Some Car Ideas I Had Inspired by the Show "Motor City Masters" on Tru TV

Recently I started watching the show "Motor City Masters" on Tru TV.  Normally I'm not a big fan of "reality-competition" shows because some times I'm left wondering if a show' producer's are maybe manipulting the clips that they show or don't show to play around a little with how the viewers might "see" the different contestants.

Anyway though, this show has really grown on me because all the contestants really seem very talented and able to quickly visual and develop stuff.  Over the years I've always wished that I could be a bit more spontaneous and able to put my thoughts into words or pictures more easily, and so while watching the show I've started to try to see if I can come up with my own ideas for the "design challenges".  I know that I'm no where near as talented as the people on the show and my drawing skills aren't all that great, but its still been fun trying to see what I can come up with and trying to try and find ways to turn those thoughts into images.

1st Challenge - A Concept Car for 2015

In the 1st design challenge on the show I think each team was asked to try and come up with a "new concept car" for something that could maybe be in production fairly quickly.  Here, an idea that crossed my mind about cars in general was how some car models can change alot over the years, with modern versions not really looking all that much like the same model from a few years earlier, while for some other cars (like the Ford Mustang for instance)  it appears that the designers have tried to make an effort to carry over some specific "design cues" each year to kind of maintain a bit of the car's "identity".  As such, even though a modern version of the car may not necessarily look identical to a version from a decade or so ago, you can still maybe see some "family resemblence", the same way you might see a bit of resemblence between parents and their kids.

With that in mind I thought that maybe if I were to try and come up with a concpet for a car that could be in production fairly quickly maybe if I could identify some "styling cues" for a previous car model when it first came out I could maybe try and work them into the basic body and frame of a newer "platform" to make a new "concept" version of that older car.  Here the intent wouldn't be to necessarily try and do something like Mini, Fiat, or Volkswagen did by making a new car look alot like its older predecessors, but rather to kind of just make a completely modern car, with modern safety features and capabilities, that just shares a bit of resemblence to it earlier predecessors.

Since I really like cars from the late 1940s and early 1950s I thought that maybe the Chevy "Bel Air" might be a good starting point as I believe that model line initially started during that period while I also believe that it is not  a model in Chevrolet's current line up.  The 1st step then was  to try and identify specific "design cues" from the early models of the Bel Air that could maybe be adapted and worked into a modern car. 

The images below show a couple images off the internet of Bel Air's from their irst couple years in production.  From these images a couple things stand out;
Concept 1a

Since I'm not a great sketcher the next thing I did was to try and find an image or 3-view drawing of the modern "base" car to use as a starting point for this "new Bel Air" concept.  Of the two options shown on the show, I went ahead and used the Cruz.  I imported the 3-view into Power Point so that I could "block out" areas that I was thinking about changing, and add in some of the relatively simple shapes like the head lights.  Next I also redrew the existing grille on the car as a black shape with a thin grey border (to represent a thin line of chrome).  I left the existing "curved bar" across the Cruz's grille, but lowered it abit, as it seemed like a nice compromise between the horizontal bar on the original Bel Air's and the more "curved" shapes of many modern cars.  I then also added some vertical chrome "teeth" to this curved bar, and turn indicator lights at the ends of the curved bar to try and give the front end a bit more of the "look and feel" of the early 1950's Bel Airs.  Along the side of the car I added a "rub strip" between the wheel wells to kind of replicate the "look and feel" of the the chrome on the earlier Bel Airs, but I added a bit of angle to it to better match the more sloped, wedge like shape of many modern cars.

