Tweak!

[rmc523]

a lot to catch up with
Thanks for commenting, RMC! hoped you'd drop by...
re:
"4. As far as the Mountaineer steering wheel goes, I'm not sure how that would look....it may be too big?"
Dunno - I pasted the Mountaineer's SW into the GM's, so they're the same size in the chop - it'd be interesting to tape-measure them at a dealer, as well as all Merc SW's - wonder if they could All have the same SW?

"5. The MKS chop doesn't look too bad, although, I think changes to the greenhouse, or at least the window shape, would better differenciate this new Sable from the MKS."
That wasn't *quite* a serious suggestion, more of a what-if
although...
got this feeling that if the current Lincoln MKS is replaced with a Rwd successor, Maybe the hand-me-down could happen
in which case,
whacha think? - would they have to make big changes? (greenhouse is a big expense afaik)
or
would minor changes to an already-higher model which wouldn't be continued make it ok?

&
"I'd think the Mercury emblem would look better centered in the grille."
Couldn't resist trying out that idea... didn't give it much effort, so it does look sorta "stuck there"... maybe with the broader lower trim (MercurySmile reference) which could come halfway up the logo?

You're welcome....I check almost every day, but many times because of the limited volume of posters here, there's nothing new....someday I hope to get caught up on the "Mission: Mercury" thread that you've mentioned before and I'll try to throw in my .02 cents on the posts.

BTW, I have other chops that I'd like to post, but the limited image size has in some cases prevented me from posting them...and I haven't had time or felt like resizing them to meet this forum's specs. Maybe would it be possible for the moderators to increase these requirements?

With the steering wheel.....it could work and could be the same size, I don't know.

My point on the window shape was, (see picture) I wouldn't want the Mercury version to share the same curve, with Ford trying to give each brand it's own sheetmetal, maybe they could square the shape a little more. Now, the hand-me-down idea you mentioned could work well if done right.



Your updated grille idea could work, maybe you could try a chop when you get a chance?

[2b2]

BTW, I have other chops that I'd like to post, but the limited image size has in some cases prevented me from posting them...and I haven't had time or felt like resizing them to meet this forum's specs. Maybe would it be possible for the moderators to increase these requirements?

Hey RMC... You've got a PM!!!!!

[2b2]

for YellowZx5
hope you don't mind (as I warned by PM that it probably wouldn't) doesn't have a Lincoln-esque grille...
actually when finished it reminded me of something - a bit of Cougar, yes - but something else too (anyone?)
think it looks kinda 'sporty' yet dignified - in a racing(land)yatch kinda way...

anyway
this grille's "Mercury-Smile" turned out pretty good imho - waterfall taken from the Mountaineer, foglites too (tho shrunk),
also, you may have to look-close or turn-up the brightness on your monitor, but the center lower fascia has matching grillework but in a dark finish...
the wheels are from the MetaOne (tried the Messenger's but thought them too extreme),
the HL's borrow from the Milan's style of course - and the un-chopped rear would too.

The original rendering (not my chop) was based on the 2002 Interceptor concept
< bigger pix at site
BUT < big 'but'
someone else did the hard work of turning it into a civilian sedan before I ever played with it
(think I found it on or thru BON, & the original chopper's name was something like "BlueMercury76"...
don't remember anymore since it was years ago/can't find the file I wrote it in, but DO want to give him credit).
However I did re-draw the "Galaxie's" front bumper from scratch - first time I tried doing that!

And if I remember correctly (& sorta confirmed by the comparo), pruned both front & rear overhangs (hopefully at least 5" total)
and not only lowered the the roof but raised the beltline for a 'wedge' look - so the overall height is close to the real CV's

included ^^ to show its 'tweak-ness' ie. relatively small changes - imho the Panthers' style is plenty capable of going modern.

[rmc523]

for YellowZx5
hope you don't mind (as I warned by PM that it probably wouldn't) doesn't have a Lincoln-esque grille...
actually when finished it reminded me of something - a bit of Cougar, yes - but something else too (anyone?)
think it looks kinda 'sporty' yet dignified - in a racing(land)yatch kinda way...

anyway
this grille's "Mercury-Smile" turned out pretty good imho - waterfall taken from the Mountaineer, foglites too (tho shrunk),
also, you may have to look-close or turn-up the brightness on your monitor, but the center lower fascia has matching grillework but in a dark finish...
the wheels are from the MetaOne (tried the Messenger's but thought them too extreme),
the HL's borrow from the Milan's style of course - and the un-chopped rear would too.

The original rendering (not my chop) was based on the 2002 Interceptor concept
< bigger pix at site
BUT < big 'but'
someone else did the hard work of turning it into a civilian sedan before I ever played with it
(think I found it on or thru BON, & the original chopper's name was something like "BlueMercury76"...
don't remember anymore since it was years ago/can't find the file I wrote it in, but DO want to give him credit).
However I did re-draw the "Galaxie's" front bumper from scratch - first time I tried doing that!

