While the headlights of the Ford Reflex concept are straight out of a 1980s sci-fi flick, everything else about the car is modern and innovative. Twenty-inch chrome dubs look massive under the small, sleek body and the reverse butterfly doors are original and sexy.
Inside a cabin void of traditional wood and leather, a plastic-slathered 2+1 configuration follows a 3-passenger trend that has been common over the past year in concepts from Toyota to Renault. With the flip of a switch, the Reflex becomes a 2+2, sacrificing luggage space for people space. At night, the Reflex cabin is flooded with the glow of two headrest-mounted TVs and futuristic LED instrument lighting.
An ecologically cool feature is insulation made from recycled Nike shoes, giving the Reflex a direct connection to the running shoe it borrows its shape from. The hybrid diesel propulsion system incorporating head- and taillight mounted solar panels sounds pretty space-age, and Ford claims that the Reflex would achieve 65 mpg if it were produced. But we wonder how Ford would know--the concept has no powertrain at all. Like Volkswagen's recent EcoRacer concept, the Reflex points toward a future full of fun, light vehicles capable of pleasing the driver and the planet at the same time--a trend we can definitely get used to. Now Ford has only to make this conceptual future the production present.