Hot sketches?  Check.  Giant wheels?  Check.  Aggressive styling?  Check.  Production vehicle?  Check..?  Yes, CHECK.

Local Motors has released information on their first build, the “Rally Fighter” by recent winner Sangho Kim.  The concept was born of true open-source thinking via LM’s Design Process community section of their website: Designer creates concept, community critiques concept, designer refines concept, community critiques again, and so on.  To designers, the process is reminiscient of every college design course (and every succesful design studio) we had, with weekly critiques of our designs in efforts to make it better.  (We’ll have more on the Design process in a future article).  Kim’s concept was one of the first to utilize the Design Process, and did so effectively, evolving over the summer into the vehicle that you see in the images below.

The vehicle, although it will have to slightly morph to fit today’s safety and manufacturing standards, is a take on the stylish not-so-off-road genre that BMW, Audi, and even Hyundai are starting to take a look into seriously.  Dubbed a “larger lighter-weight” car that is fuel-efficient, the Rally Fighter had it’s roots as a BMW-inspired concept, picking up the look of the X6 and eventually evolving the proportion and form language to become more unique.  While not as outlandhish as many concepts we see come out of other design competitions (and other start-ups) the Rally Fighter has a clean, modern aesthetic that will aim to help define the Local Motors brand language.

If the final vehicle retains much of the “sketch on wheels” appeal of Kim’s concept, then the Rally Fighter will be a winner.  With the help of LM team members such as Ben Messmer (Lead Designer at Local Motors) and their engineering staff and community, the project looks promising, and will be a nice way for the design communityto showcase itself in the increasingly open-source world that we live in.  Congratulations to Sangho Kim, who’s having one heck of a summer!

Official press release (and a few more images) after the break.

Press Release

August 5, 2008

For Immediate Release:
Local Motors Announces First Car to be Built with Community Support
Sangho Kim’s Rally Fighter will be the first Local Motors Design Concept to be taken from sketch to reality. Multiple factors influenced the decision to build Sangho’s design. Community support, focus on car enthusiasts, timeliness and community collaboration are key.
Local Motors will build the Rally Fighter with the participation of the entire Local Motors Community of designers and car enthusiasts, who were the largest consideration in this decision. Ben Messmer, Lead Designer at Local Motors explains the value in Community Design Process, “This design has aroused incredible feedback and collaboration from the Community. By promoting discussion and collaboration early on, we are able to design cars we know people want; there is no guessing.” Everyone is welcome to collaborate and give feedback since the Rally Fighter is currently in “Process”. Kim’s Rally Fighter represents an industry first as the premier car to be designed and built for car enthusiasts in open non-private development.
Local Motors is a new American car company focused on building cars for the most influential market, car enthusiasts. The Rally Fighter will fulfill the desires of these selective drivers:
1. American Authenticity: Local Motors will hold true to the influences of traditional American car design: hotrods, trucks, and aerospace are among the inspiration to build a legion of new and exciting cars for enthusiasts. The Rally Fighter reflects the heroism of American aerospace design and is inspired by the long, powerful lines of Classic Warbirds.
Each Local Motors car will be uniquely American since each is designed and built to suit a local region. The Rally Fighter design is suited to several local geographic areas, from the Baja landscape of Southern California to the hills of Texas and the Back Country of North Carolina. Local Motors has yet to announce the location of the first local micro-factory facility where the Off-Road Rally Fighter will be built. The prototype will be built at Local Motors headquarters.
2. Mechanicals Showing: Die-hard car enthusiasts are turned on by the site of a beautiful automobile; especially if the mechanicals are showing. Styling cues like exposed wheels or exhaust, or exposed panels on frames are details that can take a design from like to lust. The aerospace influence of the Rally Fighter is tailored for features like raw panels you see on old Warbirds.
3. Presence of Excellence: Local Motors’ consistent Presence of Excellence will be head turning, heart pounding car design. What Local Motors will do well with design and execution will be simple but effective. This company cannot and does not intend to compete with other industry products that distinguish themselves on the absence of defects. No matter the price point, no matter the limitations, the absence of defects without the Presence of Excellence is still falling short. In this case, the Presence of Excellence is a must-have design, where we will accept being bested on life cycle testing for door handle reliability (e.g.) in order to focus on a product whose look and feel you cannot live without.
4. Playing (vs. Posing): Car enthusiasts want a vehicle to do what is advertised or implied. A true rally car must be able to jump, and a hotrod had better be able to burn rubber. Anything less is just posing; Local Motors Rally Fighter is ready to play.
This Rally Fighter fits the bill of Local Motors’ and car enthusiasts’ expectations, and we believe Sangho has presented it at the perfect time since OEMs are no longer focusing on large vehicles. As the majors change their product mix away from larger vehicles to achieve overall corporate gains in fuel efficiency, they are creating opportunities to provide larger lighter-weight cars to the American consumer. “We believe there is a way to make a bigger, safer vehicle which is lightweight and super efficient. With the guidance of our community, we not only think but we know there is demand for such a vehicle. Sangho’s Rally Fighter is the clear standout in this category and we are proud to make this design our premier,” says Local Motors CEO, Jay Rogers.
Sangho Kim’s winning creation has spent weeks in the Design Process section refining its unique off-road rally characteristics with the help of the Community. This section of http://www.local-motors.com is a development hub for the most promising Local Motors designs and is invite-only. In this designated area, designers can work directly with the LM Design Team while collaborating with one another. After weeks in Process with the LM Design Team and Community, the Rally Fighter is an eye-catching rendition of aeronautical inspiration in a high-waisted coupe style vehicle.
Kim’s community participation made him an easy choice; not only can he design, but he has excellent communication skills and is able rapidly to iterate his design based on community feedback. Recently, this same skill set helped him win the Miami Road Racer Competition. Now Sangho Kim has taken the opportunity to see his idea come to life, the dream of every car designer. In addition to this awesome experience, Sangho earned $10,000USD. The team at Local Motors will carry out Sangho’s vision and ensure his name will forever be associated with his design. He is only the first of many designers to be conferred with such an honor, and we so Local Motors looks forward to more to come in the future. In addition to Kim, there are already three winning designers and several runner-up finishers who have risen to the top of the community in Local Motors competitions. These other designers’ individual achievements represent the depth of this community.
Local Motors revolutionary but simple process values the desires of community; the community is also the customer.

