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Forgotten Concept: Chevrolet Nomad

Chevrolet Nomad Concept

This is an installment in a series of posts looking back on show cars that we feel deserved a little more attention than they got. If you have a suggestion for a Forgotten Concept topic, please shoot us a line or leave a comment below.

Chevrolet Nomad

First Shown: 2004 Detroit Auto Show

Description: Small sporty 2-door wagon

Sales Pitch: “A personal vehicle that carries the expressions and emotions of the driver.”

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Chevrolet Nomad Concept

Details:

First shown at the 2004 Detroit Auto Show, the Chevrolet Nomad Concept was a compact 2-door wagon designed to be both sporty and practical. An homage to the Chevrolet Corvette Nomad show car that debuted at the 1954 GM Motorama, the 2004 Nomad was designed around General Motors’ Kappa small sporty-car architecture, which would soon underpin the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky two-seat sports cars. (The Solstice debuted as a 2006 model, and the Sky followed for 2007.)

The Nomad Concept was powered by a turbocharged Ecotec 2.2-liter 4-cylinder that put out 250 horsepower and was paired with a 5-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive.

To accommodate cargo loading, the rear glass retracted into the bottom-hinged tailgate. A roof panel over the cargo area could be removed to create space for larger items. Unlike the Solstice and Sky, the Nomad Concept was outfitted with a folding rear seat for ostensible 2+2 occupant capacity, but those back seats must have been extremely cozy.

Forgotten Concept: Chrysler Chronos

Chevrolet Nomad Concept

CG Says:

The problem with concept cars as cool as the 2004 Nomad is that the potential audience is typically limited to auto journalists and diehard enthusiasts. And, auto journalists often tend to buy only used cars.

A shame, as seeing one of these sleek, sporty 2-door wagons on the road would have brought me great pleasure. As there are currently no small wagons available for sale in the U.S., it seems GM made the fiscally prudent decision not to proceed with Nomad as a production vehicle. Still, a new-age retro Nomad would likely have been pretty cool.

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Chevrolet Nomad Concept

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Written by: Tom Appel on July 29, 2021.

Forgotten Concept: ZIL-4102

ZIL-4102 Concept

ZIL-4102

First Shown: 1988 private event near Moscow

Description: Large luxury sedan/limousine

Sales Pitch: “Modern update on the ZIL-4104.”

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ZIL-4102 Concept

Details:

First shown in 1988 at a private preview in Moscow for Soviet leaders (including then President Mikhail Gorbachev), the ZIL-4102 from Russian automaker ZIL was designed to replace the dated ZIL-4104–a ponderous, slab-sided limousine which was first produced in 1978, but had been out of production since 1983.

Like the 4104 (an image of which can be found in our gallery below), the 4102 was meant to serve as transportation for high-ranking Russian officials, and as a chauffeured limousine for the highest-ranking leaders. The 4102 broke with ZIL (Zavod imeni Likhacheva–literally, Likhacheva factory) in two ways. First, it was to be available with a V6 engine—all prior ZILs were V8 powered—and second, it was to feature unibody construction—also novel for ZIL.

Three engines were scheduled for use in the planned production versions of the 4102: a 4.5-liter V6, a 6.0-liter V8, and a mammoth 7.0-liter V8 diesel. Two transmissions were also on the drawing board: a 4-speed automatic, and, intriguingly, a 5-speed manual.

Unfortunately, ZIL never shared basic specs for the 4102, so we have nothing to share in that regard. Rumor has it that the contemporaneous Mercedes-Benz S-Class was referenced by designers of the car, though the 4102 looks longer than that to us.

Two prototype 4102s were built—charmingly named Mishka and Rayka, affectionate nicknames applied to Gorbachev and his wife Raisa. (It’s unclear which prototype—one was blue, the other tan—was which.)

Stories vary on why the 4102 failed to see production. The most interesting is that Gorbachev himself nixed the project, having recently railed against the excessive perks with which Soviet officials were rewarding themselves.

There are some reports that a third 4102 prototype was fabricated in 1990, but history seems unclear on why that was.

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ZIL-4102 Concept

CG Says:

One of the most intriguing elements of cold-war Soviet vehicles is that they all appear to have been stubbornly built without any consideration for design, but then are contrastingly finished with Western-looking grilles and trim bits. At some point you have to wonder why the Soviets even bothered with capitalist-inspired niceties such as chrome or wheel covers.

