Posts Tagged ‘Porsche’

What If… Art Center College of Design Car Classic 2010

Posted: October 27, 2010 in Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Cadillac, Car Shows, Chrysler, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, Maybach, McLaren, MG, Peugeot, Porsche, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Studebaker, Think Electric City Car, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo
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Art Center College of Design’s main campus is nestled in a secluded residential Pasadena neighborhood in the hills above the Rose Bowl. The black glass and steel buildings are a masterpiece of Modern design by LA Architect Craig Ellwood.

Art Center Campus

Art Center Campus and Car Classic Pavilion

Art Center Campus - Car Show 2010 Registration Building

I first became aware of Art Center more than 35 years ago when a little orange ball decal appeared in the windshield of a friend’s screaming red, always mechanically-challenged, Triumph TR-4A. She was attending Art Center studying package design and her projects always caught both my imagination and my breath.

2010 marks Art Center’s 80th anniversary. Two years after its founding during the depths of the Great Depression, Art Center established its industrial design program that encompasses almost every tangible consumer and industrial product manufactured in our world today, including automotive designs from its world renowned Transportation Design Department.

Art Center Student Illustration - Porsche, I think

The Transportation Design Department’s alumni have been involved some of the most iconic designs of the 20th and 21st Century including the Disneyland Monorail, the ’57 Chevy, the Corvette Sting Ray, the Porsche Boxster, the Enzo Ferrari and hundreds of Hot Wheels toy cars. Graduates have positions at virtually major automotive studio in the world. It also helps that there are more than 23 advanced automotive design studios in Southern California – testament to the global importance of our trend-setting car culture. (more…)

Honda Uses Insight to Create the CR-Z

Posted: September 23, 2010 in Fuel Economy, Honda, Hybrids, Electrics and other "Green" Technology, Mazda
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I’ve always loved the idea of a weekend sports car. Something you take out early on Sunday morning, drop the top, wind your way up Laurel Canyon and then hit Mulholland Drive at reckless speeds and hope that you don’t get zapped with a radar followed by blue lights.

Years ago, I had just such a car. My bright red 1974 Porsche 914, with 911 rims shod in high performance Pirellis, could handle the job and more. With the Targa top off, it was a little slice of sunshine heaven. Alas, my little Porsche was challenged for space. There was no room behind the seats, no cup holders, no insulation and the glove box was good for, uh, gloves.

My 1974 red Porsche 914 - I miss it, but not the repair bills.

The mid-engine design meant I had front and rear trunk space, like the current Boxster. The rear trunk was just large enough for the Targa roof. The front trunk carried the car cover and a gym bag. This wasn’t the car for a run to Costco.

Two-seat sports cars always pose a dilemma for car shoppers. Anything from a Mazda MX-5 Miata to a Porsche Cayman to a Ferrari F458 have the same trade-offs. You can fit two people, but there isn’t much room for anything other than a couple overnight bags and small leather goods from Louis Vuitton. The fun quotient for these cars is through the roof as much as practicality flies out the window. They are personal expressions of the driver and the mechanical vibrations create pure driving ecstasy.

It’s easier to justify one of these indulgences if you have a mulit-car household or if you’re lucky enough to have a garage full of cars so you can choose a different one each day of the week. (more…)

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