2009 is coming! And so is the Chicago Competition

By the end of the week it will be 2009. I hope you are all enjoying time with your friends and family, and ringing in the new year with a bang.

Tomorrow Andy (my husband) and I will welcome 4 friends to our home in Chicago. 3 of them are community members from Local Motors! I will update the blog with pictures in the coming week so you can know who they are and get to know us all a bit better.

I hope you'll all update your profiles with some New Years Pictures! It will be fun to see everyone celebrating :)

Though it is a holiday week, we are still hard at work. You can expect the following updates to appear on the site soon: New Design Process, Updates to the Design Wall, Development of Chicago Competition Guidelines. I'll be in touch soon with a community newsletter.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Happy New Year!!

Happy Holidays to all of our Local Motors friends!! I wanted to share these warm wishes and awesome "cards" from the community. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did :)

Also, stay tuned for next week... we'll be introducing a NEW Design Process!

Here are the awesome "cards":

From Huynh Ngoc Lan

From Me2, aka Jonathan Kasumba

From Benzo Ferrari, aka Ben Messmer

From Braunarsch, aka Sasank Gopinathan

A Chat With Mihai Panaitescu, Winner of Boston Motors

Mihai and I did a little email "interview" after he won the Boston Competition. Here it is:

AFC: What was your inspiration for the Boston Bullet?

MP: My main inspiration source for the Bullet was old American custom cars, also known as Hot Rods. I think those cars incorporate very well an ideology of innovation within a traditional frame. In my opinion this kind of thinking fitted the requirements for the contest, by involving the background of Revere's legacy.

AFC: Why is this car fit for Boston and Boston drivers?

MP: From my limited knowledge the car fits a Boston lifestyle. It is bold, innovative and efficient. The car stands out and I think this is what Boston should be all about. I think the rest is about intuition and trying to think like the potential customer. I tried to become a Boston resident in spirit while drawing and I am glad the car came out so that people liked it.

AFC: Why do you think this design won? What is your favorite detail?

MP: I believe the design was well placed at the end because of its coherency with the contest requirements and the users' kindness and keen sense of observation. I think the community is great and they're role in establishing the podium was crucial. There were a lot of good competitors and I am sending my regards to all of them.

A feature I liked to work on was the lateral intakes which also house the electrical charging hub. I did that while trying to contain the detailing level on the car, since sometimes too much detail can harm a design.

AFC: Did the Checkup Process impact your final design? Was Checkup a useful tool?

MP: The checkups were useful because the people that vote can share their expectations with you before you submit. This is very good since you will not go out on the field unarmed. Thus I changed some details before submitting and everything went ok after.

AFC: What will you do with your $2,000 prize?!

MP: I will probably get a skiing holiday with my prize money.

AFC: Are you starting to get ideas for the Chicago Competition?

MP: I will have to imagine the Chicago lifestyle in order to get some valid ideas for the new contest coming up. I have friends from there but it is hard since I have never been to the US. I will do my best to understand the characteristics of the big lakes area and I am sure you will help with that too.

AFC: Do you have any special plans for the holiday?

MP: I will spend my holidays in Romania since after I will probably change continent for work.

---------

Mihai answered these questions via email. Then, earlier today I had a chance to talk to him on the phone. I will be able to share our conversation tomorrow. Mihai made a point to thank all of the community members who commented and voted, and I am excited to share it with all of you.

Congratulations to the Top 10 Boston Designs!

Congratulations to our top ten Boston Motors Winners!!

1.) Bullet., by Mihai
2.) Combatant-concept, by Huynh Ngoc Lan
3.) P-s4h, by jrejrossi
4.) Streamliner, by Vinc
5.) # Green Machine, by Ben-J, Pierre Fichet DeLavault (designer) / Nicolas Rousseau (3d Modeler) / Benjamin Bomy (3d Modeler)
6.) XXS, Kevin
7.) BostonPower, zolee
8.) Arrow - concept, Huynh Ngoc Lan
9.) Boston Prevail, Palethorpe
10.) Boston-Motors Revere EV, songyuan

Cheers on a fantastic competition. The next competition will be a challenge to design for CHICAGO, the Windy City, the City of Broad Shoulders, and the home of Al Capone...

