Monday, July 26, 2010

Lincoln Continental Chop From 2006

Crafted from a Bugatti concept car, this Lincoln would have been VERY high-end—perhaps six figures with only the finest materials in a limited edition.

C H O P — The interesting part of this chop is something I just realized looking at it four years after I created it. The sloped front end was very NOT Lincoln in 2006, the bluff Navigator-type classic chrome radiator surround was still being used, which itself was originally a Rolls-Royce knock-off when it was first used in '68 on the Mark III. Creating a Lincoln with this front end was controversial, and universally unliked when I first posted it online. I didn't think, and couldn't have known that Lincoln was going to create it's new trademark split-grille modeled after the '1940-41 Lincolns, but you can imagine that split grille on this car. Also note the extra large Lincoln logo on the front fender as well. I believe I did that before Lincoln started using this cue on their recent production models. This car doesn't have a very American feel to it, but then, the very first Lincoln Continental cabriolet was named the Continental for that very same reason: it was considered a very European design at the time. This car was chopped to appeal to the buyers of Rolls Royces and Bentleys.

Ever since I started posting my cars online in 2006, many people have commented that the real manufacturers are 'stealing' my ideas, lol. Of course they're not. But I like to think that designers of any kind, ie car, book, dish, train, clothes whatever it is being designed, that we all get our inspiration from the world around us. We all see what everyone else is doing in other fields and somehow react to the same forces in our own chosen fields. We all hear the same political rants, we all read the same books or watch the same TV shows, and those influences all coalesce into our chosen designs.

Or they're just checking out artandcolour for some cheap inspiration, lol.

I see lots of 'mistakes' in these early first chops of mine, but I'd rather do new ones than to go back and rework earlier pieces. They are what they are and they're a snapshot in time of my earlier work.

3 comments:

  1. YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS CASEY BUT GRAMPS AND I HAVE HAD OVER FIFTY CAR IN 53 YEARS. I CAN ONLY REMEMBER A FEW BUT I'M SURE GRAMPS COULD REMEMBER MANY OF THEM. CAR WERE ALWAYS HIS HUBBY. HE AND HIS BUDDY WOULD BUY A WRECK, TEAR IT APART. THEN FIX IT UP, PUT IT BACK TOGETHER THEN SELL IT. IT WAS LIKE MONEY IN THE BANK WHEN WE FIRST GOT MARRIED. I'D GET SO MAD BECAUSE HE AND PAT WOULD SPEND HOURS ON THOSE CARS. I'D CRY TO MY MOM AND SHE WOULD YELL AT ME. SHE WOULD TELL ME AT LEAST HE WASN'T SITTING ON A BAR STOOL. I CAN STILL HEAR HER SAY IT IN MY MIND. LOL, SO I LEARN AT AN EARLY AGE TO JUST SHUT UP AND GO WITH THE FLOW.
    YOU AND GRAMPS WOULD GET A LONG JUST TALKING CARS. I HAVE A LINCOLN STORY BUT I'M TO TIRED AND I WANT TO GO TO BED. ANOTHER TIME. GOOD NIGHT.

    GRANNY

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  2. Now this is what a 21st century Town Car should look like.And it should be called Town Car. Would do well as Lincoln's flagship. Love the wheels - would you say 24-25 inchers ? Fantastic roofline - formal yet sleek. Proper vertical taillights. (In my mind vertical tallights add formality to a car) Aero front end for 21st century gas mileage concerns. Perfect.

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  3. Granny: I grew up hearing that "at least he isn't sitting in a bar" about various friends of my families too, when the men would have odd hobbies, or spend time in their garages rather than inside the house. For all of the years I DID spend in bars, I never sat down, lol. I can honestly say I never sat at a bar in my life. I always stood up! : )

    PX: I had forgotten I did this, and it's just as relevant today as it was 4 years ago. Thanks for like it! It went over like the proverbial lead balloon in 2006, lol.

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