Ford Has Designed A New Model and Her Name Is Antonella

The woman you see in these photos is not real. She was conceptualized and designed by Ford to showcase the latest generation of their Fiesta model. We are headed down a slippery slope. Earlier this week we learned that Flossie the motorcycle robot has taken over test driving bikes for Castrol and now we find out that Antonella, Ford's virtual model, has replaced the need for flesh and blood women. The technological revolution is here... Even at Sub5zero we have been working on our own AI (artificial intelligence) system to write editorial content. We call him Sparkie and he currently lives in a server farm in my basement. When we make the switch, you probably won't even know that this content is being delivered by a robot (but this also could be a function of my writing style).

Anyway, back to Antonella. This virtual model is actually a personification of a profile that was created on the basis of demographic research about the target market for the Ford Fiesta. Moray Callum, Executive Director of Ford America's design program stated, "Antonella is an attractive 28-year old woman who lives in Rome. Her life is focused on friends and fun, clubbing and parties. She is also completely imaginary. She was the guiding personality for the Ford Verve, a design study that served as the basis for the latest-generation Fiesta."

The character of Antonella was created by Ford's designers to assist with tailoring cars to particular customer segments. By first understanding the driver, the company can better deliver an appropriate vehicle. Mr. Callum said, "Personalizing gives context to the information we have. Sometimes the target demographics are difficult to relate to by, say, a 35-year-old male designer." My guess is that these guys were using their 3D programming platforms like the horny geeks Gary and Wyatt from Wierd Science, to create their version of Lisa in their spare time and upper management decided that this was a more productive outlet. What I would be more interested to see are the top models who didn't make the cut!

Source: Lookcool.com