No one knows where automobiles are going but concept cars provide us with a small window to look into their future. Different automakers use concept cars in various ways and they all devote a lot of time and money toward developing their cars of the future. The first thing an automaker does is decide what kind of market (what age group, what style of driving) it should target to gain the most customers. For instance, Ford builds mainly vehicles which target families with kids. Every year Ford comes out with new concepts appealing to families. Examples might include four doors, room for a dog, and the ability to go anywhere. Ferrari, on the other hand, builds cars for the rich auto enthusiast who likes to drive fast and race. Ferrari may come out with one new concept every year targeting this extreme group of car enthusiasts. All automakers create concept cars but they may explore different ideas and markets.

In the beginning car design was simple. All cars had four wheels, a couple seats, a motor, and a steering wheel. Henry Ford offered his model T "in any color you want, as long as it's black." Today creating cars has become more complicated. Not only must a car look good

some energy loss as the hydrogen is stripped from the gasoline. This process emits much less pollution than the conventional combustion engine of today, however, which gives it somewhat of an advantage (McCosh 2).

Engineers have been working for years trying to find alternate fuels for cars that do not harm the earth. Currently, cars run on fossil fuels, such as gasoline and diesel. Fossil fuels release hydrocarbons, like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, when they are combusted. These hydrocarbons are causing the depletion of the ozone, the warming of the earth, and possibly the eventual devastation of the planet. If we find alternative fuels that do not discharge hydrocarbons or burn fossil fuels, we can stop or reverse the damage done to the atmosphere and save the planet for future generations.

but it also must be safe and fuel-efficient. Most of this pressure comes from consumers, but they aren't the only ones who have to be pleased. The United States Congress pushes auto makers also, but more along the lines of safety and fuel economy (Butterworth 1). They don't really care how it looks.

So where are cars going? It's all up to the people and their needs, likes and dislikes. In a way, we are deciding where cars are going without even knowing it. Automakers spend a lot of time and money designing cars for the future. They experiment and try to predict what the people will want in a car. Some of today's concept cars emphasize speed, fuel efficiency, style and cost. Concept cars are as different as the many people who buy automobiles. There is a group of Americans that spend almost all their money on cars, they want performance and speed so manufactures have developed a special niche of cars just for them. Other people have realized the need for cars with better fuel economy because of the rising gas prices, the manufacturers are also designing cars to meet those needs. Automakers also aim to create distinctive styles that people prefer such as the Cadillac for comfort and Corvette for sportiness. It is amazing that after all of the hard work that an automobile company puts into a car, its success is all up to the consumer. Automakers design concepts for the future but we decide what the future will be.

Straying away from the alternative fuels, engineers have also developed electric cars. These have been around for a good amount of time but they are constantly being improved. Electricity is fairly accessible; just plug the car into an

Beyond meeting the demands of consumers and Congress, car designers must also make actually building the car easy on their car engineers. For example, some Mercedes Benz models have everything smoothly bolted in from the engine to the suspension, instead of putting together individual pieces in an assembly line. This takes a lot of time and in the car building process time is money. The Mercedes 500 SL is made primarily by hand in 150 hours and it costs 90,000 dollars. Its baby sister, the 190E sedan, is made in 50 hours and sells for 30,000. If a car takes too long to build, it will cost too much and no one will buy it. A car lives or dies by the cost of its design (Butterworth 2).

A second source of alternative fuel is methanol. The hydrogen is separated out of the methanol and then used in the same engine as the hydrogen-fueled car. This has more disadvantages, such as the fact that the entire rear of the car is taken up by machinery. It also emits carbon dioxide and is expensive to make. This source is still being refined to get rid of these problems and make it more economical to produce (McCraw 1).

Where can a concept car be seen? It can't, unless the automaker wants it seen. Security at design shops is high. There are, for example, three separate locked security doors to keep spies out of Honda's design shop in California. Automakers keep security tight because they don't want the public and other automakers to get wind

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