We were talking with a couple of European auto design consultants, who think the trend among American carmakers toward retrograde designs is complete, unabashed "rubbish" (c'mon, what did you think they would say?). They called out the Mazda Kabura concept (likewise with its RX-8 cousin) as one of the best designs of the show. With their comments in mind, we went back to the floor to get more shots of the Kabura now that the press-event crowd disbursed, leaving only a trickle of photographers and industry types to check out its curvage. We're taking points off for a few overly stylized bits — in the front end mostly — but we'd still like to see this one on the lot someday. More pics after the jump.

This aileron-like flip-up panel acts as a roof spoiler, vents air from the interior and adds headroom for rear passengers. Plus, a photovoltaic solar cell helps control ambient temperature (as well as recharge the battery).

Related:
Mazda's Kabura Concept [internal]

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