Saw it yesterday at the shop just before he departed. The interior is detailed to the hilt, an art deco masterpiece. The body design works very well, pictures can express this 100%, you have to see it in person. The extended hood? The side mount spares balance it out beautifully. The 2 piece windshield, IMO one of the coolest aspects of the car, it screams 30's era luxury vehicle. The boat tail, what a thing to pull off. I saw the lid to it 2 weeks ago, and it was just a wrinkled piece of aluminum, cut to shape and a few tucks on the edges. two weeks later and its a perfectly wheeled and formed deck lid, painted, and on the car. Posie himself is the metal master behind these cars, how many of you guys can do that? Is it a hot rod? Is it a custom? Is it a modern coach built 30's car? Well I'd say its all of those. There are no bolt-ons here, no parts removed from one car and just added on to this. This is a coach built car. Maybe he started with a brookville 3 window body, but little is left of hat it once was, and Posie made it something all his own. Posies Aeroliner was the first custom car/hot rod accepted into the Hershey AACA Museum last month, under the grounds of it being a coachbuilt car. I hold this car to the same standard. I am a traditionalist, and enjoy building a traditional, period correct car for myself, but that doesn't mean I cant appreciate other forms of cars. You dont have to like it, but if you have a hard time respecting the talent, effort, vision, and craftsmanship it took to build this car, you may need to open your eyes a bit wider.
Looks like it was built by someone who has been around long enough to be bored with what everyone else thinks and does. And has the vision, bucks, and skills to do whatever he wants to do. Kinda like Ness and scooters. Do I like everything he does? Nope. Do I admire the skills, drive and development of ideas. Yep. Larry T
I like it alot better than most customs I see. One rodder friend has told me to look at details and not the whole car. There are a bunch of great details here even if you don't like the car.
I've been on the fence about Posies for, I don't know, 30 years.... This one does nothing but perpetuate that feeling. ????????? Posies sets the standard. (just don't know exactly what THAT standard is)
Boy there are some cruel things said here about htis build. I would hate to share whats in my head about some of my ideas, maybe thats why I dont. I feel indifferent about it, as I'm not the one asking to have it done, or have to drive it. Yes it is different, and yes its not a t or an a. One thing you have to say though, they do know how to use they're tools, and they do pay close attention to detail, thats craftsmanship. Taste or no taste, to each his or her own. Sema has they're own taste, and its quite inline with the build. Peple have alot of bias to name recognition even if its ugly and its instantly cool (fink), but hey whatever floats your boat.
Ug....yikes. It seems every car he builds gets screwed up by one thing....this time, it's the car. Ooooph. I like hot rods.
Its obvious that its a well-built piece. But it seems to me that if you are going to build a one-off piece like this that probably cost $500,000+ it might be worth hiring a designer to give you a good starting off point. Craftsmanship is one thing... but taste is another.
I admire Fenical for being a forward-thinker design wise,(or for following whomever draws his vehicles up for him). What happens to them after they're sold? One was in Starbirds Museum,but where do they "go" after they're debuted? You just never hear from the cars again? Or is it just me?
Ken is his own designer, listens to his own drum beat and after 40 years of success on the hot rod world stage, I'm guessing his way works just fine. Last I heard, he didn't have to open his own museum for his cars...people are happy to purchase them. Not to your taste? simple, don't buy one. Just think of some of the vehicles professional designers sold Detroit on over the years! A degree form an art school doesn't guarantee a winner.
Well said. I was under the impression that forums focus was on originality and doing things for oneself. This thread sadly illustrates that some folks here are quite limited as to what they think is acceptable and regard anything that strays away from their own narrow minded opinion of what's "right" as wrong. Brian
I think you're coming off as more narrow minded actually... These people are expressing an opinion, not discouraging yours...
Expressing ones opinion and making nasty, snide remarks about someones work are two very different things. I think there are quite a few nasty, snide remarks posted on this thread. Just because an individual doesnt like a car, doesnt mean its bad, and Posies ability to sell his cars for big money is proof of that.
