"Red Tails": The Automotive Sequel by Ford!

I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed when I saw some red-color-schemed Mustang show up. The first thing I thought was, “Oh what oh what oh what oh what now. What sameness is Ford doing with the Mustang again?” Oh God, please tell me (lol)!”. But then I realized that they’re doing a Red Tails Mustang edition. I then picked up my phone and pushed my fingertips outward, you know, the iphone-popularized gesture of zooming in on a picture (hahaha). I saw a broad red stripe on the rear of the Mustang and I’m like, “Hmm, I like that! The red stripe is slanted at the exact angle of the spoiler on the trunk lid. In my book, that is perfection! Furthermore, the spoiler is red also, so it lends the appearance of a red tail indeed. Now even further, the spoiler with its shape adds supplementary cred to a red tail, as in my mind I’m visualizing an aircraft tail or rudder.
Moving forward, to the front of the car, the grille and hood area in particular, I totally enjoy how the grille is encased by a red painted surround, in addition to a red and yellow checkered gradient painted into it on the right and left sides. The red paint that is closest to the top of the grille streams up onto the hood and parts around a gray-painted section of the hood - which is nearly all associated with a slight bulge in the hood. The effect of the streaming red paint is like the air that would be ripping over the hood of the aircraft while in its flight! Likewise, the area of the hood that is painted gray is akin to the gray-black exhaust that would be burgeoning out of the aircraft’s propeller engine. Completing this dynamic imagery are the fake exhaust pipes positioned below the front quarter panel and to the rear of the front tires. Whole-istically, this is automotive customization as art work! No wait, say it this way, this is automotive artistic customization. It is almost equivalent to a great painting. Infact, I believe this car customization is indeed worthy of a painting - think oil painting. I can really see myself doing one. Also, what would really be great is if Ford could put this "Red Tail" Mustang in a limited production run. I think there'll definitely be buyers! 
       Kudos to Ford Motor Company for their effort to honor the Tuskegee Airmen! It is a fantastic tribute to a great American combat group. I would love to have a large toy model version of this Mustang car on my desk, not even with remote control, just a big toy model!

Now observe the comparison below!

This is the fifth year running that the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture celebration will auction a customized Ford Mustang. This year, however, the auction which will be on Thursday, July 26, will feature a car dubbed the Red Tails edition that pays homage to the infamous Tuskegee Airmen. 

       
For those who are unfamiliar, the Tuskagee airmen were the U.S. Army's first group of African American pilots; they fought segregated from white forces. Formally, the Tuskegee Airmen formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group of the United States Army Air Corps after June 20, 1941. They are credited with significant enemy losses while suffering very few themselves. The accomplishments of the Tuskegee Airmen according to combat records is as follows:

• 112 aircraft destroyed in air
• 150 aircraft destroyed on land
• 148 aircraft damaged
• 15,533 sorties
• 311 missions for the Fifteenth Air Force
• 179 bomber escort missions
• 66 KIA
• 32 men captured
• 84 killed in training and non-combat missions
• 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses awarded
• 450 pilots sent overseas

What even makes Ford specially worthy of creating a tribute car to the Tuskegee Airmen, is the fact that one of the combat aircraft flown by the Tuskegee Airmen was carried the name Mustang, the North American P-51 Mustang. Out of the all the aircraft models that they were equipped with (the Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, Bell P-39 Airacobras, and Republic P-47 Thunderbolts) the Tuskegee Airmen became most commonly associated with the North American P-51 Mustang. Now the Tuskegee Airmen’s P-51 Mustang fighter planes had unique red paint on the tails, which inspired not only the name of the movie, but also the paint scheme on this special Ford Mustang. The red paint was applied to the aircraft by the pilots themselves as a way oft distinguishing themselves from their white counterparts. The Allies nicknamed these airmen "Red Tails" or "Red-Tail Angels," because of the distinctive red paint predominantly applied on the tail section of the unit's aircraft.

