Great Conversation With J Mays

This morning Katherine and I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to J Mays, Group Vice President of Global Design and Chief Creative Officer at Ford. This is the guy who is largely responsible for the 2005 and 2010 Mustang, the New Beetle, etc., etc. It’s not every day that you get to talk to an automotive rock star. But Katherine and I got the opportunity and we weren’t going to waste it!

First of all, to follow up our most recent Showroom Showdown, I asked him what he liked better, the new Camaro or the new Challenger. He didn’t hesitate: he immediately said Challenger. He said that the Camaro is ”too much of  a caricature” and seems like a “stunt” that somehow made it to production. He said the Challenger is a much more balanced car, although he took the opportunity to say that both cars are too big. Which lead us to the Mustang. Continue reading…

I asked him about the 2010 Mustang tail lights, which are probably the least popular aspect of the 2010 Mustang. He asked if we knew that they were sequential, and LED. My buddy Dale had mentioned this to me before after seeing some mules running around Detroit, but I’d never confirmed it or looked into it. Anyway, Mays said to go check them out in action and then get back to him. Obviously, it’s a bit early to talk about the next Mustang, but Mays said that for the next generation pony they would “reboot” the design language.

We then asked him about the whole wagon vs. hatch dispute. He said it’s a question of rear overhang. If the vehicle has a lot of overhang in back, it’s a wagon. So basically I was right and Katherine was wrong.

So then to follow up on some of your feedback, I asked him about the Ranger. Mays said that Ford has not abandoned the Ranger, that they are in fact working on a new one, and that Ranger fans “will not be disappointed.” Bronco fans will be disappointed, though, cause according to Mays the Bronco isn’t gonna happen any time soon. Sorry guys.

We talked about the new F150 a bit. He called the new one less Tonka-like than the previous generation. However, the new F-250 will be very truck-like.

Then there’s the new Taurus. I was suprised that during Ford’s big press conference yesterday, they kept using the word “sport” in conjunction with the Taurus. J Mays said that the new Taurus is “more hedonistic” and that it’s “for drivers.” So I asked him when they’re gonna come out with a manual tranny and he said to “stay tuned.”

We also chatted a bit about the new Fiesta and Euro Focus. And he hinted broadly that something big would be revealed in Chicago (perhaps harking back to the Ranger part of our conversation). Then we got some shots with him and Freeman Thomas and David Woodhouse in front of the cool new Lincoln C Concept. Anyway, it was a real blast talking to Mays—the highlight of the show for me so far.