Defining American Design

Press Release

Interview with Ford North American design chief Peter Horbury

Peter Horbury, Ford’s executive director of design in North America, has been entrusted with the job of putting a visual face on Ford’s Way Forward plan. Horbury will launch Ford’s aesthetic turnaround by developing the template that will define bold American design moving forward. We talked with Horbury about that definition of bold American design and how it will shape Ford’s future.

QUESTION: What is your vision for design?

ANSWER: There’s a number of ways I could answer that, but design will obviously be a very important aspect for the future. The visual representation of the company — if you take into consideration every aspect of design such as the architecture of dealerships, the interior décor — it’s all to do with design and therefore has become very important. We are in the position now to deliver. On the other hand, the world is watching, so we’ve really got to perform. But my vision is that design will be the cornerstone of Ford’s future success.

Q.: How will Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles look different?

A.: There’s got to be a number of things, but one is a visual excitement, something that really attracts people to the product in the first place. We know that 93 percent of people say that exterior design is the No. 1 consideration when purchasing a new vehicle. So it’s important that we get it right.

Q.: How will you transfer Bold Moves into design?

A.: Well, let’s go back a bit because the “bold,” as in “Red, White and Bold,” came out of design. We decided that we were going to design American cars for the American market. We put together a short video called “Ford of America” to get the designers in the frame of mind to design something that was new but obviously American. The next day, cars were being drawn differently, and the common factor was that they looked American. … The combination of strength, optimism, all those positive traits in America were brought into sheet metal. That’s where we can do something quite new and quite different.

Q.: Can you give some examples of which cars in the Ford lineup today reflect that new American style?

A.: The Ford Edge was very much a part of that. If Edge was from Japan or Europe, it would not have such a strong feature in the grille. It’s not apologizing for itself in any way; it’s saying, “I’m a Ford and I’m an American, and you can see me coming.” It certainly reflects the outgoing character of Americans. It’s bold. Mustang is another one. I saw a Mustang parked in London recently, and it looked out of place. It might as well have been wearing checked pants with a camera around its neck. It was such an American in London. But over here, it fits the scenery perfectly, and it’s that strong, bold, powerful, confident look that I think we need to maintain.

Q.: How is the increased emphasis on the consumer influencing the way designers are going about their day-to-day jobs?

A.: I’ve said many times I’m not interested in hindsight; I want insight. And when I say that, I mean I’m not interested in taking three or four clay models and lining them up in front of some invited audience and saying, “Give us a score from one to 10, and we’ll choose which one to make.” That’s nonsense. What I’m interested in is having designers go and talk to people who we’ve identified as the potential customer, do some sketching, ask them the right questions about their lives, their homes, the way they dress, and build up a picture of that customer so that we can hit the market with the right product even if the customer of today doesn’t know they want it yet. That’s the trick. It’s no use saying, “What do you think of this vs. what’s out there now?” because in four years time, they may change their minds.

Q.: Can you give us an idea of how you intend, through design, to strike an emotional chord with consumers?

A.: We have this relationship with the car that we don’t have with the washing machine or the stove or anything else, for that matter, so there’s already a difference in our attitude toward the product. A car moves, and that enhances the idea that it’s got a life. When I did the Volvo C70, we had a picture of a sprinter for inspiration, back arched, head forward, shoulders above the hands, hips above the feet, creating that tension just before the gun goes off. I said to the designers, “I want that in this car.” So we gave the car this arced back, a line that runs right up the side of the car, which is a curve just like a sprinter’s back. The shoulders come out over the front wheels, and the hips come out over the rear wheels, and the face, or the grille, is forward and low. It re-creates that impression that this car, even parked, is just about to set off at enormous speed.

Q.: What can we expect to see in the future?

A.: You’ll see unique products that look like Ford and look American. I think we’re already cracking that one with certain products like the trucks, the Mustang, the (Ford) Fusion, the Edge, the (Lincoln) Navigator — they don’t come from Japan or Korea or Europe; they come from America. The tools used to create an exciting car cost exactly the same as the tools used to create a mundane-looking car. The opportunities are there.