(upbeat music) (tires screeching)
- Industrialization, standardization
of automotive manufacturing was a game-changer, right?
But to me, the most interesting products coming out
are these clever mash-ups of
traditional craftsmanship and modern solutions.
It's the mash-up of new and old that speaks to me.
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Jonathan Ward is the owner of Icon,
an automotive shop that takes classic cars
and infuses them with the best of modern technology.
- They're taking a 40-year old car
and essentially preparing it for it's next 40 years.
(engine revving)
- [Narrator] In a world filled with disposable products,
Jonathan is asking, "How can we get the most
out of what we already have?"
(power tools whirring)
- The name Icon was my wife's idea.
To me, it really represented that we're trying
to reference iconic designs and principles even.
With the rapid growth of industrial process
and automation and the industrial revolution,
I personally feel quantity overpowered quality
in many cases.
So, to me, that's a part of our responsibility with Icon.
To celebrate these vintage design icons
but evolve it into the future.
The ultimate led sled would be,
by most people's judgment, a '49 to '51 Mercury coupe.
At a rapid glance, you see it on the side of the road,
you may wonder if it even runs.
But then there are like layers of onions.
You start peeling the layers back.
Like if you peak underneath it,
you'll see what Adrian here is still toiling away
and the rest of my team have done.
So there are thousands and thousands of hours
to reimagining this classic
'cause of the pioneering EV system that's in it.
So 200 mile range, 475 foot pounds of torque,
dual electric motors.
For the EV charge ports, we do stuff like this,
where we'll hide it behind the license plate.
The power windows are controlled by
what looks like the original analog crank,
and you just nudge up for up and down from down.
Obviously we're running a digital touchscreen display
because we had to monitor so many of the new
electric vehicle circuits.
But again, keeping the continuity
because I think that's when we jump the shark.
When we do anything that impacts the whole vibe
and romance of the vintage aesthetic,
we have failed.
- [Narrator] This is Michael DiTullo,
he's an automotive expert and designer
who has reimagined several classic cars with Jonathan.
- There's a lot of places you can go to get a
refurbished vintage car.
That's not really the business that Icon is in.
I think it's really the only place you're gonna go
to get this thing that is redesigned
and reimagined for the next generation.
(engine roaring)
- [Michael] Our collaborations usually start with Jonathan
doing like a tear-down of the vehicle.
So we'll have a sense of, "Okay, we want to upgrade
the mirrors, we want to take look at the badging,
or the door handles."
These are all the little parts of the vehicle
that should be better.
- All our plumbing is actually done
by an aerospace supplier so it's mandrel bent stainless.
Clamps and fixtures, I'm generally gonna go to
railcar marine or aerospace,
because they're still making it the best it can be made.
- The glass is like architectural glass,
it's not automotive glass.
The sun visors are the same material that they use
in jets and like learjets.
Dark-tinted green that you can actually
still see-through when you put it down
and you're like, "That just totally makes sense."
That's not an automotive person,
that is a craftsman and a designer's approach, right?
I have friends who are in the automotive industry
and they're like, "Yup, just went to another presentation
from a creative director, and another bunch
of slides on Icon."
So you have this small group of dedicated people
building cars influencing, not only automotive production
but product design in general.
I think we need to, maybe as a culture,
redefine materialism.
Maybe we're not materialistic enough.
What are the materials going into the thing I'm buying
and will it last me?
- So this one is super cool.
This is a 1949 Hudson Super Six.
One of my geek-out side hobbies is
traditional leather craft.
So this is wild cog alligator
that starts in crust form,
meaning been through tanning but no oiling, no pigments.
So then I come through and I hand-paint this
with a series of five different pigments
and seven different suspensions
to get this just kind of aged funky patina effect.
It was so much fun.
The dash still is in theme with
the original design aesthetic
but now it supports in-dash AC with adjustable vents.
Audio system, you push any of the memory buttons.
Considerations for details like that
is sadly forgotten.
- A lot of times if you over-index
on a higher quality good that cost more upfront,
you might be spending a fraction
as what you'd spend by buying the same
object over and over again.
You'll save time, you'll save money,
you'll enjoy yourself more.
And you'll have a product that you enjoy using
versus something you somewhat loathe
but does the job.
- I'm seeing a movement of other makers
and consumers that are starting to poke through
the veneer of buying the cheapest possible thing
that they need.
So I'd like to think that reviving classic industrial arts
will be an important part of the success of
the American culture.
Makes me hope we're on the right path.
(engines roaring)
- [Narrator] Icon is a boutique shop
in just one industry.
But what if every product was made with
this love and care?
Would you ever even think of throwing anything away?
(engine revving)
(upbeat music)
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