On Newsstands Now!

Automobile's June issue is on newsstands right now. My first print-published automotive renderings can be held in your hands, taken on an airplane, perused over a cup of coffee at your favorite coffeeshop, or just carried around in your backpack and shown to anyone that even looks your way—which is what I do, lol. My Bentley GTC is on page 49, the Cadillac ATS is on page 52, and the Jeep Grand Wagoneer is on page 68. I even have a letter-to-the-editor published on page 36, a tribute to the late, great, Davie E. Davis, Jr. Buy one, buy ten, and enjoy! I'll wait a few more weeks to post the cars themselves, until the next issue is on the stands. 

I'd like to thank Eric Tingwall, Associate Editor, for finding me and giving me this opportunity to reach their large readership. And I'd like to thank Peter De Lorenzo, the Autoextremist, for putting Eric in contact with me. I had so much fun doing these renderings!

1961 Lincoln Continental Coupe. One of my Faves!

In the absence of a brand-new chop, here's one of my all time favorites, a "Continentalized" '61 Lincoln Continental. Besides losing the two rear doors, I re-proportioned every panel on the car for a long-hood, short-deck design. I shortened overhangs and made the C pillar a bit thicker for that proper contemporary look as well. I enlarged the wheels to 20-inches, the new "modern" 15-inchers, but would style the wheel to replicate the original clean wheelcovers. It might be cool to see a set of 20-inch tires with an aspect ratio of perhaps 50, tall for a "20," and have it include a 2-inch whitewall...

I photoshopped this car early last year, and it has appeared in The Autoextremist, and CarSpyShots.

FF Sharkfin: Trompe L'oeil Roof Pillar Comes to Ferrari

My take on the recent "sharkfin" floating roof pillar treatments, as seen on this 4-passenger Ferrari FF variant. The A pillar and roof rails, as well as the top part of the C pillar, are polished unpainted aluminum. Taken as a whole with the body color lower C pillar and beveled glass side windows, the profile of a classic barchetta are revealed in this taller, more upright "family" Ferrari.

Volt Coupe: Controversial Beltline Trim Enlarged

2012 Volt Coupe by Chevrolet. Expanding the controversial black painted belt line, the Coupe extends this trim to the taillights, effectively isolating the Volt's roof from the bodysides creating a "floating" C pillar. Evocative of GM's '59-'61 "Vista" wraparound 4 door hardtop roofline? Bright work is expanded on the lower belt line as well. Wheels are enlarged but use the Volt's aero-tuned wheel design for maximum efficiency. Larger chromed nameplate is positioned to emphasize the Volt's inset door design and argent-colored composite rocker panels. Click on image to enlarge, as always.

An earlier chop of mine went the other direction with the black belt line panel, deleting it, Volt sedan left, Cruze right. I also straightened out the rocker panel trim, adding a dark section to the doors, and running a chrome strip along the top.

Past Blasts: Fairlane Victoria 4-Door "Coupe"

V8 or Hybrid EcoBoost Versions; Both RWD, Both Same Trim, Both Same Price

Classic Fairlane "Checkmark" is molded into the sheet-metal smart blanks for this 21st century take on the original Mid-Century Modern '55-'57 side trim. 

Past Blasts: Talismans From Detroit et Boulogne-Billancourt*

Cadillac Talisman crossover wagon, chopped in 2006. When I saw this article at Autoblog, for a Hamptons beach cruiser, I thought of this radical Caddy wagon courtesy early casey/artandcolour. This example has tiny slivers of wood at the bases of the doors.

This Talisman is equipped with the optional brushed stainless steel door skins.

 Wallpaper from 2001

This Talisman is from France's Renault. It was a concept car from 2001, and I photoshopped this wallpaper for it that year. Ten year old photoshopping skillz in the house!

* Boulogne-Billancourt is where Renault's World Headquarters is located, a suburb of western Paris. For Wiki's short history of Renault, click here.

