The 2009 Art Center Car Classic

Art Center is well known for the transportation designers it has graduated over the years but also for the transportation design show it hosts. With a theme of “By Air, Land & Sea” we were treated to a great cross section of interesting and though-provoking vehicles.

After taking a year’s hiatus, the campus of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena again hosted a small but eclectic transportation show, the 2009 Art Center Car Classic. More than simply a car show, this year’s event showcased some unusual vehicles including amphibious cars, cars powered by aircraft engines, and cutting-edge flying devices. The unique and intimate setting in the hills overlooking Pasadena might be small, but the organizers made every square inch count, presenting a broad spectrum of vehicles that combined state-of-the-art engineering, breathtaking design, as well as providing a bench marks from the past that might show future designers ways to design small city cars.

The Art Center Car Classic is more than a car show as this year, as in years past, noted speakers were part of the program. Burt Rutan–best known for the design of the record-breaking Voyager, which was the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling, and the sub-orbital space plane SpaceShipOne, the first privately funded spacecraft to enter the realm of space twice within a two week period–was the featured speaker. And local car guy extraordinaire and former “Tonight” show host Jay Leno made an appearance in his turbine-powered Eco Jet concept done in conjunction with General Motors. Read More at Automotive Traveler.