While the 4102 appears to have been designed to look at least a little like a European luxury vehicle, the end product is something akin to a peanut-allergic Volvo after a chance encounter with a Payday bar. Some of the ungainliness may have come from the car’s dual purpose, since it was designed as a personal-use car for some, and as a chauffeured ride for others.

Two thoughts about the interior: First, check out that sickle-handle gear-selector knob. Secondly, I can’t tell if the car is equipped with a radio or not. Any guesses?

Forgotten Concept: Cadillac Voyage

ZIL-4102 Concept

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ZIL-4102

Forgotten Concept: Mercury Meta One

ZIL-4102

Written by: Tom Appel on July 1, 2021.on July 2, 2021.

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Forgotten Concept: Nissan Tri-X

Nissan Tri-X Concept

Nissan Tri-X

First Shown: 1991 Tokyo Auto Show

Description: Midsize premium coupe

Sales Pitch: “Responsible beauty”

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Nissan Tri-X Concept

Details:

First shown at the 1991 Tokyo Auto Show, the Nissan Tri-X Concept was a rear-drive midsize coupe powered by a 32-valve V8. With the Tri-X, Nissan was testing the market for a luxury coupe to sell alongside its Asian-market performance coupes, the Skyline and Skyline GT-R. As such, the Tri-X featured a leather-lined cabin with four-place seating, an automatic transmission (the Skyline came only with a manual), and a high-tech control interface. (Take note of the trackball-style controller in the center console.) Pitched by Nissan as “responsible,” the Tri-X’s 4.5-liter engine was tuned to run on methanol as well as gasoline, a feature thought to be eco-conscious at the time.

The Tri-X was a fully functional vehicle, but it was never displayed on the U.S. auto-show circuit (note the right-hand-drive dashboard), so for Americans it’s likely more unknown than forgotten.

Forgotten Concept: Chrysler Chronos

Nissan Tri-X Concept

CG Says:

I can’t decide what I think of the styling here. There’s a lot going on, though I’m pretty sure the ducktail rear-end treatment doesn’t work. While the methanol thing is kind of a yawner, Nissan’s exploration of the premium-car market is interesting.

Remember, it was at this time that Nissan was introducing the Infiniti brand to the United States. Nissan’s nascent luxury division did indeed feature a smallish/midsize coupe at the time, though that car–the M30–looked nothing like the Tri-X.

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Nissan Tri-X Concept

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Forgotten Concept: Scion Hako Coupe

Written by: Tom Appel on May 21, 2021.

Forgotten Concept: Ford SYNus

Ford SYNus Concept

First Seen: 2005 Detroit Auto Show

Description: Compact crossover

Sales Pitch: “An urban sanctuary.”

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Ford SYNus

Details:

First seen at 2005 Detroit Auto Show, the SYNus Concept was a compact crossover that featured a tough, armored-vehicle exterior with a comfort-themed cabin. The vehicle was a collaboration between Spanish designer Jose Paris (exterior) and industry veteran Joe Baker (interior).

The bank-vault-esque exterior included bullet-resistant glass and armored shielding for the windshield and side glass which appeared when the vehicle was in “Lockdown Mode.” The modern cabin featured seating for four, and included a hideaway rear bench seat and front bucket seats that could be rotated 180 degrees to face the rear of the vehicle. In place of a rear window, the SYNus featured a large TV monitor.

The SYNus’s drivetrain, borrowed from the European Ford Mondeo, was a 2.0-liter “Duratorq” turbodiesel engine coupled to a 5-speed manual transmission.

Pronounced “sin-u-ehs,” the SYNus name was a pairing of syn—sort for synthesis—and us—for urban sanctuary. Ford had initially considered calling the concept Armadillo, but discovered that Fiat had used the name for a concept in 1996.

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Ford SYNus

CG Says:

It’s hard to pick the best dystopian landscape for this rolling exercise in vehicular paranoia, but I’m going to go with that of Robocop. I saw this vehicle in the flesh when it first made the rounds, and still wonder how a concept car designed for the bleakest of realities made for good, happy, move-the-sheetmetal fun. Strange that Ford stopped with the armor cladding. Why not include a solar-powered dehydrated-meal reconstituter, and a water purification system? I am happy to report that nothing this depressing or paramilitary-looking has made its way into Ford showrooms since the SYNus debuted, so we’ll just call this odd exercise a one-off and forget about it.

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Ford SYNus

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Ford SYNus Gallery

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Ford SYNus Concept

Written by: Tom Appel on October 27, 2020.

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