Ford to show more Concept Vehicles

[mackinaw]

Yeah, it's behind a paywall, but what you can read says it all.  As somebody who grew up looking at the "Levacar" at the Ford Rotunda back in the 1950's, the idea of more concept cars is one I like.

 

And I didn't know that Ford had a new design chief.  

 

https://www.autonews.com/cars-concepts/fords-new-design-chief-plans-more-concept-vehicles

[silvrsvt]

Well its a good thing to show what is coming up when it comes to Electrics, as long as they are easily producible.. 

[DeluxeStang]

1 hour ago, mackinaw said:

Yeah, it's behind a paywall, but what you can read says it all.  As somebody who grew up looking at the "Levacar" at the Ford Rotunda back in the 1950's, the idea of more concept cars is one I like.

 

And I didn't know that Ford had a new design chief.  

 

https://www.autonews.com/cars-concepts/fords-new-design-chief-plans-more-concept-vehicles

Yeah,  he comes from Renault, look up some of the designs he influenced. Ford's upcoming cars should look great. On a side note, If ford doesn't use this opportunity to preview an s650, or some other sporty/exotic vehicle, they deserved to get slapped. Don't promise us more concept cars and then just show up 15 SUV and truck concepts in a row. 

Edited April 11, 2022 by DeluxeStang

[Willwll313wll]

No paywall https://fordauthority.com/2022/04/ford-design-chief-wants-to-roll-out-more-concept-cars-going-forward/

 

Also, a lightweight fan of Anthony Lo!

Excited for what he's bringing to the company.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Willwll313wll

[rmc523]

I like the idea of more concepts again, but make them reasonable/feasible looking - some of the way out there ones are dumb, IMO.

[Willwll313wll]

20 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

I like the idea of more concepts again, but make them reasonable/feasible looking - some of the way out there ones are dumb, IMO.

 

I think shooting way out there pushes design and engineering.  If you're designing thinking only what's feasible today then it's going to be slow walk up innovation alley... Which we've arguably seen already in the industry.

I know some like to throw salt on Tesla for a dozen and one reasons but we would not be talking about or producing electric cars the way we are now if it wasn't for Tesla being innovative and pushing the needle. 

 

I'm mostly disappointed in concepts when a following production model isn't satisfying. And not because it's not feasible, but because the company doesn't give them what they need to make it feasible.

Speaking generally...

[rmc523]

27 minutes ago, Willwll313wll said:

 

I think shooting way out there pushes design and engineering.  If you're designing thinking only what's feasible today then it's going to be slow walk up innovation alley... Which we've arguably seen already in the industry.

I know some like to throw salt on Tesla for a dozen and one reasons but we would not be talking about or producing electric cars the way we are now if it wasn't for Tesla being innovative and pushing the needle. 

 

I'm mostly disappointed in concepts when a following production model isn't satisfying. And not because it's not feasible, but because the company doesn't give them what they need to make it feasible.

Speaking generally...

 

Except, arguably what has made Tesla successful (aside from the technology aspect) initially is that the Model S looked like a normal car and not some clown car or shoebox.  It was a great looking CAR.  And an EV on top of that.

 

I get what you're saying, but I've never liked the bizarro concepts that look like they belong on the moon.

[Willwll313wll]

33 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

 

Except, arguably what has made Tesla successful (aside from the technology aspect) initially is that the Model S looked like a normal car and not some clown car or shoebox.  It was a great looking CAR.  And an EV on top of that.

 

 

Yeah you have a point.. I can agree with that. Also, their EV was more performance than eco.

 

I can definitely see designing more concepts in general helping motivate and excite design teams, and getting the public interests: whatever that looks like. 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by Willwll313wll

[DeluxeStang]

1 hour ago, rmc523 said:

 

Except, arguably what has made Tesla successful (aside from the technology aspect) initially is that the Model S looked like a normal car and not some clown car or shoebox.  It was a great looking CAR.  And an EV on top of that.

 

I get what you're saying, but I've never liked the bizarro concepts that look like they belong on the moon.

I feel like Tesla really lost it after the model s came out however. Everything else they've released looks generic, hideous, or both.

[rmc523]

2 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:

I feel like Tesla really lost it after the model s came out however. Everything else they've released looks generic, hideous, or both.

 

I agree to an extent - they took the S and stretched and skewed it for the rest of their lineup.

 

Now they've gone the other way and gone full bore bizarro with the Cybertruck.

