Autoblog

It's been no secret that part of Ford's turnaround plan (or we calling it Bold Moves anymore?) is to reunite its North American and European operations with more platform sharing and a common design language. With product life cycles being as long as they are in this industry, none of that will happen overnight. In fact, J Mays, Ford's group vice president of design and chief creative officer, told Automotive News that a single uniting global design language for both sides of the pond will be ready in about six years.

The main stumbling block is that Ford vehicles in North American and those sold in Europe have successfully established their own recognizable and well-liked design themes. It's called "Kinetic design" in Europe where the best example can be found in the new Mondeo, and "Bold American" in the U.S. where it manifests itself in the form of the three-bar chrome grille.

We've heard from inside sources that there's also a clash of personalities involved here between Ford of Europe's chief designer, Martin Smith, and Peter Horbury who heads up design for Ford in the U.S. Establishing a single visual language for Fords sold on both sides of the pond hinges on these two working together, which we've heard is progressing albeit slowly. Mays tells AN, "I'm so pleased with the professional approach that Peter Horbury and Martin [Smith] have taken on driving us to the right answer," but we assume he has to say that, so take it with a grain of salt.

Now that Aston Martin is gone and Jaguar and Land Rover are on their way out, Mays has time once again to delve deeper into the designs of each brand over which he has dominion. Hopefully the hands on approach will keep Martin and Horbury motivated with the end result being some fantastic Ford designs in a half dozen years.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

Rather than have disparate design wings flung across the globe, all speaking in a different tongue, Ford's tasking J Mays with teaching everyone the design equivalent of Esperanto. The new, unified, global design language will replace the "Kinetic Design" that Ford of Europe employs, as well as superseding the "Bold American" motif we get here in the United States. We're not likely to see the Edge pick up any Mondeo themes any time soon, but Mays is looking forward about six years to see the convergence come to fruition on a new generation of vehicles.

Ford is looking inward, trying to divest some of the PAG largesse while simultaneously reinvigorating the core Ford brand. New, cohesive, and most of all exciting design is key to transforming Ford, and Mays will serve as overlord from his London base of operations. While you'd think that something as important as global design for such a huge automaker would be cloistered in the bowels Dearborn, Mays says that Alan Mulally is comfortable with him working remote. We think it will be good to have the design chief living abroad, able to take in a wider sampling of automotive fashion than what we can find here in the US. Besides, we're sure there's an XK in the Mays garage, ready to rip on down to Carnaby Street to study fashionistas in their natural habitat.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

One of the criteria that doesn't make Ford's new Flex a minivan is its lack of sliding rear doors. Instead, the production version of the Flex gets traditional swing doors, unlike its concept inspiration, the Fairlane, which allowed rear passengers to enter via a set of suicide doors.

The move to nix the sliding doors wasn't so much for aesthetics as it was an opportunity to reduce costs. According to J Mays, the extra cash saved by using a traditional hinge setup allowed the automaker to invest in higher-grade leather, more luxurious interior materials, the glass roof, an 8-inch DVD and even an optional fridge.

While all those things aren't present just because of door selection, they allow the Flex to offer more features not traditionally associated with the benign people movers. So be sure to thank both Mays and Ford's beancounters when you're able to pacify the kiddies with a cold drink and Shrek on DVD.

[Source: Autoweek]

Not long after we told you about the likely promotion of Derrick Kuzak to the role of global Car Czar, President and CEO of Ford Alan Mulally officially announced his corporate realignment plan. At the top of the pyramid is, of course, Mulally himself. Reporting to him are the leaders of Ford's three largest units: Mark Fields, Ford of the Americas; Lewis Booth, Ford of Europe and the Premier Auto Group (PAG); and John Parker, Ford of Asia Pacific, Africa and Mazda. Supporting this team will be the aforementioned Derrick Kuzak, whose office door now reads Global Product Development Leader (a.k.a. Car Czar). J Mays is still the leader of Ford's design teams and will support Kuzak.

The whole point of defining each executive's role in the company and creating clear hierarchies is so that Ford can begin acting like one company instead of five separate ones, each with their own interests. The biggest change here is that Fields, Booth and Parker will now all be reporting directly to Mulally. In the past, both Booth and Parker would report to Mark Schulz, the company's Executive VP of International Operations. Schulz, however, announced his retirement earlier this month, which gave management a perfect opportunity to cut out a middle man position and improve communication between various rungs of the corporate ladder.

