car for senior citizens then?
The idea of the Fuyo Jo was to create a mobile nightclub for the party animal who wants to keep on partying while driving home from the nightclub, driving to work the next day, grocery shopping, etc. The seats keep the occupants in a semi standing position, the steering wheel is apparently shaped like a turntable (aren't all steering wheels shaped like a turntable?) and the dashboard resembles a DJ's mixing console. Exactly like a nightclub then. I can't help but feel that you could get a similar experience standing on a train with some banging tunes pumping out of your iPod.
Look familiar?
 This Holden Coupe 60 concept car is based on the VE Commodore chassis and shares some of its styling cues. The car was built to commemorate 60 years of Holden building cars in Australia. You can't buy one of these but can buy a Commodore VE at Turners. Check out these 2008/2009 models coming up for auction.
But we suspect that as well as concept cars, and tarted up road models, there are some even better home built cars, trucks and machines sitting in sheds and garages around the country. Click here to send us your photos...
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