What's Now and What's Next

Tomorrow morning at 6am we will announce our Boston Motors Winners.

This competition was close to our hearts and especially exciting since several Local Motors team members live in the Boston area. Participants did an awesome job bringing this city to LIFE. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing the designs this go-round and I can't wait for what's next.

On January 7th we will post the Chicago Motors Competition specs, and the competition will accept submissions beginning January 14th. Chicago is MY hometown and I can promise you all that the next competition will be as fun as Boston, and will have a completely different vibe from ANY of the cities we have visited so far.

Check the site tomorrow at 6am est (-5GMT) to congratulate the winners you voted into 1st, 2nd and 3rd place - and see where you placed!

2 Days Left to Choose a Boston Champion

Check out the Boston Herald's coverage of Local Motors! And meanwhile, don't forget that we have only 2 days left to vote -the deadline is tomorrow, Tuesday Dec 16th at 23:59 (est, -5GMT).



Kevin was quoted in the article too:

"Swiss entrant Kevin Schlapfer told the Herald via e-mail that he designed his two-seat XXS - short for “Extra Extra Small” - to be “easy to move, easy to drive and easy to park for little trips.”

The 25-year-old said he’s never been to Beantown, but studied the Hub online and realized Boston drivers frequently fight snowy roads and bad traffic.

“I also kept in mind the historic Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” Schpalfer said. “The XXS (is) a two-person car - the same capacity as Paul Revere’s horse.”

Jerry Kronenberg who wrote the article requested several high-res images of specific competition designs. I helped coordinate between designers and Jerry, and a few designs including Kevin's were featured in the article. Mihai's Bullet design was also featured in the print edition as well as a handful of others - I'll scan it and show it to you all later.

Well done Jay, Kevin & all competitors :) Way to spread the word!

Issues at Hand, Group Work & "Recycled" Work

I hope this post will serve as an apology, and an explanation for confusion recently caused on the site. The confusion was caused mainly by lack of communication by the LM Team, but the bit of frustration was felt by some in the community as well. This is never our intention.

We did not explicitly state that group projects were allowed in LM Competitions, and therefore allowed group projects to be entered in the mix. The rule has been that all designers must have proper attribution on ANY work, group or independent. We are changing the terms to clearly reflect the allowance of group work with proper attribution.

Now that the mix-up has been cleared up and the terms are being addressed, we have one more thing to explain: the reason WHY group projects are allowed. And while we're at it, let's talk about why "recycled" projects are allowed in LM Competitions. These two questions have come up quite a bit the past few days and in my opinion they are very worthwhile questions to consider. I will tell you where LM stands on these issues now, and our concerns about group and recycled work as well.

No matter what, I hope that you do not think that these "rules" are black and white. That if you're not happy we don't care - we really, really care. And more than that, we're still learning. We're not absolutely positive of the best way to go about things and we're learning every day. It seems that as we are trying to grow and inspire a community it is best to impose fewer rules, and not more rules. This is where our point of view begins on these subjects, but then we may learn more and perhaps in the future we will need to change.

For now, group projects are definitely allowed in competitions. The reason for allowing group projects is first, because we want to limit your freedom as little as possible. Creativity is a fickle thing, and if you have synergy with a friend then you should feel free to work with that friend to design something extraordinary. Also, group projects encourage collaboration and collaboration is certainly core to Local Motors design philosophy. So, for now, please feel free to form groups to design competition projects with. Please grant one another proper attribution and respect.

Now, the flip side. I am a bit nervous about the group projects because they are a bit less manageable. We can not control attribution and it is disheartening to see one designer accuse another of "stealing" work, or taking credit for an aspect he/she should not. What can we do when we do not know the truth? Nothing. Also, what if a group project wins the competition? How do we decide how to divide the prize money among community members? We can't. It seems whoever submits the project will get the money and will have to disperse it among the group. This idea alone makes me very leary of the group project.

If we were running JUST design competitions perhaps we would outlaw group projects. But we are a car company, and our community of enthusiasts, customers and designers are the life blood are choosing which designs could one day be built. What if there is a fantastic group project just lingering out there that everyone wants to see built? What if it is perfect for a local area? Wouldn't it be counterproductive to ban this design from competition because it was designed by not one but three designers? Are we asking for a mess?