About Local Motors
Local Motors Mission
Lead the next generation of automotive manufacturing, design, and technology in order to revolutionize the industry with game-changing efficient vehicles and an unprecedented standard of customer service.
Core Values
Must-Have Products: With an aggressive pursuit of both form and function, build and source the most eye-catching, gut pleasing and functional products for personal mobility. This differentiation will command a higher price.
Community and Education: Dealerships are plentiful and customers abound but true communities of owners are precious. From the physical world to the virtual world, treasure the company, the people, and the products that give our owners reason to make friends for life. For our owners, this is not just about transportation; it is about how they enjoy their freedom. A deeper relationship with customers may not increase the price, because while it increases the customer willingness to pay, it also increases the company willingness to share value, but a deeper relationship does increase resale value and brand loyalty. A great part of this value is wrapped in education and the desire of Local Motors to lead the field of auto makers in taking the time to educate and inform its customers in a most engaging process.
Environmental & Corporate Sustainability
Environmental Sustainability: Reduce harmful particulate and carbon emissions. Clean up the face of mainstreet by doing away with the oceans of unsold cars baking in sun. Reduce engine noise inside and outside the vehicle for the sake of serenity. With a must-have product that commands consistently superior value pricing and a community that creates customer loyalty, self-sustaining profit is the result.
Corporate Sustainability: With a must-have product that commands consistently superior value pricing and a community that creates customer loyalty, self-sustaining profit is the result.
Safety: Provide not just a defensive safer vehicle that can withstand greater impact than other vehicles in its class, but also an offensive safer vehicle whose nimbleness and technology make it an industry leader at avoiding accidents.
Seductive Simplicity: Everything you dreamt of, nothing extra.
Customer First: This is the second largest purchase most people ever make in their lives. Treat them with the respect that their purchase deserves. Delight and exceed customer expectations. Pay for this with operational efficiencies born from a local manufacturing, sales, and service model. This has never been done before in the car industry so look for peers from other industry leaders (motorcycles, aircraft, component cars, beer). We are looking for an aspirational product delivered through a meaningful entertainment experience.
To learn more go to: http://www.local-motors.com/aboutUs.php

For questions please contact:
Ariel Ferreira Cronk
(989) 600-0534
aferreira [at] local-motors.com
###

The world is not all doom and gloom, unlike here in the US.  Aston Martin has just released this image of a new $2 million dollar car called the One-77.  Someone has some money out there, well I guess 77 people do.  So what do you get for $2 mil?  One of 77 cars produced (hence the name), carbon fiber chassis with an aluminum body reducing weight to hit 60mph in just 3.5 seconds and a top  speed around 200mph.