I talked to Dutch yesterday.... He asked me to let you all know that this car was never intended to be a Hot Rod, traditional or otherwise. ChadS and one other have stated it properly; this is built to emulate the regal and custom coachbuilt cars of the 30's. The car was not built for this audience. There are a ton of opinions here some good and some that are hurtfull and unnecessary. Everyone is due thier own but sometimes the ability to express ones opinion while being tactful escapes many. This next bit will bring a lot of **** along....the car is on an open stretcher, yeah a trailer. It turns out that the Euroliner(this is the last of the "liner" cars) was done a week before departure time. The new Ford crate motor has some type of internal problem and will not run properly. So yeah it's killin him Bu he's on his way!!!!! Next, the car is already sold....it was sold a week ago!!!!!
-Do any of his "drive em dirty" cars ever run? His narrowed Chevrolet fastback wouldn't start and had to be towed on an open trailer to S.E.M.A. -At least he tows them on an open trailer so he can "pretend" he drove them.............Mike
Thanks for the update Bigolds. That's impressive that the car sold so quickly, and says a lot about Ken's work building a car like that with out of pocket money, not a well funded customer. I 'd really like to see some professional photos of the car. As to the bugs with the motor, who cares, it's in a SEMA show, not a LSR attempt at Bonneville.
Thats simply more proof that stupid people with no skills or imagination of there own will buy anything if its in "style The tidal wave of you Street Rodder types that have flocked here is more proof of that. Traditional is in style, so now we have about forty thousand of you here , and you think its your job to turn us into the **** we ****in hate. NO THANKS, I LIKE MY OLD CARS THE WAY THEY WERE, SO GO AWAY Its my mind Il keep it narrow if I like.
"It sold" proves nothing. People with money have always bought labels for the sake of the label. I can't comment on Posies output, it's not my taste.
Perhaps those "stupid people with no skills or imagination" happen to like the style of this car, are they not welcomed to their opinion? Your funny. No one ever said anyone had to like Posies car (did i?), but insulting it so brashly isnt right either. Stating that one doesn't care for it is a far cry from saying mean and nasty things about it, simply because its in a style other than you like. Just because a car isnt 100% traditional, doesnt mean its worthless. If I have learned one thing from Posie, it's to have a more open mind. Thats not to say that that I have to like everything that someone who thinks "out of the box" builds, but learn to appreciate the craft of guys that build cars other than ideas taken directly from a 50 year old book (I am one of the "period correct" snobs myself, and my car does/will reflect that, but there is no reason I cant appreciate the handiwork of someone who has different views and opinions) Lets see a picture of your period perfect traditional car, may we? The car in question is not a street rod. It is not a car built from parts ordered from a catalog. Its a hand built car, from a very talented craftsman, and you in particular don't happen to care for the way it looks. Is that reason to get so angry?
I don't think Posie's car is is in style.....it is in it's own cl***. Like he said it's not for this crowd. Maybe if you walked around a great show like the Hershey swapmeet you would understand the car. Some people have to be sheep and follow what everbody else does. Then there are people like Posie that lead. Even if you don't like the overall look of one of his cars you have to see them in person and there are details all over that will blow your mind. The biggest problem with "traditional" rodding now is the rules people are making and rudly enforcing. "You can't do that!" "The car shouldn't look like this!" "This or that isn't correct" ......It's starting to get worse than restorers. Me I could care less what the "rules" are I build cars the way I want and am glad Posie does the way he wants. It keeps it interesting. BTW here's some cars from Hershey. Not all have perfect styling but they are cool in my book! Clark
That car (if you want to call the pile that) has absolutely nothing to do with this place. My point is, in the last two or three years theres far to many people coming on this site trying to bend its focus. My flat bottom V drive boat has more in common with traditional hot rods than that toilet.
Like it or not, the look of the car is generating talk/ink.....similair to the shock value of that 'other' group of cars people build. Put me in the group that does not care for the look of the car BUT can appreciate the skill that goes into building something like this.