Automotive Predictions for 2016

Since nothing happens in the auto industry, we're recycling the predictions from 2 years ago.  Don't worry, all of them came true.  You can bet on them again.

http://prototypepics.blogspot.com/2013/12/automotive-predictions-for-2014.html

Lexus Hoverboard!

They said it was real, but one wonders.  They had a virtual reality booth where you could ride one.  Still, this piece of wood was more interesting than most of the cars at the auto show.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

I have mentioned what's wrong with Italian design in general.  Here's what's wrong with Alfa in particular.  While the sports car and the sedan exaggerate the point, it's still valid.  In 1965 Alfa stood for many things in terms of design and engineering.  The 2016 Giulia shows why this company should close.  It is a Camry that lacks the excitement of the original.  The reliability is most likely missing as well.  Alfa-Romeo is over.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

Here's a blue prototype.  I don't remember what it is.  Please do my work for me in the comments section, and fill in the details about it.

Update: 12/28/2015

I ran across another site praising this nondescript blob:  It's a Jaguar F-Pace!  Yes, nothing says British racing history like an elevated station wagon.  Have the people running this company ever seen a Jaguar?

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

Sometimes, the early efforts are the best.  Here's the Mazda Cosmo.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

This was not only the best parody, but the only parody.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

Here is Honda's fuel cell generator, the Power Exporter several thousand.  This might be the biggest history maker at the show.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

Here's an engine.  Is it a Honda Fuel Cell?  I don't remember.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

Here's a car from lying Honda.  I attended the opening ceremony for the plant near Guadalajara, Mexico in 1994.  They were building it to serve Mexico and points south.  I knew it was unlikely at the time, and here's a Fit from there.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

It's the Kia Surface Pro!

You have to wonder about this one.  Kia copies Microsoft's mistake, in which they stopped the design process and decided to build a laptop that doesn't close on one side. The roof is attached in this case, but it doesn't look like it.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

"Are they still here?" Edition

These two cars are the latest from Mitsubishi.  One is a 2016, and the other is 2017.  I don't remember which is which.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

This is an old custom from the late George Barris.  I'm not sure if his creations could have been driven very much, but they always looked fun.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

Most Porsches are 2 seater Camrys.  They tend to be owned by retentive personalities who need more to fuss over.  Occasionally, as in the case of Steve McQueen, they are cocoons which hide painful backstories.

Of course, none of the reality of this brand shows up in the advertising.  Instead, Porsche's image is built on racing, which used to be exciting.  This GTA Clubsport is the foundation for all of it. Although it would be great to see it campaigned and thrashed on race tracks everywhere, it is just as likely to gather dust in a collection.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

Not all prototypes are good ideas.  Some of them are terrible.  Others, like this one, are accidents waiting to happen.  It is often said that there is something exhilarating about cheating death, but being in between two open wheels and the accompanying road film might be a bit much.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

This is a Hot Wheels track about 30' in the air.  You had to walk up a stairway to get to the top.  Each person got two cars to race.  The winner was the first to land in the box.  The first finish, was not always the first landing.  Many of the cars missed.  This was the most fun part of the show.  It was supposed to lend excitement to the other displays.  It didn't.  The rest of the show was as dull as ever.

2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Extended Coverage

And so we start on the last day of the show.  Everyone working there was tired and ready for it to end.

We begin on the ash heap of history, with the Elio.  Like the Peel and many others before it, the Elio rises to the challenge and answers several questions:  What if cars were built for commuting?  What if aircraft techniques were used?  What if cars were sensibly proportioned?

Alas, the auto industry is an anachronistic one.  The car buying public isn't exactly forward looking. As we say "Hello" to this car, it's time to say "Goodbye."

Seen but not photographed: Skoda Ute

For those of us in the United States, that's the Skoda El Camino or the Skoda Ranchero.  This was a blue one that went by a couple of weeks ago. Even the bed is small.  It's smaller than the last car/truck thing VW sold in the early 1980's.  It's an urban pick up for people who don't have to carry very much. At least they're trying something different.

Traffic in Portland Oregon

When a trend has run its course.