It’s great to see so many concepts being unveiled in the Cobo hall this year. Compared to last year when we were practically ready to come home halfway through the first press day, it makes a refreshing trend. But we can’t help wondering if there’s a back story we’re missing here, because a good proportion of these concepts are missing one crucial aspect – an interior.
Honda/Acura for instance, whose designs we’ve criticised perhaps more than most over recent shows, are exhibiting some interesting and well-resolved designs here. Between the NSX, Accord Coupe and ILS, three in fact. Yet they’re all missing an interior. So are the pair of Chevrolet Coupes and the Nissan Pathfinder. Meanwhile, in a game of runaround that was worthy of some of our experiences in China, we couldn’t get access to the Dodge Dart interior, despite it – unlike the others – having an obviously finished cabin.
All of which seems a little strange, given the importance of the interior in the modern lexicon and the wealth of new tech tools at the designers’ disposal. Given that it clashes with CES this year, perhaps we’re suffering from the fact that most manufacturers were (logically) saving their big tech-based interior announcements for the show in Las Vegas. It’s just a shame that if that’s the case, it means we’re seeing so many half-designed cars.
We’re just grateful that two cars in particular – the Lexus Lf-LC and Smart for-US – show that for some manufacturers at least, showing a ‘true’ concept means one that comes with an interior that’s just as capable of grabbing the headlines as an exterior.
Posted by Joe Simpson