From Jeep to Infiniti... Lancaster and Kerr?

Jeep Compass Triporto CJ12—Small Jeep gets seriously capable. Based on just-introduced 2011 Compass New York Auto Show concept vehicle which utilizes the normal 5-door Compass body. The Burt Lancaster of Jeep cars? This is the original photo.

Infiniti M35 Hybrid coupe—Luxury muscle car in a demure green swimsuit. Hybrid drivetrain and pillarless bodystyle brings glamor to the eco-lineup. The Deborah Kerr of coupes? Original photo.

From Here to Eternity, with Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed, Ernest Borgnine and other Hollywood "names," IMDb.

Long-lost AMC Wasp FWD Prototype. Needs Restoration.

Experimental FWD AMC Wasp sport sedan from 1966, found 45 years later in rough-but-ready condition—long thought to have been crushed. This car morphed from early prototypes of the upcoming RWD Javelin pony car... History artandcolour-style, of course: All in my mind and mouse. Click image to enlarge.

Hawk of the Skies . . . Batteries Included

I chopped this last year, an upscale coupe with supercar-level performance and Buick DNA, Skyhawk for 2012. Buick's quiet ride, coach-built, 2+2 interior, turbocharged V6, hybrid-assisted drivetrain, combined 350hp/700 ft/lbs, AWD, 3200lbs: Batteries Included. (Click image to enlarge)

Hard to Believe I Haven't Posted These Before...

2010 Taurus-based Thunderbird coupes. I just saw a Taurus-based T-bird coupe on another website, and wanted to link to these two similar chops of mine, and couldn't find them on my blog. I might not have "labeled" them correctly, or maybe I just never posted them on the blog. In either case, these are my ideas for a modern AWD Taurus-based T-bird coupe. The top one is my ideal Thunderbird, ie, pillarless coupe with classic Sixties T-bird cues. The bottom one is more of a modern version of the last 5-seat Thunderbird, the '89-96 or whenever they stopped building it, lol, a 2 door pillared sport coupe. These two examples show just how much diversity can be achieved in Photoshop, as both began as a new 4-door Taurus sedan.

Dodge White Hat Special, 2012 Style*

Charger R/T coupe—With thanks to PaulNYC for suggesting a proper 2012 2 door Charger! I've thought about doing a chop like this before, but until Paul mentioned it earlier today, it really didn't hit home how perfect it might be. I started with the new-for-2012 Charger R/T 4-door sedan, and added styling cues from the now-classic '68-'70 version. Flying buttressed C pillars and the oversized chrome gas cap are the obvious changes, well, besides the deletion of the rear doors and B pillar. I also made the scallops on the doors more akin to those on those '60s Chargers; double, instead of the single indents on the current car, which gave me a perfect location for the red, black and chrome '68 R/T logo. The black glass roof and tweaked and enlarged wheels round out the changes to this large, muscular Dodge coupe. I'm not sure that there is room in Dodge's lineup these days for a pillarless coupe like this Charger; the Challenger already utilizes a 116" wheelbase. But in my mind, and Paul's I hope, it's a shoe-in!

*Dodge White Hat Special refers to a marketing scheme Dodge employed quite often in the late '60s and early '70s. Various cars in the Dodge lineup were given multiple options at a lower price than if bought separately, in hopes of moving more vehicles. Frequently for these advertisements, very Swingin' Sixties models were photographed, dressed in white cowboy hats standing next to fairly mundane Polara hardtops and Coronet sedans, lol. 

Blast from the Past

Cayman Targa—Yeah, I know the Cayman is basically the hardtop version of the convertible Boxster, so the idea of an open-top Cayman might seem a bit superfluous... The original Porsche Targa was much more than just a convertible though. The brushed aluminum rollover hoop added rigidity and great looks, and the wraparound rear window, removable by the way, added a bit of glamor to the pretty Porsche 911/912 coupe. The removable top gave three ways to drive the car,—fully closed, fully open, or with just the roof open like a great big sunroof. 