- Gebre Mesquitta

"Out in the Streetz..." (But She Caught me!) Customized 1994 Chevrolet Suburban!

Checkout that grille! Chrome flames!

Last week while at work, I was leaving a location where I just completed a marketing promotion and happened to pass a nicely customized Chevrolet Suburban parked outside. I kept looking at it and wondering if I might snap a picture. There were some houses and apartments nearby and couldn't be sure if the owner would suddenly show up or pop his or her head out the window and inquire about my merry picture taking. While continuing to walk forward I had a change of heart, and walked backwards to get in position to snap some pictures. I didn't think I could let this one slip me, I might never seen it again! And I liked the black-on-chrome design theme as well as the unique chrome-flame type grille.

       Now, a confirmation of my previous thoughts was about to enter reality. Just as I was snapping my last picture of the truck and was ready to leave, here comes the owner! I was like, "Aww shit! It was a heavy set  African American woman and she was on her phone approaching the vehicle.  I heard a pause in the phone conversation and and an utterance that sounded something like "Ah!" as if she meant, "What you doing?" I couldn't tell if she wanted to curse at me or what. As she got to the vehicle I was like, "I'm an automotive writer, I write about cars", and then I handed her my business card. She looked at it and gave it back to me and was like "I don't know what you will do with this" - referring to the pictures of her vehicle. I was like, "It will be on the website." Then she was like, I'm I gonna get any money for it?" I laughed to myself (lol). I had thought about that before though - the idea of paying people to take pictures of their cars. It's something that I might do in the future. But in the meantime I will be snappin' pictures as discreetly and as fast as possible and paying out nothing!

View the pictures below

Checkout the "all chrome everything" (my terminology) over the main black body. There's chrome over the wheel fenders along the bottom of the door combined with thick solid chrome wheels and the chrome front bumper and headlamp surround.I dig it!

I like the look of the wheels. It has a really solid cast-out-of-chrome appearance.

Checkout this grille! Aint this unique? I've never seen one like this before!

- Gebre Mesquitta

One of Dodge's Most Acclaimed Singles has Left the Studios!

The Dodge Dart is about to hit the stores! It recently rolled off the assembly line in Belvidere, Illinois. The Dodge Dart was a widely teased and well published spy-photographed story earlier this year. I got so tired of the teaser shots that I began to formulate my own idea of what it might somewhat look. Based on the pictures that I was seeing, including the picture to the left, I used some deductive visualization (my brand new term fresh out the oven) to estimate what the Dodge Dart might resemble. I had a strong leaning towards it being a new Avenger replacement. One that would utilize some of the styling from the new Dodge Charger.

Now my sketches aside, the Dodge Dart is one of the hottest singles out the Dodge recording studios and it is sure to be a big hit. It contains daring design, and is extremely innovative, and highly user-centered on in the inside which is aided in that by withering user interaction design.

Yep! Yes sir! and Yes Maam! This is one hot single that has come out of the Dodge recoding studio this year!. And this one is not a remix, it is an original! The greatest part about it all, is that I got to meet two of the most important people involved with the creation of this hit single: Brad Gieske and Winnie Cheung. Brad is the manager and Winnie was responsible for the thoroughly inventive and benchmark-creating interior design, including the beautiful user-experience interaction experienced with the large customizable display in the gauge cluster. This new Dodge is a dart indeed! It has very very closely made a bulls eye score on the target. Brad Gieske was the sound engineer in the studio and over saw Winnie as she did her thing in the sound booth. The result was a resounding success!

