AR Rewind #7 - Nissan Murano Convertible

Rewind: This is the seventh in a series of posts where I dive into detail of the work completed for Edmunds InsideLine engagements.

Creative Brief: Scott Oldham contacted me regarding a rumor that Nissan was contemplating a convertible version of the Murano. He was interested in exploring the design possibilities for a two-door variant. After some discussions on the aesthetic and conceptual elements, we agreed to draw inspiration from the hoop and boot design of the PT Cruiser Convertible. Additionally, we were uncertain about Nissan's approach to reinforcing the vehicle's structure after removing the roof so we envisioned Nissan using the Chrysler as a benchmark.

Execution Highlights - Front

• Donor convertible pieces for hoop and boot came from a PT Cruiser Convertible
• 2 doors conversion
• Custom fill in of the background and windshield area where the top was chopped

Final Thoughts: This was a really fun project that received quite a lot of laughs when posted on InsideLine's website. Ultimately, Nissan did produce the convertible in a limited series from 2012 to 2014, naming it the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet.

Original Blog Link: Future Drop Top: 2011 Nissan Murano Convertible

AR Rewind #1 - Pontiac G8 Coupe

Rewind: This is the first in a series of posts where I dive into detail on the work completed for Edmunds InsideLine engagements. Each post will highlight challenges, tricks, techniques and results of the creative brief requested. These often required a balancing act of quality, scale and scope to make the short turnaround times to go to press.

Creative Brief: I had been chopping cars for years in the Readers Talent section of GMInsideNews forum. I gained experience and learned quite a bit partipcating in their on and off again monthly car design contests. When the Commodore Coupe 60 concept came out in very early '08, a lot of the forum members, myself included, immediately went to town chopping the car into a Pontiac G8 coupe. The stars aligned as one of my earliest versions of the front-end chop garnered some serious attention from the then editor of InsideLine Scott Oldham.

He found my contact info and gave me a ring on the phone - this just 3 weeks after my first child was born. We talked for quite awhile about the car, how I came up with the concept and what Pontiac might actually try to do given how serious Bob Lutz was about aligning Holden to Pontiac here in America. From there, he asked me if I was interested in creating different angles of the car.

Execution Highlights - Front

• Donor Pontiac G8 GXP sedan parts used: front clip, rims, front fender turn marker, lower side sills, b-pillar, hood, headlights, and window wipers.
• Copper orange color selected to match the GXP - color matched the door handles and rear view side mirrors as well.
• Swapped right-hand to left-hand drive (steering wheel switches sides)

Execution Highlights - Rear

• Donor Pontiac G8 GXP sedan parts used: tail lights, badging, trunk spoiler, lower diffuser and exhaust, wheels, front fender turn marker, lower side sills, b-pillar
• Copper orange color selected to match the GXP - color matched the door handles and rear view side mirrors as well.
• Swapped right-hand to left-hand drive (steering wheel switches sides)
• Added slide glass along with the b-pillar as on the second picture as the concept windows were down

Final Thoughts: With family encouragement, the work just lept out of me over 3 or 4 nights as I completed it in-between rocking my newborn baby. I focused extensively on creating quality panel gaps, color matching, fitting elements into proper perspective, and many other techniques to produce renderings of which I am still extremely proud. Scott was happy with the work and from there we started a partnership for new article content over the next 2+ years.

Original Blog Link: Pontiac Ponders G8 GXP Coupe

Rumor: 2013 Dodge Viper Confirmed, Not A Re-Badged Alfa

From Edmunds InsideLine: The trouble with rumors is that they often change shapes and directions like a cloud on a windy day. Today's "it's a lion, no, no it's a tree with a face!" comes from the Detroit News who are reporting that the new Dodge Viper is confirmed for production in 2012 as a 2013 model and that it is not based on an Alfa platform. The 2013 Dodge Viper will use an architecture of its own that will be less cabin rearward, and have a similar shape to the 8c, but with different proportions. It will not use a Ferrari powerplant.

Click here to view this article.

All source photos copyright original owners.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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Dodge Viper Rendering Takes First Place in Edmunds InsideLine Photoshop Contest #3

Personal File: Contest #3 is in the books and and I shake out as the winner. It was another great Fiat/Chryler merger theme chosen by the InsideLine staff and another great competition between the top three. Kudos to the other selected finalists. Looking forward to the next one!

