Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Vintage rally footage
Vintage Lancia and Quattro. Insane how close the spectators are to the cars...
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
M Thizzle.
My 20 year life goal was realized last week, when I finally picked up my 6MT M3 Coupe. Words are futile in expressing the degree of infinite awesomeness that is this car. The experience of pushing this car in the mountains is near divinity- an indescribable ecstacy that seriously rivals mediocre sex. I've put 1000 miles on the clock in the past 7 days. My name is Jon, and I am addicted to ///M.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Hλιος
Hλιος.
Also known as Titan or Hyperian, Helios Panoptes is the Greek mythological character, the Sun God. Known to the Romans as Sol Invictus, we know Helios as the offspring of the new American Car designer, Krisp Angles.
Taken inspiration from the sunny locale of Miami's South Beach, Helios personifies not only the sun drenched lifestyle, but also a new American Muscle attitude; infused with sophistication normally reserved for British ultra-luxury marques.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Update on the muscle car..
Now, before the comments about how "this is too finicky" or "that is too aftermarket," or "this is too kitsch" start flowing in, I must admit that this is a bit of a step backwards for me.
I'm a bit surprised myself, actually.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Comaston 'Mero
Here's a sneak peek.
Somehow, my creativity has been completely replaced by this strange need to replicate muscle car attitude...
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Bomb It.
"The greatest public art movement of all time."
A good friend of mine (and great trans designer from ACCD) posted this short promo for a graffiti documentary on her blog- and being inspired by graffiti as a youngin' myself- I had to share it on mine as well... Funny how all my friends from the Academy- all super-competent professionals in their respective fields now- have been inspired or influenced by this movement. I know I have.
http://sitela.org/?author=10
Friday, May 2, 2008
Design Democracy
I suppose my last blog ruffled some feathers with the nice people over at Local Motors, and reading it now, I think it came off the wrong way, and probably misinterpreted a bit..
Advancement in any design field is the introduction of new, fresh ideas.
When an optimistically minded architect known as Frank Lloyd Wright started to challenge conventional building technique with his controversial designs, creative engineers overcame the obstacles by creating new solutions. When the revolutionary Bangle-Hooydonk era arrived, the design world was turned upside down. Consumers actually went out of their way to recruit as many signatures as possible to oust the daring design chief. Now, we see every car company taking cues from those "bangled 7's." Even Mercedes Benz- the company that invented the automobile- is following in their wake. New designs that push us out of our comfort zone- usually at first glance will make us uncomfortable- but in the long run, will ultimately be incorporated into the design vocabulary by future designers. However, people in general are sheep- they are comfortable with what they know, and will generally follow the herd.
I do believe that there is a chance for Local Motors to accomplish something- the degree of revolution has yet to be determined.
Design Democracy?
Design democracy is an interesting concept that I've been pondering for years now. One one hand, public opinion results are always skewed -the accurate representation of public opinion is compromised by a number of factors, ie.. anyone willing to register 50 different email addresses, and subsequently, votes in their favor. At worst- it becomes a popularity contest. There needs to be a final say- such as in the judicial system, where the jury votes, then the Judge makes the final decision. On the other hand, the idea that "by letting everyone voice their opinion, fresh ideas may come about as a result" can not be refuted.
Design vs Art
What's the difference between design and art? Those two words seem to be inextricably combined when it comes to the design field. To answer this, I studied under Tom Matano for six years- and when I finally found the answer, it shocked me.
Design is a pragmatic solution to a problem that either does or doesn't exist yet. This is often misconstrued with the passionate regurgitation of existing designs- artistic, self-expression- the antithesis of a pragmatic solution. The majority of transportation design students will eventually make the transition from the the latter to the first- and once the concept is understood, their self-expression will be marketable.
In the end, is this democratic car company stagnating or advancing design? I feel it has the capacity to do both. In my earlier blogging, I mentioned that "by aiming for design democracy, I feel that Local Motors is not actually advancing design, but rather stagnating it a bit by giving power to the people." By this statement, I do not mean they're killing design, I simply mean the advancement may not be as advanced as many hope, IF the power to decide is given to the everyman...
Advancement in any design field is the introduction of new, fresh ideas.
When an optimistically minded architect known as Frank Lloyd Wright started to challenge conventional building technique with his controversial designs, creative engineers overcame the obstacles by creating new solutions. When the revolutionary Bangle-Hooydonk era arrived, the design world was turned upside down. Consumers actually went out of their way to recruit as many signatures as possible to oust the daring design chief. Now, we see every car company taking cues from those "bangled 7's." Even Mercedes Benz- the company that invented the automobile- is following in their wake. New designs that push us out of our comfort zone- usually at first glance will make us uncomfortable- but in the long run, will ultimately be incorporated into the design vocabulary by future designers. However, people in general are sheep- they are comfortable with what they know, and will generally follow the herd.
I do believe that there is a chance for Local Motors to accomplish something- the degree of revolution has yet to be determined.
Design Democracy?
Design democracy is an interesting concept that I've been pondering for years now. One one hand, public opinion results are always skewed -the accurate representation of public opinion is compromised by a number of factors, ie.. anyone willing to register 50 different email addresses, and subsequently, votes in their favor. At worst- it becomes a popularity contest. There needs to be a final say- such as in the judicial system, where the jury votes, then the Judge makes the final decision. On the other hand, the idea that "by letting everyone voice their opinion, fresh ideas may come about as a result" can not be refuted.
