You Know You Be Lovin’ My Taurus Bling

Ask any fashionista, and she’ll tell you: Don’t even think about wearing those chandelier earrings with shorts and tennis shoes. No way. There are, after all, certain rules that apply to fashion and accessories. Ask Earl Lucas, exterior design manager for the 2010 Taurus, and he’ll tell you those same accessorizing rules apply even if you’re designing a sophisticated sedan. Just like a person, every car has a personality and an image to convey, says the former jewelry designer. The “accessories,” which in this case are the headlamps of the 2010 Ford Taurus, must be designed and detailed to project the proper image. The Taurus is a confident, well-balanced car. It has the jewelry to match.

Blending form and function
Headlamps can be beautiful, but if they don’t light the way, it doesn’t matter what they look like. Headlamps must meet certain government and engineering specifications in terms of illumination and reflection, and it all has to fit within a finite space.

The lamps themselves break down into three components – but there’s nothing that says the components can’t be beautifully detailed. Starting from the inside, tapering outward into the fenders, these include the turn signal lamp, projector beam and side marker light. Thanks to a sophisticated internal switch, one lens executes both high- and low-beam function. The technology within allows for more aesthetic appeal with no compromise on headlamp function.

Beneath the projection canister, the lower surface features functional louvers, which allow ventilation to cool the projector bulb. Amber side markers finish the lamp, with a graceful character line across the lens that leads into the fender. When illuminated, these lamps lead with a hot spot that gracefully fades away. Each component inside the lamp has a distinct shape, offering sculptural enhancements embellished with subtle lines – all designed to draw the eye toward the upscale grille.

In all, there are three finishes in the headlamp. In terms of value – or what the customer will notice first – they are chrome, satin and black plastic imbued with metallic flake. There are also two grains offering textural relief: a lighter satin and a velvet etch, which provide a rougher, sandblasted-type contrast to the edging.

Adding the proper accessories, or how the Taurus got its jewelry
This year, fashion designers and trend-watchers are talking about bold jewelry, accessories that make a statement, tell a story, get remembered. And we’ll see them, of course. Because there’s always that woman in the room who’s confident, tasteful and perfectly accessorized. Just like the Taurus.

Designer Earl Lucas applied chrome sparingly to the 2010 Ford Taurus, using it only on choice components in the headlamps, the side vent and across the bottom front mouth of the SHO and Limited edition.

“On the Taurus, we used quiet elements of chrome,” Lucas said. “This is a very tall car. You don’t want to put chrome everywhere – you would lose the value. You do it in key spots, to get attention. Anything you put chrome on, that will get attention. The Taurus is a confident car; it doesn’t need that much extra attention.”

Making the switch from jewelry design to industrial design isn’t quite the jump it seems, Lucas says. Balance, form and function all play major roles in designing, whether you’re designing vehicles or earrings, he said. “You start with a mass, a shape. You have an image. Then you layer, you accessorize. Good lines, good proportions and proper detailing are what set your product apart.”

Quotes
“I love working with metal, all kinds of metal, be it sheet metal or precious metal. I still design jewelry. I love seeing how something small, the tiniest detail, something impossibly ornate, can make such a big difference. Whether you’re designing a car or jewelry, you’re using the same principles.”
– Earl Lucas, 2010 Ford Taurus Exterior Design Manager

Chantel Lenard – a Live Chat About Ford’s New Small and Medium Vehicles

Chantel Lenard has a hot job: she is the group marketing manager for Ford’s small and medium vehicles in the U.S.

These two segments are seeing lots of activity from automakers, and Ford will soon offer 10 unique models created from the company’s all-new global C-Car platform, developed under its “One Ford” strategy. The rapid expansion of the company’s B- and C-sized line-up is an exciting and challenging opportunity for Lenard and her team.

Join the chat below, scheduled for Friday, October 2, at 2:30 p.m. EDT to see ask her about these segments.

“Since 2004, the small car market has grown from less than 15 percent of the U.S. market, to nearly 22 percent of industry sales through August of this year”, said Lenard. “Ford is in a unique position to take advantage of that growth, by leveraging our world-class global B and C platforms to bring outstanding small vehicles to market quickly.”

In Europe, Ford cars have a strong reputation for outstanding driving dynamics, eye-catching design, and innovative technology. Leveraging these strengths globally allows Ford economy-of-scale benefits that will provide excellent value to consumers, and technology not typically seen in small cars.

Having held a variety of sales, marketing, and strategy positions with Ford, Lenard describes her present role as one of the most challenging. By the end of 2011, Lenard will oversee the launch of the Ford Fiesta, the all new, next-generation Ford Focus sedan and five-door hatchback, a battery-electric Focus, the C-MAX, and a Mercury C-sedan.

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Survey Says: Texting While Driving is No Laughing Matter

Remember that Ford commercial in which the narrator (a notably blunt TV star and stand-up comedian) recalls seeing someone in a car next to him on the highway driving with his knees while talking on the phone and eating a cheeseburger? He concludes that it isn’t just crazy out there on roads today, it’s “certifiably insane.” It turns out that most people agree with him.

According to a new national survey released last week, the vast majority of U.S. drivers believes handheld texting while driving is very dangerous and should be banned nationwide. While texting is just one form of distraction, it has become the tipping point in a national debate over what constitutes a dangerous level of distraction behind the wheel.