For the rear wheels, instead of adding an actual "fender flare" I thought that maybe just a "style line crease" in the body plating and a bit of a raised "belt line" above the wheel well could maybe give a bit of the "look and feel" of the rear fender shape of early 1950's Chevrolets (similar to the "style lines" on the current Chevy Impala).  Although I suspect that a "fender flare" for the rear wheels could be added, I was afraid that they maybe appear unnecessary since I hadn't intended to change the rear axle or wheel "track" for the rear wheels.  Additionally, while the rest of the changes incorporated into the "concept car" more or less can maybe be seen as maybe an alternate way of doing something (such as having single round headlights in place of rectangular or shaped ones, or incorporating one specific "visual pattern" into the car's grille in lieu of a different one) I was afraid that adding rear "fender flares" without changing the "track" of the back tires might come across as "adding something just for the sake of having it", while "body panel creasing" and style lines may be able to give at least a similar "look and feel" of what I was looking for.

Finally for the back end of the car I figured if the existing bumper were altered a little, removing the portion at the outer edges where it sweeps up to the tail lights on the Cruz, "modern" vertical tail lights similar in shape to those from the early Bel Airs could be incorporated.

The image below shows the marked up 3-view image for my ideas for this modern "Bel Air" concept.

Concept 1b

For colors I was thinking that maybe a gloss "Emerald Green" might not be a bad choice as that appears to be a color that might not look out of place in the present day or during the early 1950s.  And for the wheels I was thinking maybe some sort of aluminum rims or "spoked" wheels, powedered coated red with Baby Moon chrome hubcaps, and maybe either modern white wall tires, or 1950 era white walls with their broader white rings might look nice.

2nd Challenge - A Transformer(tm) Concept

I have to admit that I was initially a little stumped trying to see if I could come up with a Transformer(tm) type car, because I really don't know much about Transformers(tm), other than (I think) they are supposed to be robots that can disguise themselves as cars.  One of the things that confused me in watching the 2nd episode of  "Motor City Masters" was that I had though that the intent of a Transformer(tm) was to kind of not stick out too much when disguised as a car, but both designs developed on the show kind of appeared to me to incoprporate alot of features that kind of seemd to draw attention to themselves and make them stick out when in car form.  Anyway, I guessed that maybe I wasn't understanding the concept that well, since I was probably a bit older than their targeted age group when the toys originally came out, but I decided to try making a design anyway.

A few years ago when looking for a new car I had looked at the Sonic, as well as the Spark and other such samll cars, and one thing that kind of stuck out to me was that in many ways they reminded me just a little bit of small animals like a field mouse or chipmunk.  As such, although I didn't have any real specific thoughts in mind I downloading a 3-view of the Sonic into Power Point and made a couple changes to the front end to try and accentuate the "small animal" look and feel of the car.  Unfortunately, at the time I didn't really have much any thoughts for the sides or back end of the car.

Anyway, I ended up keeping the general shape of the "socket" for the hedlights, but swapped out the "trapezoidal" shaped headlights for a single roundish headlamp, that extended above and below the "socket", to try and make the headlamps look more like "eyes".  I then lowered the "cross bar" on the grill and added in a notional license plate shape.  After adding the license plate it kind of struck me that it made the car look "buck toothed" or rabbit like.  As such I started looking at images of rabbits, similar to those shown below, looking for additional ideas.  From these pictures I began to think that maybe if I altered the back end a bit, it could maybe add to this "rabbit" like theme, with a "flared" rear wheel well and  lower side molding kind of giving an impression of a rabbit's leg.  Eventually this led me to the idea of the car/Transformer(tm) maybe being called "Jack Rabbit".

Concept 2a

As an owner of a pet rabbit one thing that has stuck out to me is that in addition to hopping about rabbits can also kind of "slink" about and scurry under or around stuff.  As such I figured that as a Transformer(tm) maybe "Jack Rabbit" could be a fast "scout" type, using his powerful legs, sensitive eyes and ears/sensors, and flexible body to move around and try and detect/locate stuff.  Also along these lines I remember seeing a Japanese cartoon (anime) once with robots and mechanical suits that people wore which had some stalks sticking off their heads, that appeared to contain sensors and such.  When extended these "stalks" appeared to allow the robots and such to "peer around corners" or "peak above a surface" to try and detect stuff without exposing the rest of the body.  As such, I figured that maybe in Transformer(tm) form "Jack Rabbit" could have some stalks or "rabbit ear"-like appendages to do similar type things.

