Featured Presentation:
AutoRAI 1999: the concept cars
The AutoRAI is the bi-annual Dutch car
exhibition. This year it took place from the 4th till the 14th of February in the RAI
exhibition center in Amsterdam, Holland. The AutoRAI is very much focussed at marketing
regular cars, but some manufacturers spice up their effort by displaying concept or show
cars. Though all of them have been shown before at more important exhibitions, the concept
cars are always interesting to look at and draw a lot of attention.
Concept cars offer a preview of the near future of cars and incorporate new technology and
new design philosophies to be tested. Aspects of concept cars that find approval with the
general public are likely to be introduced in normal production cars. That's why concept
cars often look so extreme: they're aimed at provoking reactions. Without reactions
there's no feedback and without feedback the whole investment becomes worthless. A bonus
of designing and producing concept cars is that they can add to the brand name. The
association with advanced and spectacular designed concept cars can make normal production
cars more desirable.
All of this make concept cars well worth watching. This new feature shows all concept cars on display at the AutoRAI. It's a pity there weren't more, like the Cadillac Evoq, the Dodge Charger and certainly the Mercedes Vision SLR. These were all introduced at the Detroit Motorshow in January 1999, but none of the respective importers made the effort of getting them to Holland. Oh well, enjoy what was on display by clicking here or the "collage" shown above to start.