Ford

16 Cars and Vans

A couple of weeks back I was approached to do a set of 3 illustrations of classic sports cars at a fixed price. The direction was specific about the view being straight ahead from the front of the car. The end goal was that these were going to be used in a printed calendar, and after the first 3, I’d get 9 more to work on.

Unfortunately, I fell victim to the bait and switch tactic or would you rather do these on spec, or for free, for a ton of exposure, and a possible cut of the profits. The thing is I don’t work for free, and unfortunately, the client’s proposal left me flat. So, I decided to say thanks but no thanks, keep my files and go back to my office.

The thing is though, it got me all inspired, so I did 12 more over the course of a couple weeks, and shared a few on social media. Now, I’m releasing them to the world. I really don’t have any interest in making money off of these. It was a fun little exercise with Adobe Illustrator that I feel good about. Each image is sized for the iPhone 6 screen resolution.

All I ask is if you download them and use them, give credit where credit is due. Let people know I am the guy that made these. Don’t resell them to make money and don’t take my name off of them. Tell people where you got them, and ask them to respect the same request about selling and credit.

Enjoy.

XKE

280z 356 911 917 2002 A-100 Alfa California Corvan DB5 Falcon Merak Miura Quatro XKE

Art of the Car Concours. It All About the Details.

This afternoon my friend Tim and I spent a few hours at the Art of the Car Concours on the grounds of the Kansas City Art Institute. The annual event is a scholarship fund raiser for the school, and over the last seven years has grown into a world class automotive event. The two of us spent a hot humid summer afternoon, walking through 100 or so vehicles taking photos, admiring the design styling, engineering, and distinction of the cars shown. At one point both of us commented on how each car, each brand, had unique looks that set it apart from it’s contemporaries.

Both of us remarked that in todays world, most people can’t tell a Nissan from a Honda, from a Volkswagen, from a Chevy, from a Hyundai, from a Kia, from a Ford (although Ford is arguably ahead of the curve in distinctive styling). Aside from a few marquee brands, or higher end autos, most look the same, and no one making a car for the masses puts the attention to detail in things like badging any more. Looking at a 49 Ford coupe, and 66 Covair it made me long for the days when each car brand looked distinct, and the exterior styling was as important as the creature comforts like iPhone connectivity that we lust after today.

Below is a sampling of some of the photos that I took today. Realistically some of these shots are for cars that would cost a small fortune in todays dollars. None the less, the attention to detail, the quality of materials, the small things, are what made these cars part of the golden age of automobile design. Personally I wish the big three, Ford, Chrysler, and Chevy would step up to the plate and bring this kind of styling back. Raise the bar, set a new standard based on vintage design styling that was in many ways simply better. No I don’t want the old school technology. What I want is a car that looks as cool as these, with all the comforts my 2013 model offers me today.

Four American Cars I’d Buy Today, if They Were Available as a 2 Door Coupe.

In the world of American cars, I’ve never understood why so many models are only offered as a sedan, and not as a coupe. I have nothing against four door cars, I simply prefer the look and slightly smaller size of the two door model. Part of this probably stems from the fact that when I was growing up, four doors cars were driven by my “uncool” parents, or my grandparents. Perhaps that stigma has held with me in some subconscious form. Then again, it might just be my design aesthetic coming in to play.

There are four American cars I would have purchased if they had been available as a coupe. Two of them are available in Europe as two door coupes already. The Ford Focus hatchback, and the new Dodge Dart, which Alfa Romeo sells as the Giulietta in both a two door coupe, and as a hot two door hatchback. The other two vehicles I would have jumped on if they were available as two door models are the Chevy Volt, and the Chrysler 200.

All four of these cars look good as four door models, with improved styling that can compete with European, and Japanese cars. This applies to both interior and exterior styling. Having driven each one of these models, I’d also say that build quality, amenities, and materials rival their foreign counterparts as well. After decades of poorly design, poorly styled and subpar materials, the American car companies (especially Ford and Chrysler. Chevy your design department needs to step up) are making a comeback.

A fifth car that I would consider is the new Lincoln Mk Z, although I hate the grill styling. The folks at Lincoln should have stuck with the 1960’s grill style they were using about ten years ago. It looked better, and it stood out from the crowd. None the less, this is another Ford product that would look stunning with the lines of a two door coupe, instead of a four door sedan.

All of these models need to look at Cadillac and what they did with XTS sedan and the CTS coupe. This is a great example of the same basic model available in two styles, and yes I’d buy a CTS coupe. I think it looks as good as any European, or Japanese luxury car on the market today.

“Fiestagram” Ford’s European Instagram Campaign.

No matter how you slice it this is pretty impressive. Ford in conjunction with Instagram, and Facebook have created the first Instagram based campaign.

Created by Blue Hive, the campaign centered around image challenges used to highlight new features of the Ford Fiesta for the European launch. Participants simply used the hash tag Fiestagram, and cross posted to Twitter and Facebook to enter the contest. To extend the campaigns reach, Ford displayed the images in all three social networks as well as physical galleries, and on digital billboards that displayed images in real-time as they were uploaded to Instagram.

Images that were judged to be particularly impressive or made it to Instagram’s “Popular” page received weekly prizes from Ford, with the final prize being a 2012 Ford Fiesta. Watch the video and pay close attention to the numbers. For a low cost campaign, this developed serious buzz and page linger times, with the average viewer spending almost 3 and a half minutes within the microsite on each visit.