I got a very interesting email from a lady named Jenna Bowles at The Futures Channel, a company that makes “micro-documentaries” geared toward students. The films all provide answers to the biggest question I had as a young gearhead sitting in algebra/geometry/physics class:
“When will I ever use this?”
Their latest micro-documentary titled Creating Cars (click to watch the video) takes them to meet members of the design team at Ford’s Advanced Design Center in Irvine, California. Hmm, does that design shop sound familiar? They’ve produced some of the more exciting concepts in recent history, including the Forty Nine concept, the Cobra concept (that was on the TV show Rides), and the now-in-production GT.
Let’s take a quick break to salivate:



What’s say we read an excerpt of their press release:
Their work is confidential. The technology is cutting edge. The competition is fierce. The secret? Ford Motor Company’s concept cars.
At Ford’s Advanced Design Studio in Irvine, California, designers and engineers are developing new car designs that won’t be seen on the road for another ten years or longer. “We work as far into the future as our imaginations can take us,” said Fairuz Jane Arabo, a color and materials designer for Ford.
After spending years designing and building their concept cars, Ford, along with the other major car manufacturers, debut their latest concept cars at annual auto shows around the world for their competitors and the public to see. In “Creating Cars,” a web documentary released today, The Futures Channel gives viewers access to the Advanced Product Creation Group at Ford to find out what goes into their innovative, futuristic concept cars.
Using technology to show impressionable minds what the future could hold for them, if they stay motivated and focused. This is a company after my own heart.
Thanks for the email, Jenna.
–Will Thompson
Ford, concept, car, GT, cobra, forty, nine, creating, cars, The Futures Channel, design, Advanced Design Center