Design vs Art
What's the difference between design and art? Those two words seem to be inextricably combined when it comes to the design field. To answer this, I studied under Tom Matano for six years- and when I finally found the answer, it shocked me.
Design is a pragmatic solution to a problem that either does or doesn't exist yet. This is often misconstrued with the passionate regurgitation of existing designs- artistic, self-expression- the antithesis of a pragmatic solution. The majority of transportation design students will eventually make the transition from the the latter to the first- and once the concept is understood, their self-expression will be marketable.
In the end, is this democratic car company stagnating or advancing design? I feel it has the capacity to do both. In my earlier blogging, I mentioned that "by aiming for design democracy, I feel that Local Motors is not actually advancing design, but rather stagnating it a bit by giving power to the people." By this statement, I do not mean they're killing design, I simply mean the advancement may not be as advanced as many hope, IF the power to decide is given to the everyman...
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Frog SUV?
Stupid Useless Vehicle.
So after receiving an email from Jay at Local Motors (an ambitious new car company) regarding his hope that I will regurgitate my Frog into an SUV for their current competition, I've sidetracked from my recent lethargic state and given it some thought. Two weeks worth, actually- and 3 days for the crap model. Being lazy- and by lazy I mean "professionally efficient"- I went from two dirty sketches right into alias- no flashy/ colorful/ warm-cool/ art center-style renderings here. Eff that- no time for that crap...
I have to apologize for my lack of proficiency in AliasStudio- the model is admittedly crap in terms of surface quality.
Speaking of Local Motors.. Pretty interesting concept, actually- "bring democracy to car design." Though by aiming for design democracy, I feel they're not actually advancing design, but rather stagnating it a bit by giving power to the people. I am excited by their enthusiasm, though. All correspondence has been extremely friendly and enthusiastic. I wish them luck...
local-motors.com
ps. vote for mine please.
The Fix Daily
My ongoing love-hate relationship with the twin turbo 13B rotary. How genius is Tom? (matano)
A quick Sunday jaunt through Paradise Road loop in Tiburon.
Fairfax-Bolinas Drive!
Time to dust off the Z and explore unknown twisties.
Thanks to google, I was able to find this excluded road not far from my parent's house. Though it was the twistiest piece of road I could find on google, it proved to be less challenging than the map otherwise suggested. Oh well. At least the elevation changes made it worthwhile, though it was bumpier than I would have liked. Not a great coilover road, but excellent for it's scenic views.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
aero what?
No, it's not a magazine, and yes, I am literate. (like an elementary school book report, haha)
Competition Car Aerodynamics, by Simon McBeath.
Read it.
This literary masterpiece is an eye opener if you have any interest in the factors that dictate those complex shapes in F1 or Le Mans. Terminology is explained in plain english to schmoes like you or me, and the concepts are all extremely easy to understand. Always wanted to know more about Bernoulli's Theorem, Anhedrals, Dynamic Pressure, Pressure gradients and Reynolds numbers? Yes, yes, and yes please.
Surprisingly, a lot of the aero devices in use in competitive motorsports are actually NOT engineered to be the most aerodynamically efficient- a ton of it is to satisfy FIA regulatory requirements intended on DECREASING downforce, not to mention increase advertisement space. Who woulda thought? Further coolness points for the brief introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
And if you still can't get enough, or just want to look at pretty pictures and aren't literate- go to Mulsanne's Corner. (warning- you'll waste away your entire work day...)
http://www.mulsannescorner.com/
F1, Le Mans, and Super GT!!!
Yes.
908 HDi vs R10 TDI.
ALMS- Peugeot beats out Audi for pole, then loses it due to a technicality because of Madza. I know, it's crap.
starting grid for tomorrow..
1 Capello/Kristensen/McNish (Audi R10 TDI), 1m 43.195s
2 Minassian/Sarrazin/Lamy (Peugeot), 1m 44.271s
3 Luhr/Rockenfeller/Werner (Audi R10 TDI), 1m 45.090s
4 Dumas/Bernhard/Collard (Porsche), 1m 45.220s
5 Maassen/Long/Briscoe (Porsche), 1m 45.999s
6 Fernandez/Diaz (Acura/Honda), 1m 46.029s
7 Franchitti/Leitzinger/Lally (Porsche), 1m 46.348s
8 Herta/Fittipaldi/Andretti (Acura/Honda), 1m 46.632s
9 Field/Field/Berry (Lola), 1m 47.358s
10 Smith/Dyson (Porsche), 1m 47.567s
also-
51: percentage of ALMS fans between 25 and 49
48.3:percentage of ALMS fans with an income of $90,000 or higher
http://americanlemans.com/assets/pdfs/TheAmericanLeMansSeries.pdf
What else is going on this weekend? F1! And Super GT! (!!)
...stupid Speedvision and their coverage of mostly middle-america-moonshinerunning- i mean Nascar.. rumor has it that they are no longer covering WRC either.. (after the demise of DTM coverage I didn't think my angst would be any worse..) Their sellout status is only second to Ferrari.. (which aids my slow conversion to Lambo fan instead.. but that's another blog alltogether)
Rotary
Since I have this ongoing love/hate rotary affair going on since 2000.. (Second motor, third set of turbos- now going on fourth..)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)