Keeping Up With the Jetsons...

[Sam McCord]

I found this image online, and decided to take it into Photoshop, and give it the proper amount of color tint and fade, to produce this picture postcard in time, from a world of tomorrow that never was...

I might do more with this, like make it into a faux magazine advert for the car... we'll see.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Hey, it's the Firebird III! I love that car. So whooshy and whizz-bang.

 

[Klaus]

Love it! The Jetsons makes me think of my very first Art Challenge entry, back in the misty depths of time:

 

[Bill Morris]

This one is real but very expensive:

And Ford's 1958 X-2000 had nacelles (as well as Bussard collectors and a navigational deflector?):

Of course, that one's not real. But someone named Andy Saunders fed the data into a replicator and got this cop magnet:

 

[sojourner]

If god had wanted cars to fly he'd have given 'em wi.... Oh!

 

[SchwEnt]

Where's the Ford Nucleon?

 

[Sam McCord]

Where's the Ford Nucleon?

Why, she's right here...

That's right, friends... she's here... the Ford Nucleon... all-new for 1966.

That's right... the all-new '66 Nucleon, with the isotope drive system, jetting you from the nuclear age right into the space age! Free yourselves now, from the war-era fossil fuels of old, and experience the safety and cleanliness of nucleonic power!

But is it comfortable? You betcha! Just ask Junior... that is if you can break him from his slumber as he sleeps like a baby in the soundproof comfort of the Nucleon's cabin. But you won't have to wait long, for cruising at a comfortable 300 miles per hour, the Nucleon will have you home from the office just as the Missus is taking supper out of the oven, and putting it on the table!

And that ride... so smooth, quiet, and oh-so comfortable... why, it's like a nightcap on wheels... a veritable automotive dream.

Yes, that's just what it is... a dream. But unlike others, Nucleon is a dream you can live! So come on down to your friendly neighborhood Ford sales center, and pick up your very own beautiful, brand-new, '66 Ford Nucleon!

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

It sounds like a nightmare.

 

[Sam McCord]

By the way... would anyone know the name of the artist who made this? I have been trying like all heck to come up with the guy's name, but I cannot. I know only that it is NOT Syd Mead.

 

[MLJames]

According to the illustration on the Plan59 website, the artist is James R. Powers.

 

[Sam McCord]

^

Thanks, yeah, that's him, alright. Thing is, I can't seem to find ANY of his work online, other than a couple images... and I remember as a grade-schooler looking at books from the 60's on cars, and seeing them just full of his art and concept designs. In fact, one site says there was even a Smithsonian exhibit of his work, yet I can find no feature of that online.

I wish I could find a book where his art and concept have been compiled... but Amazon doesn't list anything like that, either.

 

[doctorwho 03]

Why am I getting a Batman vibe from this?

 

[Sam McCord]

Here's one more... the same basic image as the first, but with the people in a different position.

 

[comsol]

^

Thanks, yeah, that's him, alright. Thing is, I can't seem to find ANY of his work online, other than a couple images... and I remember as a grade-schooler looking at books from the 60's on cars, and seeing them just full of his art and concept designs. In fact, one site says there was even a Smithsonian exhibit of his work, yet I can find no feature of that online.

I wish I could find a book where his art and concept have been compiled... but Amazon doesn't list anything like that, either.

May I suggest http://www.powersportscar.com/designer/.

 

[Sam McCord]

Yeah, I saw his site, and it has some of his more recent auto designs there. But what I am looking for is a book with images like the one below:

I remember very vividly in middle school, reading a book about concept cars of the 50's and 60's, and in addition to cars like the Firebird III, Nucleon and Gyron, the book was chock-full of his "future" illustrations like that... flying rocket cars, aquacars, rocket-cycles, and so on... and for some reason, I cannot find any mention of his work in any books online. Heck, if I could find that one book I remember from middle school, I'd be happy.