Wedge Issues Invade The 73rd Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

For the first time in the seventy-three year history, The Wedge. Featured images that were captured through one of the posters - RetroAuto poster - had in the foreground the 1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero Bertone Coupe following a 1979 Aston Martin Bulldog - both prototype one-of cars. Image Credit: RetroAuto Poster Painting - Tim Layzell - Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (2024)

Wedge Issues Invade The 73rd Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

A modern version of the best car-judging show known throughout the world, the Concours d'Elegance held on the Monterey Peninsula of central California along the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach golf course was riddled with wedge issues through the introduction of a design form as a classification.

The Wedge, once seen, fully understood. Two classes were introduced for the first time highlighting this line of design and innovation - V-1: Wedge-Shaped Concept Cars & Prototypes Early & V-2: Wedge-Shaped Concept Cars & Prototypes Late.

As the RetroAuto Poster description read >>> 73rd Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Poster  - Retro Auto - Nuccio Bertone’s 1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero has been called “the ultimate wedge” car and it takes prime of place on our RetroAuto poster, which celebrates the bold lines and shapes that transformed automotive design in the 1960s and held sway through much of the ensuing decades. 

Here the Zero is hot on the tail of the 1979 Aston Martin Bulldog, which was said to be the fastest production car of its era. Both of these iconic wedge cars are charging through Del Monte Forest down to the Pebble Beach Concours show field.

On the lawn, this Best-In-Class Lancia Stratos HF Zero wedge is much smaller in stature than one expects just looking at a stand alone non-perspective picture. Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

On the lawn, this Best-In-Class Aston Martin Bulldog wedge is full size and longer in stature than one expects just looking at a stand alone non-perspective picture. Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

Sunday's surprise had these two cars win Best In Class awards as judged in the showfield. Both cars were owned and shown by Phillip Sarofim, Beverly Hills, California. Wedge issues.

Headlights on this Aston Martin Bulldog are cleanly mounted behind a dropdown flat wedge panel that forms the hood.
Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

The diversity and breadth that appeared on the 18th Fairway to be judged was quite surprising since when one says "wedge" one believes that there may not be much room for interpretation. The classes did not have a limitation on year developed and produced so this broadened out these potentials and invigorated the overall 73rd Concours by their inclusion.

Wedges galore on the 18th Fairway - from front to back, 1955 Ghia Streamline X ‘Gilda’ Coupe | 1970 Mercedes-Benz C 111/II Sports Car | 1972 BMW Turbo Concept | 1976 Ferrari Rainbow Bertone Coupe | 1960 Plymouth XNR Ghia Roadster.
Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

These two first time classes had 12 cars in the V-1 Class and 9 cars in the V-2 Class on the fairway to be judged.

The most recent car to be judged, and the newest car on the lawn, was this 2023 ItalDesign Asso di Picche In Movimento. "Ace Of Spades In Movement" is a 2+2 electric coupé, 3 doors, without a center pillar, built on a next-generation platform, and based on today’s rationale on car design choices shaped by the concepts of safety and electrification. "Asso di Picche In Movimento" is 4662 mm long, 1230 mm high and 1945 mm wide.

 

"Italdesign Asso di Picche In Movimento" is, in fact, the name chosen for the digital anniversary show-car that translates the original model into the present, conferring a timeless nature, while preserving its essence and the simplicity of its design.
Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

Vehicle body in aluminum and windows in polycarbonate combine to form one monolithic and seamless aerodynamic whole, enclosed by a single unbroken outline that unifies the roof, front end and rear end, all the way down to the tail panel, wrapping around the passenger compartment. Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

On the rear, together with a reflector and a centrally located extractor, an active spoiler, chosen to contribute to the car’s aerodynamics. Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

The top view highlights the visual continuity between the windshield, roof and rear window: a single transparent expanse, a true architectural element that guarantees a bright interior and structural strength. Underneath it, are concealed the cameras that replace side rearview mirrors, which were absent on the first model. Designed to protect passengers from the sun, a part of the roof has been treated like a polarized lens and filters out 100% of UVA rays.

With a designer's note that captures the finned era of the 1950s, this 1960 Plymouth XNR Ghia Roadster grabs all that is imaginative from that time. From the flair accents highlighting the wheel position along the side panels, to the attention-getting chrome and badging displays, set this platform on a different level.