I started with a special edition Cayman, in a beautiful shade of frog-green with black stripes. I changed it to gold even though the original Targa isn't quite fifty years old. I believe it was introduced forty-five years ago, but that's close enough for today! Besides the change in roof design, I shortened the front overhang by several inches for a more proportioned look, even though I suppose bumper standards wouldn't be met this way, and enlarged and darkened the wheels, keeping the bright yellow brake calipers. I also added my now almost-trademark cobblestones and a nice cloudy sky and distant island.

Mustang 4-door Sedan for 2012 [Updated]

Mustang Sedan, Take Two—I modified the rear bumper/apron assembly from my original chop below, with more sculpting matching up with the side contours. I think this lessens the bumper's thickness. I also made the roofline "faster" and added a dark-tinted roof panel, emphasizing the slope more. I think this makes it a bit more muscular. I also added a "5.0" badge to the front fenders.

Mustang Sport Sedan—Yes, the purists always hate these, and that's why Photoshop is so much fun. I started with an image of a Saleen-modified Mustang, hence the ribbed rear panel, quad exhausts, wheels and side skirting (although I modified the skirting, making it more "adult" and less boy-racer). I added the Mustang logo to the rear cove. I figured as long as I was committing blasphemy by adding the second set of doors, I might as well leave off the well-known Mustang medallion in this area  (the gas cap on the original series) and use the prancing horse instead. I lengthened the wheelbase by about eight inches to make enough room for the rear door to be functional. 

Would Ford ever build a Mustang sedan? I don't think so, but I don't see why they haven't utilized the rear-wheel drive platform for a sedan with a different name. It would make a nice Lincoln sport sedan.

The Maestro Knows Best

Kia Optima coupe—When I started this chop, I had every intention of changing the side window profile, to differentiate it from the sedan. I tried a full side window extending almost to the trunk. I tried adding a severely rising beltline and a pointed rear window, much like a 1971-72 Dodge Charger. I tried making the rear side window much narrower and more formal. Nothing worked as well as the original window profile Peter Schreyer used on his sedan. He is truly the master of design these days—you can't mess with the maestro! 

In the end, in addition to deleting the rear doors and making the front doors longer, I changed mostly the details. I moved the Kia logo from the hood into the grille; the way Schreyer's new Kia grilles narrow in the middle, almost the same as 1960s Dodge "barbells," makes a natural position for the oval logo. It emphasizes it and cleans up the hood. I also slightly changed the taillight lenses, adding neutral glass for most of the space. I tweaked the wheels, but seeing as I've often taken these wheels for other chops, I left them in position for this one. I adjusted the colors of the jpeg, added the pattern to the surface the car is sitting on and added some shadowing. Oh yeah, I deleted the silly front fender vents, I'm sure they're not functional. That's about it!

Recycling I Can Get Into

My de Tomaso Pantera for 2012—Autoblog.com published a short post this morning saying the De Tomaso may introduce a new Pantera next year. They showed a new crossover, the Deauville, based heavily on the Cadillac SRX in Geneva last week. It wasnt' pretty, in fact it was downright dowdy. When I read they were going to take a stab at the Pantera, I immediately thought of the Mercury Cyclone I chopped in 2007, and decided to "rechop" it into a Pantera. The filtered look I chose back in 2007 made the recycled chop faster and easier to do. Click image to enlarge.

Good suggestion about making it yellow, PX. I like this chop much better now. That was the color the Pantera was first advertised in the USA back in 1971. Here's my original Pantera dealer brochure from 1971. It's printed on heavy stock paper with a beautiful gloss varnish on every page.

My original Cyclone Hybrid sports car was based on a Ford GT photo.

Mid Century Squared

1941 Buick Century—This isn't one of my regular "chops." I didn't change the lines of the car, I don't think the Harley Earl-directed design can be improved at all! Rather, I changed the color, added the rear fender skirts from a Roadmaster, and completely changed the location, foreground and background, for a more attractive overall composition. 

