It’s a tricky thing, taking a vehicular concept and being able to turn it into a reality. There’s a couple of ways things can go oh so wrong. The first way is taking the thoughts and ideas that are running through designers and engineers minds and turning them into a horrible concept car. These concept cars take everything that was potentially a good idea and taints them.
The second way is a really great concept car to become a dud of a real car. Road cars can never be quite as good as their concept forefathers usually because they suddenly need to adhere to many laws about construction and safety. There’s a difference between it not living up to the hype and being a vehicular abomination.
There are some ideas that were so bad they have been scrubbed from all knowledge. Fiat built a concept car entitled the FCC4. They have scrubbed all record of it from their websites. Thankfully there are third party websites that got to see it before it was too late.
So which vehicles have been the worst misses once reality has struck? Buckle up and be ready to be disappointed!
#20 – Scion FR-S – So Close, But So Far
Source: Flickr
There’s been a lot of companies over the years that wanted to stay “Hip” with the youngsters. Toyota’s creation of the Scion brand was another company run by old gentlemen thinking that a brand redesign could get the youth market on their side. It worked briefly. Scion put out some smaller cars like the xA and xB that were meant to stimulate the younger car buyers. Really however what they wanted was to appeal to youth on all levels. For that to happen though, you need a sports car. That’s why it was time for the FR-S
What Scion Was Thinking
Scion had been doing reasonably well with sales for their modest cars. The xB especially was doing well. The cubic car trend among Japanese car makers was really doing well all around despite looking like vehicular dumpsters. But Scion needed a statement. Scion wanted people to
Scion Exec 1: “We should totally build a sports car!”
Scion Exec 2: *spits out drink* “Oh my god you’re right. We should totally build a sports car!”
So they set about designing one. It needed to be sleek and exciting. The car should appeal to the exciting youngsters. They don’t have children, so there’s no need for extra seats. 2 seats that fit people are plenty. Anything else can be for insurance. It needed to have power and it needed to have something that other Scion’s didn’t have. It needs to have an edge to it.
The concept had all of these things. It had fierce lines and was extremely low slung. It looked like something you’d meet in a dark alley.
Source: shutterstock
What the Public was Thinking Afterwards
The FR-S was put into production. It came out and it didn’t quite have the same appeal. It was still pretty. But it lacked that same edge of aggressiveness. The styling was toned down until it was curvy but inoffensive. The headlights didn’t give the car that same intense look it had before. However, with the danger gone, there was something missing from them.
One sector of the public loves the FR-S. That sector is really tall people. It may seem weird in a low-slung sports cat, but the proportions actually make it incredibly comfortable for people over 6’6” in height. Weird, but true.