I wasn't too sure what to do about the back end though, but one thing that always struck me about the Sonic was that the current tail lights kind of looked to me to maybe be jut a bit oversized.  So I started messing around a little with the tail end, when I remebered something about a car built in China called the "Panda".  On that car, if I am remembering correctly, the designers had made an effort to carry the "Panda" theme into the design, by specifically shaping the grille opening and rings around the headlights to look abit like the black fur around the eyes, nose and mouth of a Panda, and they also "blackened" out part of the tail lights so that when you step on the brakes the lights look like the shape of a Panda's paw. 

For my concept I didn't want to directly "copy" what the Chinese designers had done for their car, but it did give me an idea.  I thought that maybe if I jut made the tail lights look kind of like a normal typical modern tail light/turn inicator and back-up light combo, but with three small red lights buried within them, when the "brakes" are applied it these three lights would light up giving the impression of a kind of "stylized'/cartoon-like rabbits foot image similar to the cartoon-like rabbit foot keychains shown in  the image below.  My final car concept is also shown below. 

Key Chain

Concept 2b

Unfortunately  I am really not good at trying to draw a robot, so for now, as a Transformer(tm) the best I have been able to do is rough out general "stick figure" like shapes in Power Point showing a rough outline of what I am kind of thinking about, as shown below.  In these images I've tried to show the general shape while standing from the front and side, as well as a view of the robot in a "creeping/slinking" type mode.  Maybe later I may try and expand upon this a little.

Concept 2c

With respect to color I thought that since Brown or Biege might be a littlt too bland for a Transformer(tm), maybe either Metallic Charcoal Gray or Metallic Medium Gray might be a good match for both a car and a robot while keeping with the "Jack Rabbit" concept, and I even thought that maybe a two toned paint job combining both colors could possibly work, though maybe a single color might be simpler and better overall.

3rd Challenge - A Beach Lifestyle Themed Pick UpTruck

When I first heard the idea for a beach lifetylse themed pick up truck for a design challenge, one of the first things I thought of was turning the bed into a "patio" or "sun deck".  Along these lines I was reminded of an old light pick up truck design from the 1970s or 1980s called the "Brat" from Subaru (which Wikipedia indicates was an acronym for Bi-Drive Recreational All Terrain Transporter).  One feature of the Brat was small plastic chairs in the truck bed facing aft that weren't meant to be used while the truck was in motion, but which could be used for seating while at your destination.  As such, I though that maybe a modern beach themed pick up could maybe also incorporate some "furniture" into its bed, maybe with the ability to use the "furniture" as a base to help secure surfboards or other stuff.

Next I thought that maybe a neutral color bed liner would also be useful, similar to the one shown in the image below, but perhaps in a bit lighter shade to help reduce heat absorption, while also limiting direct light reflection on anyone seated in the bed/patio area.  I also thought that the bottom of the bed could be covered in wood, like was done on some older pickups, as well as some more modern conversions, as also shown on the left in the images below.  However, where many of the wooden beds in such pick ups have exposed "metal strips" to help secure them in place, I was instead thinking of something more along the lines of a tradition wooden deck for a home (as shown to the right in the images below), where any metal parts are not directly on the surface that you might walk on, since in the sun light those metal parts could potentially get very hot.  For the "furniture" I was thinking of maybe two simple wooden chaise lounges, similar to those shown below could be fitted, with some sort of locking mechanism to secure them while the truck is in motion, but release them, if you want to remove them for any reason.

Concept 3a

I figured that the bed liner could extend up and over the top lip of the bed, or maybe instead be "capped" at the top by a darker strip of similar material, as shown below.  This upper strip would extend forward to the front end of the bed and form the base for a "trapezoidal" "buttress" like shape that extends up the side of the cab to form the base of a "light bar" above the truck.  The"buttresses" are kind of inspired by similar shapes that were on the Chevy Avalanche, and are meant to both help to break up the vertical lines of the back of the cab, while also being part of the supports for the "light bar".  I've also added an "angled" pipe like handrail in way of the "buttresses" as it seems that they could potentially be of use for attaching "bungie cords" to help secure the front end of a surfboard or other cargo, etc.