The issue of recycled work (work that was designed prior to the competition, without competition guidelines in mind but is "recycled" to fit the competition) is a similar issue to group work, but to me this issue is more simple. I do not see the same risks involved in allowing group work to enter LM Competitions, but I do see the same potential losses if we do not allow recycled work in the competitions. Basically, there is not a lot to be lost from allowing recycled work in competitions, but there is potentially much to be gained. Again, if you have a design perfect for Boston, or Chicago, or Detroit just hanging out in your portfolio and asking to come to life - should you not be allowed the chance at a competition spotlight? I don't think so. I definitely think you should enter it in the competition IF it is RELEVANT. Ask yourself very carefully if the design is relevant to the challenge, and if if is, you should enter it.

There is a small risk that by allowing recycled work we will not get as many original design concepts in the competitions. There is another risk that community members will be disheartened by the challenge of creating a brand new project in a very short 2 week period when another community member might enter a design they have been working on for months. This is a risk. But we have seen outstanding concepts developed in mere days beat out "recycled" work - like Deuxfov's Miami Roadster. Deuxfov created the bulk of the Miami Roadster in mere days. It is truly the concept that will win, and not the amount of refinement.

On the subject of recycled work my mind is a bit more at ease. Group work... we will see what happens. I don't know the answers yet. I think this is an issue where time will tell. So you know, we are considering all of the input which is offered and we appreciate your patience as we learn. We're truly trying to make the best choices for our community while creating an atmosphere of creative freedom.

FYI - Scheduled site maintenance on Tuesday

FYI motorheads - we just received news that the website may experience some down time on Tuesday:

"This is notification that the eApps Hosting service will be subject to a scheduled maintenance event on Tuesday, December 16, 2008 from 2am to 5am Eastern (GMT -5). This is a three hour maintenance window. During this maintenance window it is expected that there will be brief network disruptions."

Hopefully this scheduled maintenance won't cause too much inconvenience. Now you know :)

Ok... back to car building and spreading the good word!

A Taste of Boston Motors

Well, it has officially begun. All competition entries for the LM Boston Motors Competition are posted to www.local-motors.com for your perusal, comments, and votes. Designers took inspiration from every aspect of Boston's heritage from revolutionary minute men to sports to architecture and landscape. Here's a taste of what's in store:

The MinuteMan Concept by Designova

LM Quarterback by Frost

The Bullet by Mihai

If you want to see more, you know where to go.

Join us for a live podcast - ask Jay questions!

Jay (our CEO) is doing a live podcast with Lexant (a design firm out of Ohio). You're all welcome to join us! It's a great opportunity to interact with the industrial design community and directly with Local Motors. You can ask questions by typing them in as Jay talks to the hosts of the podcast.

The topic is crowdsourcing car design, and the current state of the auto industry with an eye toward innovation. You're a part of this innovation, so you should join in on this podcast event. Have questions? Now is the time to have them answered.

The podcast is this Wednesday, Dec. 9th at 12 noon (est, -5GMT).

Here's the podcast sign up info: https://apps.calliflower.com/conf/show/42857

Lexant Blog: http://www.lextant.com/insights/

Facebook & Flickr Updates

Lookie Lookie! I spruced up the ol' blog with some pictures from flickr! You can't see them very well here, but I'm hoping you'll be able to more easily view pictures and updates if we keep them top of mind.

We also tried to hone in on facebook a bit more today. Us Local Motors lovers created a bit of confusion. We got so excited about connecting with other motorheads via facebook that we created not one but THREE facebook pages.

Since I personally do not want 3 pages to maintain, and we certainly don't want our attention divided, let's all join the following Local Motors Group. That way, we can talk, share designs, and plan events in one single location:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Local-Motors/10185996596?ref=ts

If you're not currently part of facebook (ahem, Aunt Diane), no worries. You know where you can find us!

Photos Posted! Visits to Cali Community, ACCD, Art Academy San Fran & BAJA

Dinner at Gordon Biersch, originally uploaded by Local Motors.