I will enjoy my Season 11 Top Gear DVD prize :)

Click here to view this article.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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Dodge Viper rendering selected as finalist in InsideLine's Photoshop Contest #3

Personal File: I entered the new Photoshop contest over on Edmunds InsideLine and have again been selected as one of the finalists. The theme this time was a take on stab at the next generation Dodge Viper rumored to be designed on the Alfa Romeo 8C platform. This was an interesting proposal that turned out to be surprisingly easy to accomplish. Wheelbases were similar and overall design points were easy to modify or establish with Viper elements.

What do you think? Do I have the goods to take top spot in the voting?

Click here to view this article.

All source photos copyright original owners.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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Murano Convertible Named: 2012 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet

From Edmunds InsideLine: We knew that Nissan would be showing a convertible version of the Nissan Murano at the 2010 LA Auto Show. What we didn't know was confirmed today; The upcoming drop-top crossover will be the 2012 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet. The Murano CrossCabriolet will be the world's first all-wheel-drive crossover convertible and will seat 4.

Click here to view this article.

All source photos copyright original owners.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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Ferrari 229 Compatto powerslides into second place in Edmunds InsideLine Photoshop Contest #2

Personal File: Rats! It looks like I was squeezed out of first place on Photoshop contest #2. Well played Alejandro! The LamboYaris was great. Although I would have gone for the VW GTI as a base, you did a bang up job and deserve the win. Kudos to the other selected finalists as well.

Here are some fun comments from the voting - enjoy

How is the Ferrari not getting more love! That actually looks like it could be a real car. Best features are the windshield flowing into the hood and the front and rear fender flares that don't look out of place.

the Ferrari 229 is the best looking of the bunch... take off the Ferrari prancing ponies and you have something that could be a real model.

My vote goes to the ferrari for best photoshop and most realistic.

Can't win 'em all - On to the next!

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All source photos copyright original owners.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. Article is not available on the Wayback Machine.

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Scion tC Convertible Will Not See Light of Day

From Edmunds InsideLine: Earlier this year we suggested that the struggling Scion brand might try to get its groove back by expanding the 2011 Scion tC line to include a convertible. The size and shape of the redesigned tC would work well for a compact 2+2 droptop, we thought.

Click here to view this article.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. Article is not available on the Wayback Machine.

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Ferrari 229 Compatto rendering selected as finalist in InsideLine's Second Photoshop Contest #2

Personal File: I entered the new Photoshop contest over on Edmunds InsideLine and have again been selected as one of the finalists. The theme this time was a take on the sub-compact market with a new hot-to-trot product. After seeing the Aston Martin Cygnet sub-compact in their posting (a real car by the way), I felt obligated to do the same for a Ferrari. Using the popular Fiat 500 and the Ferrari 458, I mashed them together to create the Ferrari 229 Compatto. If it worked for Aston Martin, it might just work for Ferrari too :)

What do you think? Do I have the goods to take top spot in the voting?

Click here to view this article.

All source photos copyright original owners.

An Early Look at the 2011 Dodge Charger

From Edmunds InsideLine: A couple weeks ago we got our best glimpse yet of the refreshed 2011 Dodge Charger. It was such a clean look, we wouldn't be surprised if it was a setup. But who cares? We got to see the new face of the Charger, which isn't all that different from the old face of the Charger. It's a refresh after all, not a complete redesign.

It did, however, give us enough to generate this photo illustration of the complete car, especially since Dodge has been kind enough to throw out a few hints over the last year or so.

Click here to view this article.

All source photos copyright original owners.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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Dodge Dart Takes First Place in Edmunds InsideLine Photoshop Contest

Personal File: Wow! It looks like I have won the first ever Edmunds InsideLine Photoshop Contest! It was a great theme chosen by the InsideLine staff and a great competition. Kudos to the other selected finalists. I hope more contests are to come.

Click here to view this article.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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Dodge Dart rendering selected as finalist in InsideLine's First Photoshop Contest

Personal File: I entered the first ever Edmunds InsideLine Photoshop Contest and have been selected as one of the finalists. The theme was to speculate what the Chrysler/Fiat merger will bring us (Americans) in the next few years.

My entry is a reskinned Fiat Bravo Active Sport with bold styling cues taken from both the cancelled SRT-4 Caliber and SRT-8 Magnum. Th results look pretty convincing.

