Mazda Kabura concept

The Kabura is a very interesting concept car for several reasons. It follows soon after the Sassou at Frankfurt and Senku in Tokyo as a concept car that aims to show the direction that next generation Mazdas will take, and it is also the first car from Mazda’s new Director of Design in the US, Franz von Holzhausen.

Dimensionally close to the MX5, the Kabura is a 3+1 rear wheel drive coupe. Some of the more interesting features include a short rear door on the right that slides rearward into the side of the car, a digital speedometer mounted on top of the steering wheel boss and a woven leather floor.

Despite a rather busy front, the exterior has some very innovative and subtle elements, most notably the raised surface on the flanks that successfully sit between the voluptuous fenders.

Of the trilogy of Mazda concepts shown this year the Kabura is the least impressive, but this has more to do with the quality of the Japanese and European studio concepts than the quality of the Kabura; it was one of the most admired concepts of the show.

Related Stories:
Mazda Sassou concept - Frankfurt 2005
Mazda Senku concept - Tokyo 2005

Toyota FBR concept

This large two-box hybrid powered minivan concept was one of the surprises of the show. One of the most impressive aspects of the design is how simple, calm and well resolved the form is – perhaps this is indicative of a production car of this type to soon emerge from Toyota.

The bluff nose features lamps integrated into the large grille graphic which has the now typical Toyota design element of the logo pushing down into it, a logo with perforations. The body side is very simple with one soft feature line defining the slightly concave shoulder, and a very subtle depression at the base of the door.

The interior is accessed via one of six doors, the rearmost being rear hinged, which with a C-pillar-less body enables a large walk in aperture. The red brown leather seats inside turn, twist and slide to provide bench seating around three sides of the interior (when stationary). One interesting feature of the reserved interior is its single-spoke steering wheel.

Toyota Camry

This is probably the most important show debut at Detroit. The current Camry is the best selling car in North America with sales of over 400,000 last year, but Toyota think that its 'Dad’s car' image and 'vanilla design' must not be carried over to the new sixth-generation Camry. As such they claim the new car is a radical departure and describe it as a sports sedan. Whilst this may be stretching the truth, it is evident that the new design has more confidence and a better stance than its predecessor.

Slightly reminiscent of the new Lexus LS460 also debuting at Detroit, particularly its rear three quarter view, the Camry’s more bluff nose has a prominent logo pushing into its grille, swept back lights (an emergent trend), and a quite contemporary interior. Its most interesting design element is a seat fabric on top models treated with a Fraichir process where Sericin (extracted from silkworm cocoons and refined) is applied to give an ultra soft feel, which also purports to moisturize the skin!

Ford Edge

Touted as the Next Big Thing, Edge is Ford's bid to lead the crossover sector. Essentially a low-fat SUV, Edge has a long cabin, short bonnet and wheels pushed to the corners. In a market whose domestic products often lack the variety found in other markets such as Europe, Edge will be an interesting new option for American car buyers keen to stay patriotic.

The taut linear theme of the exterior gives the car solidity with a well-judged relationship between cabin and engine volumes, though remains very pre-Iosis. The DRG features a three-bar grille becoming increasingly familiar in Ford's American range, even if the lower half of the headlamps seem marginally pinched. At the back, the screen is raked to further distance itself from larger SUV's, with lights appearing similar to the Skoda Octavia. Conceived and priced for mass appeal, the cost-cutting is apparent inside with exposed screw-heads and low-quality plastics on the centre console.

Though intended to lead this new market, the Ford Edge may find the biggest threat comes from its more expressive stablemate: the Mazda CX-7

Mitsubishi CT-MIEV concept

The subcompact has long been seen as a 'penalty car' in America, bought because of financial deficit rather than product virtue. MINI has begun to change this perception, and now Mitsubishi has unveiled their potential competitor in this expanding market.

Designed in California by Art Center graduate Mark Kim, the fresh exterior is very distinctive. With wheels pushed right to the corners and virtually non-existent overhangs, its pugnacious stance is aided graphically by reversed A-pillar and angled shutlines. The side is defined by a diving swage, a popular theme at the show, made special here by the ribbon-like surface twist. This transition is afforded by a vertical surface coming from the front blending with another more angled one from the rear, resulting in a shoulder that nicely carries the structural front to the more organic rear. Extensive glazing envelops the lights, though the minimal tint in the rear screen weakens the back a little. The tidy, if sparse, interior uses metallic ribbing for the IP and floor, but it does not have the same impact as the exterior.

This is a thorough study, and one that will hopefully closely inform a production version – and a new attitude for this segment.

Jeep Compass

At the 2002 NAIAS Jeep unveiled the Compass concept, a three-door off-roader with college students and suburban environments in mind. Now four years later comes the production version, which has grown to include two extra doors, and sits below Wrangler and Cherokee.

Initial impressions were disappointing given the excellence of the earlier concept. Though its distinctive shoulder has been retained, the theme has not translated well into the production version: this is largely due to the smaller wheels, forcing the height of the arches down, which in turn increases the distance and mass between them and the shoulder. The front features the typical Jeep grille, but like the sides appears top-heavy with the taper of the bumpers. The rear is better resolved, if conservative, but the bumpers are box-sectioned, their visual weight not helped by the horizontal splits on the sides. It is interesting to see Jeep chasing new customers, but with this underwhelming outcome, one can’t help but wish they’d stayed closer to the original show car.

Related Stories:
Jeep Compass concept (Detroit 2002)
Jeep Compass concept (Frankfurt 2005)


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