Check out the pictures from our visit to Cali! Check it out, friend us, and leave comments!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/local-motors/

You Know You're From Boston...

I found this on a Facebook Group page. It is LONG, but funny. Feel free to stop reading at any point, and don't forget to make fun of your friends from Boston:

You know you're from Boston if...

The person driving in front of you is going 70 mph and you are cursing him for going too slow.

When ordering a tonic, you mean a Coke...not quinine water.

You actually enjoy driving around rotaries.

You almost feel disappointed when someone doesn't flip you the bird when you cut them off or steal their parking space.

You know how to pronounce the names of towns like Worcester, Woburn, Billerica, Haverhill, Barre and Cotuit.

You have driven to New Hampshire on a Sunday in order to get beer.

You know that there are two Bulger brothers, and that they're both crooks.

You know what they sell at a packie.

You know at least one bar where you can get something to drink after last call.

You can actually find your way around Boston.

You get jimmies on your ice cream.

Evacuation Day is a recognized holiday.

You know what First Night is.

You know at least one guy named Sean, Pat, Whitey, Red, Bud or Seamus.

You think the rest of the country owes you for Thanksgiving and Independence Day.

You have never been to Cheers.

When the words 'WICKED' and 'GOOD' go together.

You knew that there was no chance in hell that the Pats would move to Hartford.

The curse of the Bambino is taught in public schools.

You own a "Yankees Suck" shirt or hat.

You think Doug Flutie is the greatest athlete ever.

You remember exactly where you were when the ball rolled through Buckner's legs.

You prayed for the Red Sox to win the World Series not this season, but in your lifetime...our prayes were answered! and theyll win again this season!

You know how to make a frappe.

You know what a hoodsie is.

You know that "Big Dig" is also a kind of ice cream you can get at Brigham's.

You actually know how to merge from 6 lanes of traffic down to one.

You never go to "Cape Cod", you go "down the Cape".

You think that Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs and Derek Jeter are more evil than Whitey Bulger.

You went to Old Sturbridge Village, Plymouth Plantation, or both, on field trip in grammar school.

You can drive to the mountains and the ocean all in one day.

You know that the Mass Pike is some sort of strange weather dividing line.

You know that P-Town isn't the name of a new rap group.

You do not recognize the letter "R" as a part of the English language.

You've called something "wicked pissa"

You see people like Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Dicky Barret (The Mighty, Mighty Bosstones), and Evan Dando (The Lemonheads) in the local supermarket and it doesn't phase you.

You've slammed on your brakes to deter a tailgater

Know at least three Tony's, one Vinnie and a Frank(ie)

Paranoia sets in if you can't see a Dunkies, ATM or CVS within eyeshot at all times.

You keep an ice scraper and can of de-icer on the floor of your car...year round

You order iced coffee in January

You know what candlepin bowling is

You drive 45 minutes to New Hampshire to save $5 in sales tax

You've pulled out of a side street and used your car to block oncoming traffic so you can make a left.

You've bragged about the money you've saved at The Christmas Tree Shop

You know what a "regular" coffee is

You get mad when people order Regular coffee with cream and sugar

You get mad when people order regular coffee, and then bitch about the fact that there's cream and sugar in it

You know there is a much bigger difference between Roxbury and West Roxbury than just direction.

You think of Philadelphia as the Midwest.

You think there are only 25 letters in the alphabet (no R's).

You think three straight days of 80+ temperatures is a heatwave.

All your pets are named after Celtics or Bruins.

You refer to 6 inches of snow as a "dusting."

The weather changes from 70 and sunny to 20 and snowy in under an hour, and you hardly notice.

Just hearing the words "New York" puts you in an angry mood.

You don't think you have an attitude.

You always 'bang a left' as soon as the light turns green, and oncoming traffic always expects it.

Everything in town is "a five minute walk."

When out of town, you think the natives of the area are all whacked.

You know what a rotary is.

You've driven around a rotary seventeen times for pure sport.

You still can't bear to watch highlights from game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

You believe using your turn signal is a sign of weakness.

You don't realize that you walk and talk twice as fast as everyone else.

You're anal, neurotic, pessimistic and stubborn.

You think if someone is nice to you, they must want something or are from out of town.

Your favorite adjective is "wicked."