[jpd80]

 

DETROIT — Anthony Lo, hired last year as Ford Motor Co.'s chief design officer, plans to showcase more concept vehicles as electrification of the automaker's lineup presents what he calls a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to rethink how a vehicle should look."

The approach is a familiar one for Lo, 57, who spent the past decade at Renault, where he helped implement the company's "cycle of life" design strategy that resulted in a number of award-winning concepts.

"A concept car is not just simply a sculpture," he told Automotive News. "It's a platform for us to test experiences and think, ultimately, how the brand design language should evolve."

 

The public will get its first glimpse of Lo's vision April 20, when Ford plans to release an electric vehicle concept for its Lincoln luxury brand. The company on Monday shared a teaser image, calling the global concept "inspiration for our fully electric Lincoln vehicles coming in the near future."

While Lo did not discuss the Lincoln concept specifically, he said introducing more concepts than Ford had been doing can help generate excitement from customers.

"This is the best way to understand whether this new direction we've decided to take is acceptable and if people will fall in love with them," he said.

Design process changing

Since taking over for Moray Callum last year, Lo has traveled to most of Ford's global design studios and tried to meet as many of his new co-workers in person as possible. He said he quickly realized the strength of Ford's current portfolio after driving others such as the F-150 and was pleasantly surprised by the looks he got from other drivers while driving a Bronco shortly after it went on sale.

 

There's so much love; I can see it," he said. "The biggest challenge for me is how can we take these nameplates forward in the electric generation?"

Lo said EVs give designers more flexibility and freedom to craft roomier interiors, which are taking on a greater importance as automakers focus on connected and digital experiences.

"In the past, exterior design would always take the lead; it's part of what attracts you to the showroom," he said. "But because of the amount of features within the vehicle that you can control as a user, the user interface becomes more and more important. The design process is turning upside down."

He said his teams now start off by thinking about who the customers are and designing an interior experience around their specific needs. Then they think about how the vehicle looks from the outside.

"I think this is a really the main change in our industry," he said. "We'd of course put as much love into the exterior, but it's just that the priority has switched."

Dream come true

Lo, who was born in Hong Kong and attended the Royal College of Art in London, said he knew he wanted to be a designer from a young age, after his father began taking him to car races.

"This is really a dream for me, to be able to lead such a big design team of one of the biggest car companies in the world," he said.

He credits Peter Stevens, former chief designer at Lotus and one of his professors at the Royal College of Art, as one of his mentors and says he draws inspiration from people with whom he is close.

"As designers, you need to always keep an open mind," he said. "I try not to focus only within the automotive world. Everything is interconnected. You need to understand what's going on, for example, in the fashion industry, or with architecture — how cities will be created in the future and how we can integrate that into various systems."

Lo splits his time now between Detroit and Paris, where his family still lives. His garage houses a Mustang Mach-E and a Mustang Mach 1, which he uses on the long commute to Ford's design studio in Cologne, Germany.

‘Some change' necessary

Lo said he'll oversee the Ford Blue division for internal combustion vehicles as well as the Ford Model e division for EVs. Designers, he said, won't be pigeonholed into only working on EVs or gasoline-powered vehicles, though they likely won't be asked to work on multiple programs with different powertrains simultaneously.

Lo said he appreciated how the Mach-E was able to honor the Mustang's heritage while moving it into the future but said that same formula may not work on every vehicle line. Still, the company is entering a "really exciting period" from a design perspective, he said.

"We're going to have a lot of opportunity to take our nameplates and try to reinvent them," Lo said. "The nameplates are our equity — very, very precious and valuable, but I think some change is necessary. We're going to do our best to preserve what makes them special and mix that up with the best digital and physical experiences."

[akirby]

As test platforms I think concepts work well - introduce the public to new designs, materials and technology and gauge reaction.  But goofy concepts that are just built to wow people don’t make sense to me.

[mackinaw]

3 hours ago, akirby said:

As test platforms I think concepts work well - introduce the public to new designs, materials and technology and gauge reaction.  But goofy concepts that are just built to wow people don’t make sense to me.

 

I loved the Ford Levacar when I was a kid.  And note that it was the first Mach-1.

 

[DeluxeStang]

6 hours ago, mackinaw said:

 

I loved the Ford Levacar when I was a kid.  And note that it was the first Mach-1.

 

Got to love how optimistic, yet quirky these types of concepts were lol. Now, a brand just comes out with a electric SUV concept with a grille that's 12 feet tall, and that has a feature where the pressure from your ass cheeks can be use to start the car.