Vehicle Description
2016 Consumer Car - Driving Art - Peterson Automotive Museum Piece
- 1.3L 4 Cylinder - 5 Speed Manual Transmission - Completely Custom
Body Work - Road Legal - Clean Title (Please note: If you happen to
be viewing this vehicle on a website other than our main website,
it's possible that only some of our many photographs of this car
are presented due to website limitations. To be sure you access all
the photographs, please go to our main website: Garage Kept
Motors.) We receive vehicle after vehicle in our showroom, and
thanks to our niche in the car market, we see a good number of
unique vehicles. This car is in it's own league as far as
uniqueness is concerned. The first words that are uttered when
folks see it are usually 'what is it?'. This car gets people's
gears going as soon as they see it. Examining it, thinking about
it, noticing the details. Is it a movie prop? A box on wheels? Does
it actually drive? It is not a movie prop. Yes, we suppose you
could say that it is a box on wheels. Yes, it actually drives, and
driving it is fun! Better yet, it has a clean title and is road
legal. More important is that this car is the vision of a Michigan
based artist and designer who had an idea to challenge what
consumers expect of a vehicle. The idea was to, deconstruct the
idea of consumable transportation styling: to see the light, the
darkness, the air, the sounds, the world in 360 degrees. It's an
interesting idea, which even at just a quick glance, makes you
consider what you expect from a vehicle. As a consumer. It's not
the first one-off vehicle we've had in our showroom, or the first
concept vehicle, but it is the first vehicle that we've had which
was displayed at the Petersen Automotive Museum. This car was
displayed as part of a Disruptors exhibit in late 2019 and into
2020. The exhibit examined modes of transportation that are a
result of taking the elements we normally associate with a vehicle
and only keep the main objective which is to get people and things
from place to place. This car is based on a familiar, small
econobox; the 1993 Ford Festiva. The car's humble beginnings as a
small economy car have become more humble in this latest iteration.
The economical Ford 1.3 Liter 4-cylinder mated to a 5-speed manual
transmission powers this car. Although the car is very simple
looking, and so many details that a consumer would expect in a car
have been removed, a lot of thought went into the design of the
finished product. Gradually taking things away meant finding
solutions to keep the car simple and functional. What materials to
use? How squared off should the car be? To use a simpler box shape,
or make it extremely angular? After the omission of the doors, how
will passengers get in? Clever design solutions in the form of
small, and in some cases, large details are fun to see throughout.
At the front, a large reflective mirror panel takes the place of a
grille. The mirror symbolizes the consumption of everything ahead
as occupants roll along. Just behind the mirror are 3 LED lights,
and the engine. A very small rearview mirror can be seen at the
driver's side, and 4 small footholds provide an extra boost for
passengers who are getting in for a drive. A single tail light at
the rear is concealed just behind a horizontally mounted perforated
metal panel, and a majority of the exterior of the car is actually
fabric. Once inside the car, it's apparent (as a consumer) that
there are no creature comforts, or any extras. We may say that we
find the interior of a vehicle to be very simple, but this car
takes that to another level. There really is nothing inside the car
other than seats, a steering wheel, 3 pedals, and a gear shifter.
Even the simplest of features that we as consumers feel would be
standard in any vehicle are MIA. No gauges, no rearview mirror, no
climate control buttons or switches, no radio, and no speakers. The
great part about all the missing f
