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1980 Mercury Antser

Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980 - Interior
Mercury Antser Concept, 1980 - Interior
Ford Antser Concept, 1976
Ford Antser Concept, 1976
Ford Antser Concept, 1976
Ford Antser Concept, 1976
Ford Antser Concept, 1976
Ford Antser Concept, 1976
Ford Antser Concept, 1976
Ford Antser Concept, 1976
Images: Ford Motor Company; Concept Car Central; www.chicagoautoshow.com
Rating:  8    -15    +23
Mercury’s answer to America’s driving needs in the late 1980s and beyond was shown in the proposed Antser concept car. The prototype featured an aerodynamic design, lightweight construction and a 1,200-pound electric hybrid power system. Anster was approximately the size of a Mercury Bobcat, and could seat 4-passengers (2-regular seats and 2-jump seats). A comprehensive computer-controlled electronic map display could be programmed to give detours and alternate routes, plus, the instrument panel displayed a computer-calculated average distance required to stop the car.

www.chicagoautoshow.com


Angular compact cars of the future were all the rage in the years following the OPEC oil embargo, but Mercury's Antser, unveiled at the Chicago auto show, was unique. Underneath that plastic skin lurked a series hybrid powertrain: batteries powered electric motors in all four wheels, and when they were depleted, a small generator extended the vehicle's range. An all-digital dash was a novelty: along with providing estimated braking distances, it allowed drivers to calculate routes via an on-screen map and pre-programmed data cartridges.

Hotness then (1-10): 3

It would be more than generous to call the Antser's exterior design uninspired; in fact, the wedge-shaped profile looks like a horrid remix of a Sebring-Vanguard Commutacar and a Pinto.

Hotness now (1-10): 7

What goes around, it seems, certainly does comes around. We can't help but notice that nearly twenty-four years after the Antser was trotted around the auto show circuit, automakers are finally ready to install similar (albeit much more advanced) series hybrid propulsion systems into small compact cars. And that digital dash? Very prescient, as Ford's new My Ford Touch system, featured in the new 2011 Edge, is somewhat similar.

Could it have saved the brand?

Although it seems to have predicted several trends that are just now coming to market, trying to push any of these features into production at the time was almost certainly beyond the abilities of Ford Motor Company. That said, it was refreshing to see designers toying with a small Mercury that wasn't merely a rebadged Ford product.

Orphaned Concept Cars - www.automobilemag.com
Comments
Bdk
Friday, September 4, 2009
Pity this never took off. I'd love to drive this style'd car.
mojo1961
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Goddamn, I hope this concept car was crushed. Why was styling so shitty in the 1980's? This thing hurts my eyes. I guess some Star Trek nerds would feel at home in one.
James Kristich
Friday, August 20, 2010
The Antser was done in 1973/74. Part of the study was the use of glass as a structural part of the auto, IE bent glass, bonded to the frame. The styling was to emphasis the angels. Another car was done along side the Antser as an all brake formed car for developing countries.
The car was not in tented to be a show car but a tool to sell some ideas to management.
It started with a small gas turbine generator located a-midships, more room was desired so the engine was moved to the front and change to a more conventional gas generator. The batteries where to start the generator, which powered four electric motors, one at each wheel. Using a half gallon an hour at full load the car got great mileage while traveling, in fact the faster you would go the better mileage. The down side in traffic standing still you still burnt the same amount of gas.
There where a lot of little ideas pitched. The seats where air filled pre programed to the drivers contour, regenerative braking, structural foam bumpers, computerized inst. panels etc.
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