So I had the rendering figured out, but needed a name. The name would be critical if anything like this were ever to see production. So I first thought I'd use the very popular Neon nameplate. However after thinking about it a little bit longer, Neon didn't seem to fit with the other current Dodge offerings. Many of them went back to classic names like Charger and Challenger. The answer became obvious to me then - the Dart! - the original 'big bang for the buck' Dodge car.

What do you think? Do I have the goods to take top spot in the voting?

Click here to view this article.

All source photos copyright original owners.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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Infiniti M Coupe: Early Look

From Edmunds InsideLine: SANTA MONICA, California — Inside Line has learned that Nissan executives have discussed the expansion of the 2011 Infiniti M lineup from solo sedan to a three-model offering as well — sedan, coupe and ultimately convertible, too. This is a necessary move if the Japanese automaker intends to seriously compete in this segment, but then, we're not telling Nissan anything it doesn't already know.

Click here to view this article.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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Scion tC Convertible: First Look at the Youth Brand's Future Drop Top

From Edmunds InsideLine: TORRANCE, California — After a product drought that has lasted too long to be considered cool, Scion unveiled a redesigned tC coupe last month at the 2010 New York Auto Show. It's the first time the brand-leading coupe has been revamped since its 2004 launch. Now sources tell Inside Line that the tC lineup could expand to include a convertible model in 2012.

Click here to view this article.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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Rendered: 2012 BMW M5

From Edmunds InsideLine: SANTA MONICA, California — So now that the 2011 BMW 5 Series is out in the open, it's time to move on to the really good stuff. We're referring to the next BMW M5, of course, you know the one we spotted on the Nürburgring late last year?

Click here to view this article.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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2011 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Cabriolet Is a Go

From Edmunds InsideLine: SANTA MONICA, California — Recently, Inside Line broke the story that Mercedes will introduce a C-Class coupe in an effort to lure younger buyers and battle both the successful BMW 1 Series and 3 Series. And now we have the first image of the coming C-Class convertible.

Click here to view this article.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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2011 Mercedes C-Class Coupe Revealed

From Edmunds InsideLine: SANTA MONICA, California — Two weeks ago, Inside Line broke the story that Mercedes will introduce a C-Class coupe in an effort to lure younger buyers and battle the successful BMW 1 Series. And now we have the first image of what the two-door just might look like.

Click here to view this article.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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Don't Wait Up for the Cadillac CTS Convertible

From Edmunds InsideLine: Given the upheaval at GM, we've doubted at times that we'd ever see a Cadillac CTS coupe, much less a wagon. Now both of those variations exist, and there's only one more CTS to wonder about: a convertible. The lines kind of work, don't they?

Click here to view this article.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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First Look: Toyota FT-86 Convertible

From Edmunds InsideLine: Since rumors are already flying about the possibility of a Toyota FT-86 convertible, we thought we would give you an idea what such a vehicle might look like. Not bad eh?

Supposedly a Toyota official told someone at a Dutch website that the company would build such a vehicle "if there was sufficient demand." Well, given that the FT-86 was the unofficial star of the 2009 Tokyo auto show, we're guessing that an FT-86 convertible would create more than enough demand to justify its existence.

An FT-86 convertible would also do something that an FT-86 coupe probably would not -- that is, lure non-enthusiast buyers who simply want a stylish two-door that gets decent mileage. Makes for a much better business case, and the way Toyota's fortunes are going it could use a few hits.

Autotelegraaf via Autoblog

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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Lexus IS-F Convertible: BMW M3 Killer Lexus Should Build

From Edmunds InsideLine: DETROIT — Lexus has never been shy about mimicking its competition. And its most recent form of flattery is the introduction of its "F" performance sub-brand. The first salvo is the 416-horsepower IS-F sedan, a direct competitor for compact German sport sedans such as the Audi S4/RS4, BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG. Following BMW and Audi's lead, Lexus could produce an F version of its recently unveiled 2010 IS convertible.

True, IS-F sedans aren't exactly flying off of dealer lots; the company has sold 445 from January of this year through June 5. But it has been critically well received and buyers have shown a willingness to pay full price for them. What Lexus is most closely focused on, no doubt, is how direct competitor/inspiration BMW is doing with its M3 convertible.

Click here to view this article.

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UPDATE: The link to this article no longer exists as Edmunds' Inside Line was discontinued in 2013. You can still view the original article via the Wayback Machine.

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