And if I remember correctly (& sorta confirmed by the comparo), pruned both front & rear overhangs (hopefully at least 5" total)
and not only lowered the the roof but raised the beltline for a 'wedge' look - so the overall height is close to the real CV's

included ^^ to show its 'tweak-ness' ie. relatively small changes - imho the Panthers' style is plenty capable of going modern.

Good work 2b2!

A few thoughts, and please don't take these as an insult to your creativity/design or anything, they're just my personal opinion:
for any production version, you'd likely need bigger mirrors, and the greenhouse looks a little small as well....I know that's the look you're going for, but I think raising the roofline even slightly would help.

Also, I think a wider grille may look better, with thinner HLs. Other than those, great work! I like your use of the Meta One's wheels, they look good on the car. Overall, pretty good update to the a dated Panther. BTW, that's one vehicle (Meta One) that I think could've done well. It looked pretty good (much better than Freestyle) for what it is/was.

[2b2]

Thanks, RMC! no offense at all
the main light part of the HL's I barely changed & kept most of the changes on the small side,
agree about a wider or just larger grille but kinda liked the outcome of the fairly quick chop
(one thing I hope returns is the yearly/or/bi-annual styling changes - SO they could really develop the themes. Seems many mfgs just do an about-face every 5-or-so years with no 'deepening' of their styles in btwn
^this^ is re: the wider grille - would make a good facelift imho)
& maybe I raised the beltline a bit too much, coulda been (over)reacting to the Panthers' large glass area from their older design philosophy...
&
do wish I could think of what it reminds me of
&
for the GRP successor, I'd like to stay with some of the chop's themes -
like the 'pontoon' front bumper - would accentuate it and make the fender>HL>bumper one smooth form; & like the clean slab-sided-ness of it;
think I need to try sculpting a model
&
re: MetaOne - although imho the design has become less eye-catching with age, it still might be adapted for a Merc Freestyle/X - kinda think the Chicago factory could use/fit-in its theoretical sales numbers - assuming the FS/X gets discontinued when the Flex is out (I don't remember, has that been announced?)
&
are you familiar with the Freestyle's concept? imho that was Hot & it lost a LOT in the transition to production.

[rmc523]

Thanks, RMC! no offense at all
the main light part of the HL's I barely changed & kept most of the changes on the small side,
agree about a wider or just larger grille but kinda liked the outcome of the fairly quick chop
(one thing I hope returns is the yearly/or/bi-annual styling changes - SO they could really develop the themes. Seems many mfgs just do an about-face every 5-or-so years with no 'deepening' of their styles in btwn
^this^ is re: the wider grille - would make a good facelift imho)
& maybe I raised the beltline a bit too much, coulda been (over)reacting to the Panthers' large glass area from their older design philosophy...
&
do wish I could think of what it reminds me of
&
for the GRP successor, I'd like to stay with some of the chop's themes -
like the 'pontoon' front bumper - would accentuate it and make the fender>HL>bumper one smooth form; & like the clean slab-sided-ness of it;
think I need to try sculpting a model
&
re: MetaOne - although imho the design has become less eye-catching with age, it still might be adapted for a Merc Freestyle/X - kinda think the Chicago factory could use/fit-in its theoretical sales numbers - assuming the FS/X gets discontinued when the Flex is out (I don't remember, has that been announced?)
&
are you familiar with the Freestyle's concept? imho that was Hot & it lost a LOT in the transition to production.

With companies going to shorter product cycles (~5 yrs) with MCEs in between (every ~2 1/2 yrs), it's probably too expensive to change the design every year.
I was looking (indirectly, as in not looking at it but off to the side) at your chop and it kinda gives me a Buick aura, I don't know why.

I too have thought about getting some clay and playing with it.

I hope that Mercury gets a Sable X when the TX dies (yes, I do believe it was announced that it'll die IIRC after the 2010 model year). We all know Mercury could use the temporary sales volume (however little it may be), but with little investment, it could go a ways for the Mercury brand at the moment.

Yes, I've seen pictures of the Freestyle concept. It did look better than what they came out with, but I do like the current TX's look. I liked the Freestyle truck-bed thing they had on the concept, where the back would open up completely to be like a truck bed (they stole my idea!!). It may not sell, as evidenced by GMC's Envoy XUV, but it could if it opens completely, unlike the Envoy's design where just the roof and rear window opened up, not the sides. I don't remember seeing too much advertising for it, outside of the "this is the Envoy line, including the Envoy, Envoy XL, and Envoy XUV" general ads.

[2b2]

more:

With companies going to shorter product cycles (~5 yrs) with MCEs in between (every ~2 1/2 yrs), it's probably too expensive to change the design every year.

&

I too have thought about getting some clay and playing with it.

yeah, didn't necessarily mean every year
mainly to "keep developing" a style before it has to be changed completely
tho
from the conference.pdf, with platforms going to live for 10-12 years with a full tophat MCE at the halfway point plus interim facelifts, maybe it will happen
&
I've got clay laying around/probably bone dry-hard (used to do ceramics)
btw
did you know the 'clay' they use in the mfgs' studios is actually more wax than clay? (at least from what I've read) so it doesn't crumble or shrink