How Many 1990s Concept Vehicles Came to Life? 1990s Auto Show Video Shows Off “The Future”

Each and every year, there seems to be new automotive concepts vehicles that can serve to get us all hyped up just a little bit. However, for those who have been around the block a couple of times they’ve likely learned not to get too excited about upcoming concepts. At the end of the day, generally, concept vehicles don’t end up making it to market. Instead, they sort of serve as a testbed to see exactly how consumers are going to react to over-the-top concepts and kind of show off what an automaker can do at the same time.

They might also serve as a catalyst to get people in the door. If someone sees an amazing concept vehicle from a certain brand, it might just influence them to go and check out some of the other offerings from such an automaker.

This time, we take a walk back in time to see just how often it is that concept vehicles come to life. In this one, there are a couple of dozen new concept vehicles from auto shows in 1990 and 1993. More specifically, we’re taking a look at the Detroit North American International Auto Show. Even though the ongoing pandemic canceled the 2020 version of the show, we will surely see some pretty crazy concepts in the future as we have in the past.

In this particular group of throwback MotorWeek episodes, we get to see what the future of motoring looked like back in the early 90s. This includes the likes of a modular minivan that can be expanded for road trips and bigger family functions but breaks down into a smaller vehicle that looks something like what we know today as a Smart Car to get around town. We also get a look at some of the upcoming early 90s machines that were innovative for the time including a rounded Ford Ranger and Pontiac Trans Am.