This all comes wrapped in kind of a sleeper package.  Aston Martin’s are beautiful cars but are not jaw dropping super cars like a Lambo or Ferrari.  You don’t here little kids saying they want an Aston.  No sir this is a car for sophisticated taste.  Just not the Rolls Royce kind.  So search those cushions and save up that loose change…

Without amazing styling to show off its huge sticker price, what would you expect out of car worth this much money?

Everyone wants an electric car now, yes we know.  Too bad they all look like poopy (as stated in one of our past post) except for Tesla.  Although working over a Lotus package is bound to set you up for something good.  Now that Franz von Holzhausen will be leading the Design way Tesla has the opportunity to blow right past the competition.  FvH must have had enough of the “man” neutering his designs on the way to production.  For it is a bold move to leave a huge corporation like Mazda with a successful career and go to a start up company.  Obviously he has seen the future with Tesla.  A company without the political stronghold of the big OEM’s.

There is a good chance now that some truly unique and dare I say inspirational vehicle design could come our way.  Start ups always have the benfit of taking risks and not worrying about the majority.  This is what sets them apart from large corporations.

Fueling FvH’s creative juices will be a new design facility and team.  Sadly there are a lot of car designers looking for work these days which gives FvH a large pool to choose from when building his new design team.  This is some very exciting news in the midst of the falling auto industry.  I really hope Tesla gives him freedom to do some truly unique design and jump start the static industry.  Good Luck!

CarDesignNews has an exclusive article on the new move.

Who is tired of hearing their company talk about innovation but not really doing anything to show it.  The word Innovation is being thrown around like the word “Green” and a dead bird in a dogs mouth.  Will the lack of visible innovation discredit all the companies that market this attribute?  What companies out their are showing innovation??? besides Apple.

Bruce Nussbaum from BusinessWeek puts it like this:

“The truth is that the backlash is against the fad of innovation, not the fact of it. The backlash is against CEOs who get up and shroud their companies and their reputations in the rhetoric of innovation while continuing to sell out-of-date, poorly designed products and services. Consumers know this is fake and realize that the talk about innovation is not authentic.”

(By David Carlson from Design 21)

There is a lot of talk going around concerning a possible backlash against design and innovation.

And that is very true. I see it all the time in Sweden as well, there is a huge lack of knowledge among Swedish companies (mostly small and mid-size). And it is not because of the lack of clever and talented designers in Sweden. It is the lack of knowledge how to run a design process and how to write a creative design brief. And if we top that with some lack of vision about how design can build strong brands we got the overall picture rather well.

And when this lack of interest and knowledge is putting a lot of unattractive products on the market it is not strange why people wonder what design is really about. We actually live in a world full of bad products and bad design.

I was holding a lecture the other day at the Malmö University with a course called Practical Creativity were I tried to work with the students according to my believes. The design process is in some sense a mechanical procedure. You have to make everything in the correct order according to a defined scheme. The true differentiator of the design process is the design brief. You have to solve problems, deliver to a demand or create new possibilities. You have to add magic and relevance. Your products have to have cultural relevance and they have to evoke meaning.

Click here for some interesting comments about this article.

Recently completed by third-year students at Turin’s Istituto Europeo di Design was a BMW-sponsored project aimed at visualizing concepts for what a BMW would look like in 2015.  With the theoretical deadline just a short 7 years away, the students reached as far as possible, stretching their creaitivity.

The project was overseen by BMW Design Chief Chris Bangle himself, with help from Thomas Plath, Director of Model Techniques and Process Management, and Anders Warming, BMW Exterior Design Director.  The 35 students were divided into 18 teams to develop the vehicles, of which 12 were selected to be completed.  Of those 12, 8 were turned into 1:4 scale models and 4 were CAD.

