Mazda's New Touring Vehicle
Concept cars of years ago rarely made it to the showroom. But today concept cars are focused more on function than on futuristic fantasy. The Early Show's Mark McEwen spoke with Mark Fields of Mazda about the Nextourer.
"We call it the next generation touring vehicle," Field says. "It has the versatility and cargo space of an SUV but also the style, technology and luxury features of a luxury touring sedan."
He explains the active-ride height-control feature: "If we hit this button here..., the vehicle goes down, he explains. So when it stops, "the owner can get out of the vehicle easier. When you start driving, it rises up four inches when you're at regular speed. And at high speed, it goes down by two inches to improve fuel economy," Fields adds.
There are also two computers onboard for passengers. "What they can do is access email, Internet navigation system and, also for the kids, an entertainment system," Fields says.
The car will be available in the next two to three years.
For more ideas about concept cars that Mazda has in mind, go to Mazda's site and click on concept cars.
Woman Motorist describes the concept car as "a vehicle that is not yet in production. These cars are often whimsical ideas of future vehicles. However, they or some of their features do end up in production models."
For some other manufacturers' ideas about concept cars, visit Toyota's Web site to find out about its new Prius, a hybrid gas- and electric-powered vehicle expected to be released this summer.
Or read about the Honda Insight, a gasoline-electric hybrid already on the market.