Aero 2000

General Motors and Epcot’s World of Motion/Test Track have been hot topics recently, including here (and here, there, this one, and who could forget this) at the Gazette. Today’s Back Issue also comes to us from World of Motion’s TransCenter in the form of a flyer for the car of the future, the Aero 2000, which was on display.

The “Aero 2000” is the product of accelerating change in automotive design and manufacturing. In every aspect of business – from the designer’s first sketch to the end of the assembly line – more sophisticated tools, processes and materials are creating vehicles that are increasingly in tune with the technical trends of the times.

These vehicles have a new and exciting look. They represent the designer’s artful fusion of form and function and freedom from the commonplace. No car better expresses these creative concepts than the “Aero 2000.”

The four-passenger subcompact was developed for display at General Motors’ “World of Motion” exhibit in Epcot Center as a symbol of the futuristic spirit of the popular attraction at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida.

With front-wheel-drive, the sleek newcomer has an experimental turbo-charged diesel engine of 68 horsepower and could travel about 71 miles on a gallon of fuel, thanks in large measure to the excellence of its aerodynamics.The exterior design goal was a surface free of wind-resisting interruptions. As a result, skirts shroud the front wheels, opening only when needed. Voice-actuation of the two powered sliding doors eliminates handles; windowglass is unframed, flush and bonded to the body whose underside in enclosed.

The car was designed to maintain its aerodynamic qualities under all operating conditions. A four-point, self-adjusting air suspension system would automatically correct the car’s attitude for minimum wind resistance, while a speed-controlled flap would reduce rear-end air disturbance.

The interior uses the car’s computer and satellite-linkup capabilities in conjunction with space-age devices that can see, speak, hear and respond to voice commands to provide vehicle control plus passenger comfort and entertainment.

Among the more prominent innovations are:
¤ A “heads-up” display of instrument panel readings reflected in the windshield which permits the driver to see them and the road simultaneously
¤ An advance experimental passenger restraint system
¤ An instrument panel display that pinpoints the vehicles position on a computerized or telecast map
¤ A super-sophisticated entertainment/communications system featuring a multipurpose television set in the rear and satellite-serviced radio and telephone