The specifications of the project included maintaining BMW’s design heritage, with an emphasis on nature (wind, the sea, flowing movement) and emotion (music, socializing, etc).  While this Design language may seem very similar to the recent Mazda work being done, it led to several varied takes on the direction, from concepts that mimicked the “living” BMW Gina concept to vehicles straight out of “I, Robot”.  Students had to focus not only on the exterior, but the interior as well.

BMW ZX-6 Concept by Jai Ho Yoo and Lukas Vanek

Take a look at several of the concepts after the break.

[Thanks to CarBodyDesign.com for the images and information]

BMW Vela Concept by Andrea Corona, Alex Mastinu and Yim Sumi

BMW ZX-6 Concept by Jai Ho Yoo and Lukas Vanek

BMW Vela Concept by Andrea Corona, Alex Mastinu and Yim Sumi

BMW AFRICA concept by Raphael Laurent and Mihai Panaitescu

BMW AFRICA concept by Raphael Laurent and Mihai Panaitescu

BMW SNUG concept by David Raffai, Kevin Schlaepfer, Andrea Torchia and Alberto Usai

With this weeks WOTW we take a look at Instructables, the website about making stuff and doing things. Instructables describes itself as “The World’s Biggest Show & Tell” and justifiably so. Relying on user-submitted How-To articles, the site always has fresh content.
From starting engines, to constructing toys, to creating insane little time-wasting objects, Instructables is a terrific resource for some right-brain creative thinking.

The social aspect of the website is great, as members create groups of like-minded inventors, contests are always under way, and newsletters and events are prominently featured.

The site is great for every little gem of creativity that it offers, and every bit as handy on those rainy days when you have finished sketching robots and need something to occupy your time.

Check them out at Instructables.com

Car companies + internet. Seems like it would be a natural marketing and sales tool, right?  Well, up until recently, OEMs were terrified of the intrawebz as buying a car online from a corporation is still nearly impossible to do.  In fact, finding the correct information for a vehicle and its options on a company’s website is still not very easy.

So how do corporations solve the issue of failed informational websites?  Well, they jump headfirst into crazy marketing schemes and go all web-two-point-oh on us!  From games, to wannabe Facebooks, to Legos, auto companies are doing anything they can to get their viral marketing campaigns moving along.

Take a look at a few of our faves, and add yours into our comments.

Example:

Dodge Quest

www.Dodge-Quest.com

A direct rip-off of classic 8-bit video gaming (in this case the Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior NES games) Dodge fabricated an online Flash game worthy of our time.  With the 80s and 8-bit gaming beck in style, Dodge manages to make a successfl attempt at capturing our attention for an entire afternoon. You play the role of a weird, toad-headed character trying to win the heart of his “fair maiden” by buying her a Dodge.  Yep, nothing says romantic like a Dodge.

Complete with a stats system, fights with townspeople, and a full town to walk around in and harass other characters, Dodge Quest puts any Grand Theft Auto game to shame.

More sites after the jump.

IM Saturn

www.IMSaturn.com

Saturn has always been known as the customer-friendly arm of GM, so it was natural that their online community website would be just as interesting and people-friendly. Saturn’s method of community-access/exposure includes allowing members to create mini-profiles where they post pics of their car, share stories, enter contests, and play online slot car games.

The site also features several Saturn behind-the-scenes sections dedicated to making the corp seem ever-so-slightly more friendly.

Mini Viral Campaigns

www.aveaword.com

Are your friends becoming more metrosexual as the days progress?  Mini thinks so, and is here to help.  Their viral site for the MINI Cooper S JCW GP Kit allows you to input some rough info about your friends, allowing them to be harassed by an online video questioning their manhood when they visit.  Fantastically simple, and a great way to annoy the crap out of your friends.

Mini’s Advertising Banner Campaign

Mini in the UK sponsored an online “rally” of sorts, focusing on banner ads that chain-linked to various websites. The sites were (mostly) created by Mini and are as varied as possible, with themes such as “Roundabouts of Britain”, “Ugly Footballers”, or “Street Mattress”. The game was simple, and yet effective… in doing something or another. We don’t know… our minds were blown when we realized “footballers” were actually soccer-players.