I found this classic Buick online at a car dealer's site, link below. The car was painted in what I believe was a non-stock bright blue. This particular example is REALLY desirable, even in stock condition, but had been mechanically massaged. Essentially a "resto-mod", this rare Buick is now equipped with a vintage Paxton supercharger, which must make Buick's famed straight-eight engine sound fantastic, as well as adding more than 60-horsepower. 

I decided to use Photoshop to make it look more like what I might have ordered if I had been around in 1941: a dark cranberry lower body with a platinum gray roof and center hood stripe, in the Buick style of  the day. I added the rear fender skirts to emphasize the glorious fastback roof and forward-slanting B pillars. I left the tires blackwalls, which is how I would show almost any classic car. It's personal taste of course, but I just don't care for the wide-whites most old cars sport at car shows these days. I know they're "correct" for the period, but if you look at any original photo taken back in the day, they were quite rare on daily drivers. I love the "tough" look of the large black sidewalls also.

• Link to this resto-modded "banker's hotrod" 1941 Buick Century sedanette.

As Different as Sushi and Chowdah!

Lincoln Mark Coupes—On paper, both of these Lincolns might sound the same: all-wheel drive, twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 hybrid drivetrains, two-door bodies with full-boat luxury interiors. In reality, they couldn't be more different. Illustrated at the top is my Mark GT, a long and relatively low luxury coupe with wraparound glass and a thick B pillar, based on the MKT. The bottom version is a much shorter and taller, more futuristic Mark, based on an Aston Martin concept, with roof styling more akin to the pillarless Marks of yore. I'd say the top version could be sold today with no problem, and the bottom one might be five-years in the future. As much as I am a fan of Harley Earl's "Longer, lower, wider" mantra, the reality is cars of the future will become shorter, taller and narrower, to take up as little physical space as possible for their stated automotive missions.

If artandcolour Delivered!

Delgiata Panel Van—This is a little Ferrari-based "van" I chopped several years ago, as a delivery van for my art! The base photo was a Ferrari 599, but I shortened the hood a LOT as my version would be propelled by a 4-cylinder hybrid engine. This little wagon was the latest model in my own car company, Delgiata, which I created when I was about 10-years old. I was reminded today of this older chop, when I checked out Autoblog's Geneva 2011 coverage. Ferrari is showing a white FF, its new four-wheel drive Shooting Break, click here.

Wouldn't You Really Rather Have a Buick?

Buick Verano GS coupe—Ever since the compact Buick Verano was introduced, as only a 4 door sedan, I've wondered what a two-door, or three-door bodystyle would look like. Illustrated above is my interpretation of a three-door hatchback Verano GS, the hottest variety of the newest small Buick. The chrome "eyebrows" over the taillights have been the subject of criticism, but rather than delete them, or make them smaller in some way, I've enlarged them and made them reach all the way across the rear quarter panels to the door handles. I think it's time that chrome side moldings, in a tasteful manner, make their way back onto American cars. In this application, they help emphasize the rear "hips" and lead the eye up and over the rear fenders, wrapping all the way around to the Buick logo on the rear hatch lid.

The original photo I began with, the Verano 4-door sedan. Thank you, Photoshop®!

Shades of the Pacer and Citation?

2012 Chevrolet Cruze Z11 3-door pillarless hatchback—Um, that would be the AMC Pacer and the Chevy Citation, not the Edsel Pacer and Citation! Not readily apparent in this view is the fact that the passenger door on my 3-door Cruze would be 4-inches wider than the driver's door, just like the AMC Pacer. This would be a marketing decision to help counteract Hyundai's new Veloster, which has two doors on the passenger side and only one on the driver's side. The Chevy Citation reference is in the name, Z11 for the sports model illustrated. Chevy's first foray into front-wheel drive, the 1980 X-body Citation came in an X11 sport configuration, but since Chevy now has the Corvette ZR1 and the soon-to-be-released Camaro ZL1, I thought the "Z" precursor was more relevant to Chevy's 21st century than "X." Also note Chevy's now-traditional twin grille has been eliminated for a smoother appearance, slightly lowering the hood in the process. Original photo was the concept car of the upcoming Cruze 5-door hatchback.

