ASC-Designed Roadster to Rewrite Street-Rodding History - A Convertible and Comfortable 'Deuce'
COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 11 -- Attention, street-rodders and would-be rodders put off by the notion of being caught in the rain with your top off, or just plain frustrated by a lack of room in your rod for your bod: Your prayers have been answered. ASC Incorporated, a full-service specialty- vehicle development partner for automotive manufacturers, and Hot Rods & Horsepower, a manufacturer and marketer of steel bodies and components for the street-rod industry, today jointly unveiled a running prototype of a modern- convertible-top, roomier-on-the-inside all-steel replica of the legendary 1932 Ford "Deuce," by far the most popular form of hot rod ever. This modern-day interpretation of a timeless classic, to be called the Dearborn Deuce(TM) Convertible, was jointly developed for Hot Rods & Horsepower, and will be available to the public in June 2004. The unveiling of the Pearlescent Orange prototype with a black top took place here today at the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association's Nationals show, which is expected to attract more than 75,000 auto enthusiasts to the Ohio State Fairgrounds over the weekend.
"ASC is proud to be partnering with Hot Rods & Horsepower in bringing this game-changing niche vehicle to market," said Paul Wilbur, chief executive officer of ASC. "Anyone who knows anything at all about hot rods, or has listened to even a few Beach Boys songs, knows all about the seminal importance of the 'Deuce' in rodding culture. Yet, until now, virtually all of the Deuce rebuilds and replicas out there have suffered from the 'What-if- I-take-off-my-removable-hard-top-and-then-it-rains?' dilemma, plus the lack of real side windows or leg room for anyone taller than the average person back in '32. This vehicle addresses all those issues in a thoroughly modern design that is at the same time painstakingly true to the classic original. And more than that, this project is itself an example of how at ASC we're encouraging our designers and engineers to sharpen their creativity in all sorts of ways -- ways that can benefit our traditional OEM customers as well."
Perhaps the best way to think of this vehicle is as a brand-new 1932 car, built using today's design, engineering and manufacturing technologies. The centerpiece of the design is a folding soft top that fully disappears under a flip-up "tulip-lid" body panel affording the comfort of a true convertible. The thoroughly modern top also comes up just as easily, in case of inclement weather or for coupe-style cruising. This design also features power side windows, thanks to a clever redesign of the "A" pillars that allows for fully functional side glass while still retaining the slick, classic look of a curved windshield and curved roadster-style doors.
Meanwhile, the doors themselves have been lengthened three-and-a-half inches versus the original Deuce, allowing for much easier ingress and egress, while the front seats have been repositioned back two inches, allowing for many a knee to be finally stretched out in true comfort. Completing the basic package is a highly reinforced 1x3-inch X-member frame, a flat metal floor, a recessed firewall and a full-metal dashboard and overlapping curved cowl that flow seamlessly into the curved doors.
"This new Dearborn Deuce Convertible will be a fantastic complement to Hot Rods & Horsepower's recently introduced three-window Dearborn Deuce Coupe," said Craig Knight, Co-Principal of Hot Rods & Horsepower. "It's a very practical, 21st Century version of a 1930s classic. And we will be manufacturing the car, with continuing technical assistance from ASC, employing 21st Century technologies as well. From the special support systems designed to provide exceptional torsional rigidity, to 'white-light-scan' CAD surfacing allowing for ultra-precise fabricating, this car will be one that fits the more sophisticated needs of today's owner, builder or someone just thinking about getting into rodding for the first time. This car allows either the novice or veteran to step up into a whole new level of rodding, at a cost no higher than that associated with lower levels of the sport."
Fully assembled, fully upgradeable bodies with the convertible-top mechanisms will be priced between $18,500 and $20,000, it was announced.
ASC president of Creative Services Mark Trostle, himself a Deuce roadster owner, said, "The '32 Ford, Ford's first post-Model A design, is regarded as the definitive hot rod, owing in no small part to its powerful-looking body and fender lines. It was truly a classic not just in automotive design, but in all industrial design. Our goal was to forge a more 'user-friendly' version of that design, yet while retaining that timeless, classic look. All in all, the only 'carryover' designs on the car are the deck lid and the lower cowl panel, but you'd certainly never guess that by looking at the car, which retains all the authenticity of the original. Our people at ASC, many of them hot-rodders as well, poured their hearts and souls into this car, and the things they've learned along the way will indeed benefit all of our specialty- vehicle customers down the road."
Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Southgate, Mich., ASC's award-winning programs include vehicle development and sub-assembly of the Chevrolet Super Sport Roadster (SSR); convertible systems for the BMW Z4, Toyota Solara and Mitsubishi Eclipse; and numerous appearance and body packages for such products as the Dodge SRT-4, Dodge Viper, RT-10 Dodge Ram Truck, Pontiac Grand Am and Chevrolet TrailBlazer. The company employs more than 1,000 car nuts at 11 facilities in the U.S. and Germany, and is on the Web at www.ascglobal.com . Contact: Jeff Steiner, +1-734-246-0171 or +1-810-623-1879 (mobile), jeff.steiner@ascglobal.com .
Hot Rods & Horsepower, of Branford, Conn., is the wholly owned marketing subsidiary of The Dearborn Manufacturing Company, and is on the Web at www.hotrodsandhorsepower.com . The companies are dedicated to manufacturing and selling the highest-quality steel bodies and components available in the street-rod industry. Current products include the Dearborn Deuce(TM), the first, and only, mass-produced all-steel '32 three-window coupe body currently available in the market; the Dearborn Deuce Original Dash(TM), another first, complete with glove box and ashtray; and Dearborn Deuce '32 front fenders. Contact: Jim Inglese, +1-203-481-1932, jim@hotrodsandhorsepower.com .
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