For the side cladding that was specified as being required for the design competition on the show, I had tought about trying to extend the upper "lip" of material down the side of the bed a small amount, and maybe use it to frame a single strake of "wood" along the side, but I wasn't sure how well that would work with the large rear wheel flares on the truck.  It also kind of struck me that any truck that might operate on a beach would probably end up kicking up a lot of sand, which could be harsh on the truck's paint.  So I figured it might make more sense to just clad the lower edges of the truck in a maerial that would help hide any nicks and scratches that sand may cause.  A side view of my thoughts are shown below.  I couldn't find a 3-view of the truck on the internet, so I just marked up a profile picture.  Although the picture shows a red truck, I was thinking that an "orangish yellow" color (as show in the small box in the image) with gray cladding might look best.

Concept 3b

For the front end of the truck I originally thought of maybe trying to modify it a bit based on a "Tiki" symbol or one of the "Heads" from Easter Island, but I wasn't sure if that might be taken wrong (since it might be seen as trying to "commericalize" the symbols of other cultures) and I also struggled a bit with trying to bring such a look all together.  So instead I decided to try and just soften the looks of the front end a bit, since  the current Silverado looks kind of more "powerful" and "purposeful" befitting the Silverado's heavy duty nature.  For a beach themed vehicle though I thought maybe a "less intimidating" look might be better.  So I changed the headlights to a single round headlight on each side of the front end, in a slightly "curved" socket (which also houses the turn indicators), and just opted for a simple geometric pattern to the grille, as shown below.  Although I can't really say that the look of the front end is specifically "beach" themed, I'm hoping that it at least helps make the truck look a little more "layed back" than the more "purposeful/heavy duty" look of the original Silverado front end.

Concept 3c

4th Challenge - A Hot Wheels(tm) Themed Concept

For the 4th challenge, the first thing that struck me was that while many Matchbox(tm) type cars often seem to try and recreate normal vehicles, a lot of the Hot Wheels(tm)  cars that I've seen seem to often be a bit "over the top".  So my first thought for a Hot Wheels(tm) type design was to try and do a "Funny Car" like modification to the exisitng vehicle, adding a rear spoiler, raising its back end, fitting large racing slick tires in an enlarged and "flared" wheel opening, adding large side exhausts and maybe adding a hood scoop or a cut out in the hood for a large supercharged engine.  I thought the raised back end and wheel flares would help give the impression of a wedge shape from both the side and top, and I figured that maybe a gloss dark purple paint job with metallic purple flames might look interesting, since purple can be an "over the top" type color, and at first glance the flames may not be that noticeable, but when the light hits it just right they might really pop out at you.

However, as I got messing around looking at the front end I noticed that if you "black out" the part of the bumper between the grille and the vent below, it kind of gives the impression of a large gaping mouth, which got me thinking about sharks.  So I ended up drawing in some "cartoon" teeth, and altered the head lights to single "blacked out" roundish headlamps, to try and make the front end look more shark like, as shown in the image below.  Along the side I added to side pipes, and enlarged rear wheel flares & cut outs.  I also added a couple curved "vent-like" shapes to the doors to give the impression of gill slits.  Here for this car, I figured that even though the "gill slits" don't really serve any purpose since the vehicle is meant to be a "Funny Car" that probably isn't a big issue.  Next I added a spoiler to the back end, with the outer edges turned up a small "winglets" so that from the side it gives a little bit of an impression of a shark's tail.  And finally, just for the heck of it I went ahead and added a dorsal fin as well, just to finish off the "shark" concept and make it look just a bit more over the top.  For colors I thought that maybe a medium metallic gray, or a medium metallic gray fading to white or light gray near the bottom of the car might work well with the shark theme.

Concept4