You think 63 degree ocean water is warm.

You think the Kennedy's are misunderstood.

WHEN WE SAY ________ WE MEAN...
Bizah - odd
Flahwiz - roses, etc.
Hahwahya? - how are you?
Khakis - what we staht the cah with
Pissah - superb
Retahded - silly
Shewah - of course
Wikkid - extremely
Yiz - you, plural
Popcahn - popular snack

HOW WE'LL KNOW YOU WEREN'T BON HEAH:

You wear a Harvard sweatshirt.

You ask directions to "Cheers."

You order a grinder and a soda.

You follow soccer.

You eat at Durgin Park.

You pronounce it "Worchester" or Glouchester."

DEFINITIONS:
Frappes have ice cream; milk shakes don't.

If it's fizzy and flavored, it's tonic.
Soda is club soda. Pop is dad. When we mean tonic WATER, we say tonic WATER.

The smallest beer is a pint.

Scrod is whatever they tell you it is, usually fish.

If you paid more than $6 a pound, you got scrod.

It's not a water fountain, it's a bubblah.

It's not a trash can, it's a barrel.

It's not a shopping cart, it's a carriage.

It's not a purse, it's a pockabook.

It’s not a living room, it’s a pahlah.

They're not franks, they're haht
dahgs. Franks are money in France.

They're not groceries, they're bundles.

THINGS NOT TO DO:
Don't call it Beantown.

Don't pahk your cah in Hahvid Yahd.
They'll tow it to Meffa (Medford) or Slumaville (Somerville).

Don't swim in the Charles, no matter what Bill Weld tells you.

Don't sleep in the Common.

Don't wear orange in Southie on St. Patrick's Day.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:
There are two State Houses, two
City Halls, two courthouses and two Hancock buildings (one old, one new).

Route 128 is also I-95. It is also I-93.

It's the Sox, The Pats (or Patsies if they're losing), the Seltz, the Broons.

The underground train is not the subway. It's the T and it doesn't run all night (fah chrysakes, this ain't Noo Yawk).

GETTING AROUND:
Pay no attention to the street names. There's no school on School Street, no court on Court Street, no dock on Dock Square, no water on Water Street. Back Bay streets are in alphabetical odda. Arlington, Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth. So are South Boston streets: A, B, C, D. (no J)

If the streets are named after trees (Walnut, Chestnut, Cedar), you're on Beacon Hill. If they're named after poets you're in Wellesley.

All avenues are properly referenced by their nicknames: Comm Ave, Mass Ave., Dot Ave.

Dot is Dorchester, Rozzie Roslindale, JP is Jamaica Plain. Readville doesn't exist.

THE NORTH-EAST-SOUTH-WEST THING:
Southie is South Boston. The South End is the South End. Eastie is East Boston. The North End is east of the West End.

The West End and Scollay Square are no more-a guy named Rappaport got rid of them one night.

The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury. Due north of the center we find the South End. This is not to be confused with South Boston, which lies directly east from the South End. North of the South End is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End. Backbay was filled in years ago.

BASIC RULES FOR DRIVING IN BOSTON
(subject to change at any time):
When on a one way street, stay to the right to allow oncoming traffic to pass.

Never, ever, stop for a pedestrian unless he flings himself under the wheels of your car.

The first parking space you see will be the last parking space you see. Grab it.

Double park in the North End of Boston, unless triple parking is available.

Learn to swerve abruptly. Boston is the home of slalom driving, thanks to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, which puts potholes in key locations to test drivers' reflexes and keep them on their toes.

Never get in the way of a car that needs extensive bodywork.

Always look both ways when running a red light.

Honk your horn the instant the light
changes.

Breakdown lanes are not for breaking down, but for speeding, especially during rush hour.
Breakdown lanes may also end without warning causing traffic jams as people merge back in.

Never use directional signals when changing lanes. They only warn other drivers to speed up and not let you in.

Making eye contact revokes your right of way.

Never pass on the left when you can pass on the right.

Whenever possible, stop in the middle of a crosswalk to ensure inconveniencing as many pedestrians as possible. And if a pedestrian ahead of you steps in the road, speed up loudly and chase him back up on the curb. Peds have no rights.