What I like most about the Dodge Dart is the way in which it goes about  making you like it. The exterior aesthetic is so pleasing and emotional. It pulls you to move 'round and 'round the car, and then 'round again! Lets begin at the front. Here, hot ferocious sexiness stares you straight in the face. The front fascia appears to swoop down like an eagle, and then just sits there glaring at you. And then the outlined cross hair grille lets you know "Yeah, this is Dodge!" I enjoy how the designers added a bold edge to the front fascia by color-dividing the front bumper into black and red portions. The thick black segment right below the cross hair grille emboldens the above mentioned grille itself. And then below the bar is the nice continuation of the background mesh that's been carried on from the grille above. It's a very pretty look. To the right and left of the this mesh are two air intakes which include fog lamps with circular inner housing designs that is sympathetic to the light housings in the headlamps above. Besides the lower fog lamps are also metal protrusions that hold it in place and these, because of what seems to be a chrome-tipped edge brings out the chrome outline of the cross hair grille above.  Now onto the main headlamps; these are the premiere show piece of the Dodge Dart. With it's fierce upward slant and large circular inner bulb housing, it imparts the last touch of beauty to the front end of the car.

I love how the headlamps are pushed almost all the way to the very edge of the front of the car. And it's so sexy. I can just feel my hands caressing the smooth curves, beginning at the black center bar and moving outward simultaneously in both left and right directions. And I see myself doing it over and over again...like over and over again: from the front and outwards to the sides (hahaha).

On to the side of the car is a sporty aerodynamic look aided by a slanted rear edge, a short trunk and a thick c-pillar. The appearance induced therefore, is the car is in a leaning forward stance. The language here is zippy, and speaks of quick forward motion. Its very groovy!

Now moving to the rear of the car is the lovely tail lamp design. The design is reminiscent of the tail lamp design on the new Dodge Charger. The main eye-catcher here is the red LED-type strip that outlines the entire tail lamp. Also, the brake lights are minimized for large reverse lights. Now here's what I like about such a composition, in which the reverse lights receives more space; what it does is it imparts to the car a speeding appearance, and this is because you are not picturing the car braking - one imagined with more braking lights. The resulting effect is that the rear of the Dodge Dart has a fast look to it, which enhances its the overall sporty character of the design.

Well ok, folks, lets move onto the interior of the Dodge Dart this is where designer Winnie did her thing! Winnie hit the nail on the head with the interior design. She drove the nail below the surface of the wood! The Doge Dart interior is revolutionary! This revolution begins with the piped LED lighting that flows around the drivers cage, from the center console to the instrument panel. It was the first eye catcher for me when I first began checking out pictures of the Dodge Dart earlier this year. I was like, "Wo!" I became intrigued as to how the lighting worked too, and I finally got my chance to have my question answered when I met design manager Brad at the TEAMS Design studio, in Chicago, Il, after he and Winnie completed their presentation on the Dodge Dart. According to him the LED lighting was a technology invented for just this project. It was the brainchild of Winnie, and the Team at Dodge got together to make it happen! This LED lighting with its nice warm techy glow is the premium attention-getter in the Dodge Dart's interior. It draws you in and makes you wanna just shut the door hug the steering wheel and just stay there! And while you're there, you can checkout the other part of the revolution; the instrument panel. Here in the gauge cluster, And your nicely surrounding my  a nice, attractive and dreamy interior

Now enjoy go ahead and enjoy the pictures of the Dodge Dart in all their glory!

Wow! A seat with storage space? Simply ingenious!

Below are pictures of the Dodge Dart presentation by Brad and Winnie at Designer's Night at TEAMS Design Studio in Chicago, IL.

Presentation getting set up

Interior Designer Winnie Cheung, and Manager Brad Gieske

Interior Designer Winnie Cheung, Gebre Mesquitta, and Manager Brad Gieske

I was happy as high heaven to get a picture with car designers. Car designers are like the Gods of my world!
To Brad and Winnie, and the rest of the team that helped to put together the Dodge Dart. Great work! Go Dodge!

Oh, and guess what you all! The Dodge Dart starts out at only $15, 995! I was shocked when Brad quoted me the price. For a car of such great exterior and interior design, that's a deal! Furthermore, I also somehow get the feel that the Dodge Dart is the ideal car for that college kid who has just graduated and received his or her first successful new job. It really has that vibe to it. Now go to your nearest Dodge dealer and ask for a test drive today!

- Gebre Mesquitta