Here is this weeks dose of inspiration.  Try out some of these when the Friday meltdown kicks in after lunch.  In honor of a Cobra Rally I will be in this weekend I will start with this.  (No I don’t have a Cobra darnit)

Here is a great loose sketch using mixed medias.  Love the energy in it.

The details are what make any final design.  These are some nice quick grey scale sketches probably using the dodge and burn method.

These are pretty old sketches, but still fun to look at.  The VW Concept T in all of its orange marker glory.

Here is the tight sketch of the week.  This car looks like it has a inch of clear coat on it giving it a glossy look.  Mitsubishi always has some great sketches to show of their cars.

With all of the Camaro love lately, as well as our article on the evolution of the Batmobile, we thought it fitting to introduce the vehicles of another forthcoming film: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.  We know, the title totally sucks.

The great thing about Transformers is that they appeal so well to the kid in all of us (Designers).  The creations themselves are more product than vehicle, relying on their vehicle form to scoot around planet Earth unseen (sorta).  We decided to take a look at this GM-centric vehicle cast of TF2.  Reminder:  These are the KNOWN vehicles, and can be changed without notice by the TF2 production team.  We hear Director Michael Bay is playing his cards awfully close for TF2, possibly putting things in to the public eye to throw the spoilers off the scent.

Which of the vehicles/characters are you most looking forward to?

Autobots

Bumblebee: 2010 Chevy Camaro

While not the VW bug we all grew up to love, Bumblebee was well utilized in the first film.  We expect him to be just as cool in TF2.

Read on for more images

Optimus Prime: Peterbilt 379 EX

The big red & blue machine is back as the leader of the Autobots, and looks cool as ever!

The Twins: Chevy Beat & Trax

The Twins were originally supposed to be two robots who combine to form an ice cream truck.  GM’s millions persuaded otherwise.  Our only question:  Will the Groove make an appearance as well?

Stinger: Chevy Corvette Concept

This crazy, futuristic Vette is planned to be the big reveal of the film, taking the place of Jazz as the crazyhorse of the second movie.  Fast, sleak, and.. well, not very attractive, actually. *Notice the two CanAm three-wheelers in the background?  They’re tentatively slated to play the Twins’ Decepticon nemesis.  No names revealed yet for these puppies.

Wheels: RC truck

No image available (yet)

Kind of funny, when you realize that the name of the first female robot is…

Arcee: Buell (and other) bikes

[Image courtesy www.comicbookmovie.com]

Arcee will be Megan Fox’s primary set of wheels in the film.

Ratchet: Hummer H2

[Image courtesy SeriousWheels.com]

Ratchet returns in all of his Lime greeniness! As does…

Ironhide: GMC TopKick

[Image courtesy mdt.volvospeed.com]

The raspy-voiced #2 to Prime is rumored to get killed off in the sequel.  Either way, that’s a huge truck!

Wheeljack: Saab Aero-X

Also rumored to be in the 2nd movie is Wheeljack as the Aero-X concept.  However, the latest word is that he was pulled from the cast in favor of bringing in Arcee and the Twins.

Decepticons:

Starscream: F-22 Raptor

Starscream returns and temporarily takes the reigns of the Decepticons, until Megatron re-awakens from the bottom of the ocean. SPOILER. (Sorry!)  Starscream was one of the least-liked charactes of the first film, as his robot form appeared too chunky and wide.  Rumors suggest that he will be slightly streamlined for the upcoming sequel.

Jetfire: SR-71 Blackbird

Jetfire has probably the most intriguing flying form of the Decepticons.  Will he have the same cloaking skills as a stealth bomber?

Constructicon/Devastator: Several construction vehicles combined

This is the Devastator that we’ve been wanting:  the Constructicons combined!  His name will be changed for the film, but the rumor mill states that he will be the goliath threat (read: Cloverfield) of TF2.

Megatron: Vehicle form?

One thing is for certain in Hollywood:  Bad guys never stay dead!  Not much is known about Megatron’s appearance in TF2.

Barricade: Saleen Mustang S281

Barricade should be back for TF2.  Other than that, not much is known about this Mustang variant.

Thanks to SlashFilm.com for the info!