Embedded chrome along the bumper and fin lines as well as the badging serve to pronounce the pedigree of this concept wedge. Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

Chrome billet grille, scoop, and dual headlights create quite an entrance. Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

Wheel cover design consistent with this finned-era designed platform. Image Credit: Andrew McCredie via Driving (2024)

One of the more brilliant displays in "one-of wedgedom" would probably have to be a car that was first at Pebble Beach in August on the concept lawn in 2017. It is a car valued at over $1.5 Million dollars and built through the design talents of Ken Okuyama, a graduate of ArtCenter College of Design. 

If that name sounds familiar, Okuyama is a career automotive design pro who spent much of his career at Pininfarina. He is credited in helping create vehicles like the original Acura NSX, Ferrari 599 GTB, Ferrari Enzo, Maserati Birdcage 75th Concept, and even the fourth-generation Chevrolet Camaro. Yes, that Camaro. 

The car is the Kode 0 - Debut: 2017 - Engine: 6.5-Liter V12 - Specs: 690 Horsepower / 507 pound-feet.

Scissor style cab forward doors add to the attractive entrance into the cabin of this sculpted metal wedge supercar.
Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

The rear styling notes seem to have been copied by Lexus but never as beefy as the original.
Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

And what's a wedge show without a 1988 Cizeta-Moroder V16T Prototype.

The Cizeta-Moroder was designed by Marcello Gandini — he of the Miura, Countach, and Lancia Stratos — and incorporates classic wedge design cues, including a nose close to the ground and a rear high up in the air. It debuted at the 1989 Los Angeles and Geneva auto shows, and was owned by Moroder until 2022. Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

Cizeta-Moroder Motors srl, which was based in Modena, brought together Giorgio Moroder, financier and California show-business (music), and the technician Claudio Zampolli. The carbonfiber monocoque covers a big 6.9-litre V12 engine with a power output of 690 horsepower.

The last and most tragic wedge issue happened the evening after a day of motor culture celebration was over and in the books. 

The 1979 Ford Probe I Ghia Concept was designed by Ford design chief Don F. Kopka along with Carozzeria Ghia, and was based on a Fox-body Mustang platform with a turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder Cobra engine. With its rear wheel spats, elongated rear deck and large glass greenhouse, the Probe I influenced many future Ford production cars.

A last procession for a unique American prototype. Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

Greenhouse cabin sets this wedge concept apart from all on the showfield. Image Credit: Albert Wong/Nacho Herrera (2024)

Funny, no one thinks about the real joy in being a part of this unique event with one-of unique cars and how truly special this is until one is jerked hard toward a reality that nothing lasts forever, especially when the glow of the moment is brought to a halt through the glow of a fire. 

Burnt out framework of the 1979 Ford Probe I Ghia Concept (Sunday, August 18, 2024). Image Credit: Scott Grundfor Co. on Instagram FB/META (2024)

The car is owned by Scott Grundfor Co., an Arroyo Grande, California restoration operation, that has worked on and also owns some 15 other rare Ford prototypes. Drew Grundfor, speaking on behalf of the company, told Motor Trend that the burned-out shell of the car is expected to be displayed in the Scott Grundfor Co. showroom, and that they still have to decide whether they will attempt to restore the car, or leave it as-is.

The estimated value of the car has been rumored to be about $1 Million dollars.

Issues, issues, issues - wedge issues, after which the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance will never be the same.

... notes from The EDJE

TAGS: RetroAuto, Wedge, 73rd Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, BMW, Ford, Cizeta-Moroder, Ken Okuyama, Kode 0, Plymouth, Ghia, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lancia Stratos, The EDJE

Globalist Agenda For 100% Self-Driving Autonomy Not A Fit With Consumer Confidence In Technology

A Waymo outfitted self-driving car. The compoany is heading the pack in fully-autonomous vehicles, for now. Image Credit: Stephen Lam/Reuters via The National

Globalist Agenda For 100% Self-Driving Autonomy Not A Fit With Consumer Confidence In Technology

CES, the Consumer Electronics Show starting the year in Las Vegas January 8th, 2019, will be the debut of many technologies designed to serve the consuming public in making life simplier, easier, and safer. The show serves a a major communications effort to convience consumers of the viability of these solutions so that a larger conceptual agenda can be served. Enter the march toward full-autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) takeover in mobility and transportation.

SAE International has designated six distinct levels of autonomous operation.

1.) No automation
2.) Driver assistance
3.) Partial automation
4.) Conditional automation
5.) High automation
6.) Full automation.

As one can asertain, only at level 6 is the vehicle operation completely full AI autonomous.

Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google’s parent Alphabet, announced changing from developing its own self-driving cars to being a supplier and developing self-driving technology for cars mass produced by others. That resulted in the demise of the company’s Firefly self-driving car (no steering wheel, no peddles) - probably the first retirement from the autonomous vehicle race. Image Credit: Waymo via Logistics Management

This excerpted and edited from MediaPost Communications -

Deloitte: Consumers Distrust Autonomous Vehicles

Consumer trust in autonomous vehicles appears to be stalling, along with trust in U.S. auto manufacturers' ability to bring these technologies to market.

Deloitte’s 2019 Global Automotive Consumer Study, which surveyed over 25,000 consumers across 20 countries, found that consumers’ appetite for self-driving vehicles is lagging behind the industry’s pace of investment in advanced vehicle technology. 

A full report of the findings will be released in early January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Several automakers have announced plans for the show, including Honda, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, which is collaborating with Disney for an in-car project.

This is the 2019 iteration of the study, but the responses were collected in September and October of 2018. Similarly, the 2018 iteration of the study reflected responses collected in late 2017. The overall goal of the study is to answer important questions that can help companies prioritize and better position their business strategies and investments.

A majority of U.S. consumers (56%) indicate they want significant oversight from the government for autonomous vehicles. Furthermore, the number of respondents who trust traditional automakers to bring AV technology to market continues to fall, slipping from 47% in 2018 to 39% in 2019.

Last year, more consumers were warming up to the concept of self-driving vehicles and their safety, but that has flattened out in the latest survey, says Craig Giffi, U.S. leader for automotive and industrial products, Deloitte. 

The number of respondents in the U.S. who did not believe AVs will be safe decreased significantly from 2017 (74%)  to (2018) (47%). But from 2018 to 2019, that percentage actually increased slightly, from 47% to 50%, showing a plateau.

“The percentage of people viewing autonomous vehicles as safe has stalled in virtually every market Deloitte studied,” Giffi tells Marketing Daily. “Public perception is likely being shaped by the widespread awareness of accidents involving AVs, with nearly two-thirds of consumers in South Korea, the United States, India, and China agreeing that media reports of accidents involving AVs have made them more cautious of the technology.”

While manufacturers are quickly moving to deliver advanced vehicle connectivity, consumers may not be ready to pay for those features, Giffi says. 

“In Germany, 43% of consumers said they would not pay any more for a connected vehicle,” he says. “A similar story plays out in the United States, where one-third of consumers would not pay more, and another 42% would only pay up to $500 more.”

The study also looked at the use of ride services like Uber and Lyft. Only 12% of U.S. consumers use ride-hailing at least once a week, while the percentage of those who use it “occasionally” reached 46%. This is compared to 23% who used it at least once a week in 2017 and 22% who used it occasionally.

When it comes to even non-autonomous, but connected, vehicles, privacy continued to be an issue. Roughly two-thirds (63%) of U.S. consumers are concerned about biometric data being captured and shared with external parties.
[Reference Here]

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Waymo, Google, Deloitte, Distrust, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Disney, in-car project, 2019 Global Automotive Consumer Study, The EDJE

The visual and design explosion that is the LA Auto Show

Downtown Los Angeles skyline at night and in black and white as a graphic backdrop in the KIA booth. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

The visual and design explosion that is the LA Auto Show

Another year is in the books and it is time to kick off the 2014 automobile show season with the event that starts the debut and sales cycle all over again ... the Motor Press Guild hosted Press Days for the LA Auto Show.

MOTOR PRESS GUILD NAMES CAR OF THE YEAR FOR 2013 - L A AUTO SHOW (YouTube) - Motor Press Guild Names 2014's Mazda3 And Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Winners of its 2013 Innovation Vehicle of the Year Award. Winners Announced at the LA Auto Show's MPG Motoring Invitational presented by Forza Motorsport 5 and XBOX One.

This edition has a few design and booth highlights of note that include the bringing forward of a radically artful concept body design to the streets (if this ever happens, it is usually toned way down), a second look at mid-century luxury design in a hard top two-door (that had a dealer from Valencia, California chanting to the designers at the booth to "JUST BUILD IT"), a full 3-D car sculpture not intended to advance automobile design on the road but on the HD screen of a game console, and lastly, an artful booth presentation that featured two string instrument performers (violin and cello) playing classic rock-n-roll hits from Guns and Roses to the Doors.