Check out Ford's full press release on this realignment after the jump.

[Source: Ford]

In an interview with Ward's Auto, Ford's chief creative officer (CCO?) and VP of design, J Mays explains that the similarities between the concept and the production versions of the Fairlane are profound. So much so, that some employees at FoMoCo can't tell the difference between the two.

The Fairlane seeks to bring an air of luxurious practicality to the people mover segment and considering the amount of growth Ford sees in the CUV segment, hopefully it fill the niche comprised of ex-SUVers and minivan refugees.

As we've already reported, Fairlane badging will not make it to production, instead, a yet-to-be-disclosed name will likely be announced in the next few months. Ford's newer crossover-van thingy will be built at the automaker's plant in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, along with a rebadged Lincoln version.

[Source: Byron Pope/Ward's Auto]

Ford Motor Company and news source AutoWeek are sponsoring an advanced screening of the upcoming Disney and Pixar movie, Cars. The charity event, which will be held in Detroit, Michigan on June 4, will consist of two private viewings before the movie's public release on June 9. Tickets are $150 each with the proceeds donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Says J Mays, Ford vice president of design, "It's only fitting that Ford helps bring this movie classic home to the community that helped put the world on wheels."

Information on how to purchase the tickets can be found at the link.

Related: CARS character comes alive
Getting excited for Pixar's 'Cars'

[Source: Ford via Auto Spectator]

On display this week at the Top Marques auto show in Monaco is this extravagant one-off by Italian coachbuilders Walter Faralli (right, above) & Luca Mazzanti (left). Although pictures of the car are all over the net this week, it actually debuted in September 2005 at the Gran Premio Automobilistico di Roma.

The Antas GT is at the opposite end of the car-building spectrum from the Caparo T1, also on display in Monaco. While the T1 is a pure expression of form following function, the Antas is rolling sculpture, with its roadgoing performance secondary to the expression of historic design themes of the 1930's and 1950's. With a nod to its Italian roots, the Antas gets its name from the ancient Etruscan word for "Eagle."

Even the engine bay plays a part, scorning fuel injection for the crowning touch of the chrome intake trumpets of four two-barrel Weber carbs - the classic performance statement of the '50s and '60s brought back to life.

The Antas wasn't "designed" in the way that Chris Bangle or J Mays probably thinks of design, it was drawn. In the words of Faralli & Mazzanti, "Nothing was developed by computer; everything came from the heart, from the imagination and the capable hands of experts."

Whether or not you think the Antas is a beautiful car, it's nice to know that the automotive world still has a place for artists like Faralli & Mazzanti. More pictures after the jump, and check out the extensive galleries at the F&M website, here.

[Source: Progettofem.it]

As anyone who reads Autoblog is aware by now, we’re pretty jazzed about Pixar’s upcoming June 9th release of CARS, which is shaping up to be a celebration of the auto on celluloid. A pair of recent Detroit News articles reveals just how large a part the domestic duo of Ford and GM has played in the movie’s making, in addition to our already reported on involvement of Porsche.

The film’s director, John Lasseter, has been a good friend of Ford’s design diva J Mays since 2000. The pair visited SEMA and attended the Pebble Beach Concours de Elegance together. Mays even visited Pixar’s studios in Emeryville, CA on more than one occasion to check on the film’s progress. The most prominent Ford in CARS ended up being a 1949 Mercury Police Cruiser – the town’s sheriff (pictured above).

Lasseter also visited General Motors and spent time with some of the General’s designers. The director was one of the very first people to view the redesigned C6 Corvette, in fact. CARS features a few cars from GM including a ’59 Impala lowrider named Ramone, a ’75 Cadillac Coupe de Ville named Tex and an unnamed green HUMMER.

J Mays and the Blue Oval’s current head of things that go fast, Hau Thai-Tang, were among a group of 700 who viewed an early screening of the movie at Pixar’s studios last weekend.

[Source: Detroit News]

As Edmunds Inside Line correctly points out, Ford looks to be readying more facelifts for next year than a Los Angeles plastic surgeon. The latest to get the Norelco flat-bar grille treatment would appear to be the 2008 Five Hundred sedan, whose value and interior volumes have come in for praise, but whose milquetoast styling and underwhelming drivetrain and handling have been derided.

The Blue Oval hopes to rectify both issues by early next year, so we're eager to see how they manage.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]

(Great tip, Brian!)