Concept cars turn heads

A range of new concept cars were showcased at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show. The auto show is considered to be one of America’s biggest car events of the year.  Nissan Xmotion

Nissan's new chief designer Alfonso Albaisa has designed the Xmotion concept in a design challenge to show what the future of SUVs could look like. According to the Japanese brand, the SUV combines Japanese culture and design with American convenience. "In the Xmotion concept, we explored the more rugged and powerful side of Nissan Intelligent Mobility. Bold and powerful forms and proportions are, upon closer inspection, contrasted with aspects of traditional Japanese craftsmanship expressed in a contemporary way," said Alfonso Albaisa. Honda Insight Honda revealed the third generation Insight at this year’s show. Competing with the Toyota Prius and hybrid models such as the Ford Fusion, the car can travel short distances on battery power alone. Unlike some of its rivals, the Honda engine often only acts as a generator, recharging the battery to run the electric motor. Honda is calling it a prototype so it is neither a concept nor a production model but rather something in between. When released next year, it will be slotted above the Civic but below the Accord. GAC Motor Enverge Chinese manufacturer GAC unveiled The Enverge which is built on GAC's all-new electric vehicle (EV) platform. The Enverge doesn’t need a power cord: inductive charging means it merely needs to park over a compatible charging bay. It has a 600km driving range thanks to its 71 kWh battery, and a 350kW fast charger can give the Enverge 400km of driving range in just 10 minutes. The car attracted a lot of attention at the show, with its gull-wing doors and "floating" digital dash-screen. Among its more crazy features are the headlights, which slide out and detach to be used as floodlights. While the Enverge was just motor show concept design, GAC unveiled a range of vehicles alongside it that would look at home in any mainstream showroom: small and medium SUVs, a seven-seat people mover and a Toyota Corolla-sized sedan. GAC is due to launch in the US in two years but its plans beyond that are unknown at this stage. Lexus Limitless

Lexus unveiled a full-sized luxury SUV concept, the LF-1 Limitless, which is designed to accept a range of engines from fuel cell, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric.

It also has what the car maker is calling a "four-dimensional navigation system", with the fourth dimension - time - meaning the vehicle has an intelligent assistant on-board that anticipates destinations based on the driver's schedule and other information.