There's little doubt that the 2015 BMW i8 is one of the most radical and groundbreaking performance cars this industry has seen in a long time. From its unique carbon-intensive construction to its 1.5-liter, three-cylinder and electric motor plug-in powertrain to its concept-car originated appearance (below in 2009), the flagbearer for BMW's new i venture challenges the very notion of what it takes to be a supercar. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept introduced during the 2009 LA Auto Show. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

BMW introduced a radical concept body design at the LA Auto Show a couple of years ago that became a bit of a signature, but no one thought this sculpted approach would ever see the pavement of the stree of the light of the sun until the announcement of the new BMW iDrive.

Elmiraj advances the Cadillac philosophy of provocative modern design and engaging rear-wheel drive performance, with a 4.5-liter twin turbocharged V8 delivering an estimated 500 hp. The engine takes the baseline technology from the Cadillac Twin Turbo V6 and expands it to the classic performance format of a V8 engine. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Cadillac has been flirting with design in a different direction - away from the radical arch around a wheel element - to the simplicity of American mid-century modern inspired design (first shown a couple of years ago with the Ciel Concept, pronounced “C-L,” the French word for sky, a four-seat convertible) that is seeing a strong revival in homes, furniture, and now ... cars. 

Interior Design Manager, Gael Buzyn as he poses for photos while sitting in a cockpit designed with special egress features for the passenger who will ride in the back seat ... both bucket seats on each side move to aid in the human motion of entering and exiting the Elmiraj rear cabin. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

A modern update to the classic format of a two-door grand coupe, Elmiraj Concept provides a look inside the Cadillac Studio/North Hollywood to see how the designers envision performance and luxury for the next generation of luxury drivers. The long dash-to-axle front profile, a Cadillac signature, gives the coupe a performance-oriented form. The long wheelbase and clean bodyside characterizes the car’s spacious dimensions and elevated status.

An interesting observation at the stand was that this Elmiraj Concept display was directly across from the Bentley booth with all of their well-over $100,000 to $300,000-plus cars and most everyone who stopped to take in the view, had their backs toward the Bentley display.

Mercedes-Benz designers came up with the AMG Vision Gran Turismo Concept for a starring role in the PlayStation 3 racing game, Gran Turismo 6. But like Pinocchio, the folkloric wooden toy that came to life, the Vision Concept, or something like it, may sooner rather than later become a real-life model in the Mercedes lineup. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Mercedes-Benz design in Sunnyvale, California used the occasion of the LA Auto Show to dazzle attendees with a full scale creation of a digital car, AMG Vision GT Concept, that will be featured as a supercar in the Gran Turismo 6 video game.

Click here for Mercedes-Benz produced YouTube video. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

The really tragic thing, other than the obvious time and expense put forward on this artful motor culture display for just the promotion of a video game, this particular AMG Vision GT Concept will never see the light of day or a street ... it is not a car.

"This is the future of Mercedes-Benz design," Gorden Wagener, vice president for design at Daimler, said as he introduced the car at the Los Angeles Auto Show, where Motor Press Guild hosted Press Days began on Wednesday, simultaneous with its unveiling at the Tokyo motor show. "This car, or elements of it, will make its way into production."

KIA booth music before the presentation was aggressively mood setting. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

The slideshow of images showing California icons was inspiring - Griffith Observatory image as it appeared in the KIA tradeshow stand. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

KIA used its stage to introduce the world to its new full sized K900 four-door sedan. In the lead up to the presentation, however, the Press Days attendees were treated to a rather sublime concert of very hard rock songs with the twist of being performed with the delicate tones delivered through a violin and a cello accompanied by a slideshow of iconic images of California (from the Golden Gate Bridge to Griffith Observatory) that was projected through a very wide landscape format jumbo-tron with the image first projected in Black & White then fading into a Full Color version.

The Korean automaker unveiled the all-new K900, a large sedan that will offer the space and trappings of German land yachts, while undercutting their prices by tens of thousands of dollars.

"This is our boldest statement yet," said Tom Loveless, executive vice president of sales for Kia. "It's a true flagship sedan that symbolizes how far we've come, and we believe it will make you question everything you thought you knew about Kia."

Introduction of Executive Vice President of Sales for KIA - Tom Loveless. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Of course, there was more ... much, much, more ... but all one has to do to get a look and feel of the beginning of the automobile tradeshow season is just attend the LA Auto Show which runs from November 22 - December 1, 2013 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown LA!

... notes from The EDJE

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