Six Doors You Won't Find Anywhere Else

Audi A8 luxury coupe—This pillarless coupe would have standard Quattro drivetrains consisting of hybrid and turbo V8s and the mighty W12. Audi could really use a competitor for the Mercedes Benz CL series and this large pillarless coupe fits the bill to a "T." Click on images to enlarge.

Saab 9-5 Hybrid Coupe—The new 9-5 is available only as a sedan and recently-introduced Combi-wagon so I've created this low-roof Hybrid coupe. I added the aluminum/black rocker panel trim to complement the front air intakes. There would be a similar treatment on the rear bumper housing quad exhausts. I lightened the grille slats slightly for a little more visual interest. I really think this bodystyle would give Saab a great halo car.

VW's Jetta hasn't been produced in a two-door body since the 1980s when it was merely a trunk-backed Rabbit/Golf. I've used the new "American" Jetta sedan as a starting point. I've shortened the rear overhang and made the roofline more of a fastback—it would now be a hatchback. I lowered the roof slightly and gave it artandcolour modified wheels from VW's original CC concept car.

The Barber of Seville Shaves Off Two Doors

1983 Seville Elegante Coupe—The "bustleback" Seville was available only as a 4-door sedan, but I've always wondered what it would look like as a pillarless coupe. I moved the front wheels forward several inches to give it the appearance of a longer hood, also tucking in the front bumper a little. I made the distinctive sloped rear deck slightly more horizontal to go with the "faster" roofline I gave this coupe. Other changes include a slight reshuffling of trim pieces and the fitting of much larger wheels—covered with 20 inch wire wheelcovers, lol. I think this car would have been a natural for Cadillac! 

The Return of the Toyota Supra-car!

This is my interpretation of a new Toyota Supra, a mainstream supercar missing from Toyota's lineup for a decade. I based mine on the über GT, the Lexus LFA. I changed the lower body, tucking it under instead of the Lexus's almost flat sides. The front clip is totally different as well, reflecting Toyota's lower price, lower top speed and more plebian role in life, with larger headlights evocative of the last Supra, and fog lights for more of a production look. I added "normal" door handles, larger taillights, turn indicators in the mirrors, new wheels, and a few other "Supra" details. I like the way this car turned out. I doubt any new Toyota would be as cleanly styled as this, they really have a very bulbous aesthetic these days, but we can always hope! 

Two Doors, Four Seats, Ten Cylinders

Chrysler 300 Nassau Coupe—The "new" Chrysler Corporation really needs a top-shelf luxury coupe. "Halo" cars, those special limited-edition cars that help bring customers into the showroom, are a time proven sales device. Mine would use the ex-Dodge Viper V10 engine and powertrain for a totally unique driving experience. Pillarless construction adds a high-end look, and the lengthened front clip, enlarged fender flares and rocker panel vents all contribute to its rightful place on the top-shelf of Chrysler stores. This platform could also be rebodied for sister-division Lancia as a revived Gamma coupe.

Another Hit for Kia's Schreyer

My Kia Rio 3-door, created from the just-released images of Kia's new 5-door in Autoblog.com. The photos were released by Kia ahead of the new car's debut at the Geneva show. It looks to be another hit for Kia's designer, Peter Schreyer. His designs have continuity and freshness, a balancing act he accomplishes with ease and elan. My version is a fairly basic 3-door, keeping all of the rear seat room of the 5-door. I changed the side windows and taillights a little, and added wheels from the Sportage. Perhaps Schreyer has a sportier coupe in mind, and if he does, I'll predict it's going to be hot.