We’re having a lot of fun with this car.”Īsked to look to the future, Foose is adamant that he’s focused on today’s work, while offering a few clues about where his imagination is taking him next. “Everything is brand-new technology, but when you step back it will look like an old car. “It will look like a concept car from Cadillac in the ‘30s,” Foose said. It’s all original GM parts.”įoose’s goal is a perfect blend of classic design sense with modern equipment. It’s got a 2015 Suburban eight-speed automatic transmission, it’s got a 2015 Camaro center section.

When it’s finished, it’s going to look like an old car from outside, but underneath is a brand new 2015 Corvette power plant. “It was a four-door sedan, and we’ve turned it into a two-door with what will look like a convertible folding top, but it’s a lift-off aluminum top that will be wrapped in canvas. “We found a Cadillac and started cutting it apart,” Foose explained. Additionally, he’s a collector and custom enthusiast.

Rydell owns one of the largest GM dealership chains in the country, with showrooms in 14 different states. Wes Rydell had seen the sketch, I had seen the sketch, and we both started talking about it.” “Art Ross was the designer for Cadillac in the ‘30s, and he had done a drawing of this really cool convertible. The project on his mind today is a customized Cadillac concept car that was drawn decades ago, but never built. When it comes to inspiration, Foose has ideas that both look ahead and back to the great designers of the past. Because when technology is available, it gets brought into the aftermarket world.” What dreams my come “I’ve been talking to a customer recently and he’s asking what if we do a hybrid or an electric car? I’d love to do something different – so far it’s just conversation but you’re going to see that technology. “The way it affects my work is when somebody wants to take that technology into customization,” Foose said. Hybrid engines are motivating some of the world’s top sports cars, and that technology is making its way into the custom world. But the guy who wants to build his own car, he’s buying cars like that and then modifying them.”īut as the world is seeing with cars like the new Acura NSX, the BMW i8, and the LaFerrari, there’s more to performance than big displacement and forced induction. You can get a car like a Hellcat, and it comes with a warranty. “I’ve always said there’s no rules or laws in customizing or personalizing cars,” Foose stated. If I knew what I was going to be doing in ten years, I’d be doing it right now. If it’s not a historically important car, there’s not a lot of value to it.” There’s so many of them on the market, and you’ll see it at auctions where there’s just one after another of these cars coming up. “They’re looking at getting a smaller house and downsizing to keep two cars. “You can get them so cheap now, because collectors are at an age where they don’t want to build new cars and they don’t need 15 cars in the garage,” Foose explained. Owners of custom performance cars that may have cost well over $100,000 to build often struggle to find a market where they can recoup their investment. The hot rod and custom car community where Foose made his name is facing serious challenges as an entire generation of enthusiasts ages out. Then it’s how you hand-finish those parts that makes it stand out from another car,” Foose said. You can test something on the computer and build things that could never be built before. “You can design a hot rod in your chair, then the parts are made and you just bring it together. I’ve always said there’s no rules or laws in customizing or personalizing cars.Ĭomputer-aided design (CAD) is a big part of the technology story in customs. Whatever can be done to shorten the time it takes to repair and return a vehicle is critical to achieving high customer satisfaction rates and maximizing throughput, so your business operates as smoothly as possible. Even though the measurement of cycle time does not officially begin until the necessary parts and repair materials are in technicians’ hands, this critical distinction in your process is irrelevant to the consumer. Cycle time is just one component in the measurement of key-to-key time, which most collision repair shops monitor to maintain a healthy business.

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