Ford Motor Company is inviting LCOC members and their cars to a special Lincolns and Lattes display at the Lincoln Design Campus, 3 Glen Bell Way, Irvine, on March 11 from 8 to 11 a.m. The display is focused on our 1978 and older Lincolns, but beautiful newer examples also are welcome. You won’t want to miss it!
The morning meet-up is seeking Lincolns across the eras and is expected to attract as many as 300 vehicles of all brands from car clubs around Southern California. Advance registration is required. Contact Jim Ayres, LCOC event coordinator, at jayres01@ca.rr.com to register your car for the display. If needed, overnight secure storage prior to the event is available. Spectator parking for non-exhibit cars will be provided on site.
Besides our classic Lincolns, the Star and L100 concept vehicles introduced in 2022 by Lincoln Motor Company and featured at the Pebble Beach Concours, will be on view, and Kemal Curic, Director of Global Design for Lincoln and head of the Irvine Design Studio, will be on hand for the event.
Ford’s John Clinard promises a very special display with a big Lincoln turnout alongside other makes and some surprises. Special and unique non-Lincoln vehicles will be there.
A similar event held at the campus in September 2019 was punctuated by a surprise rain shower, which sent spectators scurrying for shelter, and, in some cases, car covers. Fortunately, the usual March weather in Irvine, features only three rain days so the odds for clear and pleasant Sothern California weather are in your favor.
In addition to the Lincolns, unusual vehicles such as the ones below are expected.
In 2021 Kemal Curic was appointed Director of Global Design for Lincoln and thus head of the Irvine Design Studio, which is one of three operated around the world. The other two are in Dearborn, MI, and Shanghai, China.
When he took over, the studio employed about 70 people. It was originally established in Irvine in 2001 to house Ford’s Premier Automotive Group, a corporate division comprising Ford’s high-end brands. PAG was later dissolved, but the studio has evolved over the years.
Curic was born in Europe, but always loved American brands–especially Mustangs and Continentals he would see in films as a youngster. His passion for cars and design only grew as he got older. Eventually, he left Europe and moved to Dearborn in 2010. He played a major role in the redesign of the Mustang in 2015, in the latest Lincoln Continental of 2017, and was the chief designer of the critically-acclaimed Lincoln Aviator. In an article in the Irvine Standard, Curic called the Irvine facility a “studio powerhouse.”
“I like the ’60s,” he says. “I like the convertibles. I like the coupes. They’re quite stunning when you see them in person, and to this day, we try to keep the exuberant proportions. If you look at today’s Aviator and Lincoln Navigator, they have the same ‘gesture’ – the proud front end and the low back end. We’ve evolved into where Lincoln came from.”
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