Cars

Do these GM concepts signal the return of the personal luxury car?

By 2022-01-10T14:31:00

BuickSmartPod_Ext_image18

Two futuristic concepts, the Buick Smart Pod and the Cadillac Innerspace Concept recently introduced by General Motors, point to a revival of a classic format 

There was a time, some fifty years ago when personal luxury cars prowled the American roads, their bold, flamboyant, designs flashing across the automotive landscape, a rebuke to the more workaday designs of the average family car. 

The drivers of these cars were proud, self-assured and upwardly mobile types, who wanted to experience a luxurious automotive travel on a personal level, with the feeling of a sports car, but the road presence of a big luxury car and, of course, a suite of creature comforts to make the journey a pleasant one and impress anyone along for the ride. Two recent concepts introduced by General Motors suggest those a return to those halcyon days. 

At the Auto Guangzou 2021 Show, Buick introduced Smart Pod concept, a day-after-tomorrow idea car for future luxury travel. The Smart Pod is nominally an MPV, but clearly, with its interior arrangement, is meant for two occupants, with an option for four with a fold-away jump seat. It is intended to be an autonomous luxury cruiser, with no steering wheel.  

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