“Very dangerous”
The survey showed that 86 percent of U.S. drivers believe handheld texting while driving is “very dangerous” and 93 percent support a nationwide ban on texting. At the same time, only 42 percent of respondents believe drivers would stop texting behind the wheel if the practice was banned. However, more than 75 percent believe there would be more compliance if hands-free or voice-activated technologies were widely available.
The online survey was conducted September 18-21 by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates on behalf of the Ford Motor Company. Ford commissioned the survey as part of its efforts to understand driver perceptions related to distracted driving. Ford recently endorsed a proposed nationwide ban on handheld texting introduced by Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY).

The survey shows that 67 percent of drivers said they believed voice-activated technology is a safe alternative to texting, and 76 percent said such a feature would be an appealing feature in a car.

The survey results come as the U.S. Department of Transportation is scheduled to host a summit on driver distraction in Washington, D.C., next week.

According to the survey, there is confusion among drivers over existing state laws prohibiting handheld cell phone use and/or texting while driving. Currently 18 states have enacted such bans but nearly 40 percent of drivers in these states indicated they were unaware of the ban in their own state.

Research on driving solutions
According to a NHTSA-sponsored 100-car study conducted by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, driver inattention that may involve looking away from the road for more than a few seconds is a factor in nearly 80 percent of accidents.

Ford developed the Virtual Test Track Experiment (VIRTTEX), a state-of-the-art simulator that monitors and analyzes a variety of driving behaviors. Since VIRTTEX opened in 2001, Ford has completed a number of driver distraction studies that have contributed to the development of Ford’s Driving Skills for Life teen driving education program, the MyKeyTM programmable teen-safety feature and SYNC® hands-free communication technology.

Quotes

“Research shows that activity that draws drivers’ eyes away from the road for an extended period while driving, such as text messaging, substantially increases the risk of accidents. That is why we support a nationwide ban on handheld texting while driving and why Ford has developed hands-free and voice-activated technologies to allow drivers to remain connected, but to do so while keeping their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.”
– Jim Vondale, Director of Ford’s Automotive Safety Office

“A growing number of drivers are using handheld wireless communications and music-playing devices while driving. Research clearly shows that manual operation of those devices that takes the driver’s eyes from the road for an extended period of time creates the kind of distraction that causes accidents.”
– Dr. Louis Tijerina, Ford senior technical specialist

“Our studies show that teens are much more willing to take risks while driving, such as manually dialing on a mobile phone in situations that demand greater attention.”
– Jeff Greenberg, senior technical leader, Ford Research & Advanced Engineering.

Don’t Look Now – ‘Hot Magenta’ is the New Black

Henry Ford – pioneering populist and entrepreneur extraordinaire – famously quipped that customers can have their cars in “any color so long as it is black.” Well, that might’ve worked for folks during the Great Depression (wasn’t everything in black and white back then?), but customers of the Great Recession want a more cheerful hue. Who can blame them? Even the Goth girl next door needs a splash of “passion orange” in her life.

Still skeptical? Look around. Fashion magazines are heralding bright colors this fall. Bold shades are being offered in an increasing array of consumer products – from laptop computers to vacuums to stand mixers for the kitchen.

Not Your Great-Granddad’s Ford
Ford is experiencing the trend, too, with high demand for vehicle colors such as the 2010 Mustang in “Grabber Blue” and the F-150 SVT Raptor in “Molten Orange.” When the 2011 Ford Fiesta goes on sale next summer, consumers will have bright colors to choose from, including “Bright Magenta” and “Lime Squeeze.” In the U.S. already, Ford is seeing strong sales for cars in brilliant colors:

• Nearly four in 10 (39 percent) customers purchasing the new Ford F-150 SVT Raptor are choosing “Molten Orange.”
• New “Grabber Blue” Ford Mustangs are exceeding sales projections, accounting for roughly 10 percent of total 2010 Mustang sales so far.

The Ford Fiesta is coming to the United States with even bolder colors after seeing drivers around the globe gravitate to a palette of brilliant hues:

• In Asia, Fiesta buyers’ third most favorite color (15 percent of sales) is an eye-popping blue called “Vision,” followed by the lime green “Squeeze” (11 percent) with the top selling color being “Moondust Silver.” In China, nearly three in 10 (28 percent) Fiestas purchased are “Passion Orange,” making it far and away the favorite choice.
• Right behind “Panther Black” and “Silver”, Europeans are selecting “Hot Magenta” and “Vision” as their third and fourth most favorite colors, each accounting for about 10 percent of sales across Europe.

In fact, for the first time with any Ford vehicle in Europe, Fiesta buyers are saying that vehicle color was among the top 10 reasons for purchasing the car, according to Ford research.

Since May, 100 Fiesta agents have traveled more than 800,000 miles around the country, primarily driving “Hot Magenta” and “Squeeze” colored Fiestas as part of Ford’s Fiesta Movement (www.fiestamovement.com) The Euro-spec Fiestas are turning heads with their bold colors.

Quotes:

“Brilliant colors are transforming the norms in how we think about all sorts of products, allowing people to express individuality more and more through the electronics they use and the cars they drive. Color is a simple way to allow people to add a personal touch to their everyday lives – something that speaks to them and expresses a little of their personality.”
– Susan Swek, Ford Group Chief Designer, Color and Materials Design

“Almost everywhere I go, someone comments on the color (of her Lime Squeeze Ford Fiesta). Women love it, and some people even show me how it matches their cell phone. It makes me think of spring. There’s a lot of life in it. I think people are excited about having more color options these days. It allows people to express their personalities more.”
– Hilary McHone, Ford Fiesta agent and Brooklyn photographer, who had her wedding dress made this summer to match the lime green