Kinda like jumbo shrimp. ;)

So do I ;) C5/6 Vettes are great cars to start from. I did the design/clay work on this one 10 or so years ago as a side job. Unfortunately money problems killed the project. This is the clay model on a C5 running chassis. Pulling off a reto design is very difficult to get look right, that split window almost made…

There is a fair amount of cross pollination in the auto design biz, most of those that I know say GM is the best for quality of work/life. Judging by the number that have left and the come back (or tried to get back) I’d say this is true. Product quality issues have a lot more to do with bean counters than designers.

Caddy CTS awd, pretty easy to find a nice one in that price range.

In the Automotive design biz, it’s not uncommon. At near 60 years old and 35 years in design I rarely sleep more than 6 hour a night during the week, At her age 4-5 was the norm.

Yugo in flight

During the 80s most if not all convertibles were done by third parties. Other than the Jeep Wrangler, the Fox body Mustang and the Chrysler K body, I can’t think of any US sold convertibles that I a hand in. :) 

Yes, Cars and Concepts in Brighton Mi. did all of the fox body mustangs. They were sent from the rouge plant to a C&C plant sans interior. C&C cut off the roof, added bracing then installed the interior, they did the same for the K-body Chryslers. ASC did the E & J body GM convertables of that era.

Calling Pete an engineer might be a stretch (I don’t believe he has the degree but I could be wrong), along with his brothers he ran a high end body shop in Dearborn. If I remember correctly that’s where he built a 2 seat Mustang convertible for his wife using a modified SL top stack with the help of his brother…

These were a lot stiffer than a Mustang drop top of the same vintage. Cars and Concepts did the Mustang coversions.

If I recall correctly it was 4 barrel, 4 speed, dual exhaust originally, then it just became a trim package.

This is very true. My Dad was the design manager for the Lincoln Versailles in the 70s. He hated the car, and when I asked him about it he said if each dealers wife drives one the company makes money.

Neutral: Did You Buy A Car This Month?

Had a 94 Honda XR650L and agree completely still regret selling it. I’m thinking very seriously about picking up an Africa twin, I just have to convince my wife. ;)

Darby is a sweetheart, a very good designer and a pleasure to work with. Casey on the other hand can be a real jackass to work with.

I was 12 years old in 1969 flying by myself for the first time to spend the last couple of weeks of summer with my Grand parents in Tampa. The DC9 I flew on ended up being the last plane into Tampa before they closed the airport for Hurricane Camille. The wind shear and turbulence literally had anything not tied down…

Not out and out weird, but it doesn’t get much more redneck than this place I stopped at for lunch over the Holidays...

Not to be nit picky, but it was reported from Ann Arbor in Washtenaw county which is in south east Michigan. Montmorency county were the deputy is from and the stop was made is about 3 hours north of there.

No it’s not. Transportation Design is very specialized degree with a very different skill set than is required in an Engineering degree, I work with both every day. Every image shown would fall under the purview of someone with a Transportation Design degree at most OEMs, not an engineer.

Jdublu

WiscoShibby