your opinion is welcome!

[jens g.r. benthien]

I'm currently working on a project for lawn tractors, that means the design of the front hood and the 'trunk' - in short word: the body part, which will be mounted onto an existing chassis.

I've researched a bunch of catalogs, but don't like any of them except the new John Deere that can turn on the spot.

Anyway, what do you think:
Does it look sleek? Fast? Powerful? Unique? Would men or woman prefer this shape? Would **you** prefer this shape over others? What other attributes pop into your mind viewing this hood shape?

The two holes in the center are the air intakes for the engine, not lamps...

This is far from being complete, it's just the best IMHO from the series I've done so far.

Any comment is appreciated.

BTW, the name 'Panther' means Cougar in English

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de

----------//--
If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
----------//--

[jens g.r. benthien]

I'm currently working on a project for lawn tractors, that means the design of the front hood and the 'trunk' - in short word: the body part, which will be mounted onto an existing chassis.

I've researched a bunch of catalogs, but don't like any of them except the new John Deere that can turn on the spot.

Anyway, what do you think:
Does it look sleek? Fast? Powerful? Unique? Would men or woman prefer this shape? Would **you** prefer this shape over others? What other attributes pop into your mind viewing this hood shape?

The two holes in the center are the air intakes for the engine, not lamps...

This is far from being complete, it's just the best IMHO from the series I've done so far.

Any comment is appreciated.

BTW, the name 'Panther' means Cougar in English

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de

----------//--
If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
----------//--

[Soquili]

Hi Jens,

I like your design. Most of the lawn tractors are too blocky in my opinion. I look forward to seeing more details as you make them, especially in the latching mechanism to hold the 'hood' in place.

I was surprised to find my dictionary actually does have cougar as one of the definitions for Panther. I think of a Panther as being a black leopard and a cougar as a puma or mountain lion. Always enjoy learning something new every day.

Soquili

[gidgit]

Hey hey, this is looking really sleek indeed Jens... and the funny thing about this is... I have not been doing much modeling these days due to my wife and I starting up our own landscaping company... haha, this is quite the coincidence...

Can hardly wait to see the finished tractor here... I'll take the candy apple green model please

[Gary David Bouton]

Jens: yes, I'd prefer this hood design over, say, Craftsman (Sears), or John Deere, or MTS.

Funny thing is we're shopping now for one; the back yard has either gotten larger or I've gotten older.

My Best,
Gare

Gary David Bouton
Gary@GaryDavidBouton.com
Free education! The Writings Web site
and the updated GaryWorld Gallery is pretty okay, too.

[jens g.r. benthien]

your opinion showed me to pursue this approach.

Gary, the garden is always getting larger, because there is more stuff in it ;-}. And we are constantly getting younger... I consider the garden to be my private summer body building studio - it's free of charge (if you don't count the investment for plants, fertilizer and all the nine yards), and it's just around the corner!

I'm sorry that I can't offer you the model this year - it's planned to be released in fall 2004. But the production will start January 2004, so there is not too much time to play with, and I'm still waiting for the exact dimensions of the chassis (sigh).

Though I don't have the funds to invest into a garden or lawn tractor at this very moment, I think I should develop an add-on device for my 2.8 ton offroader and mow the lawn in the whole village - then all the effort would make sense ;-}

Next problem to solve: how can I get rid of the traces of my truck will leave in the gardens? Maybe I should focus on a laser lawn cutter! Stick it into the center of your garden, plug it in, level it, and then go! Within 10 seconds your lawn will look great. Hm, seems I'm getting mad now...

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de

----------//--
If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
----------//--

[emel]

Couldn't resist to reply. I love vehicles with human look. So this is the kind of hood I would like to have in a tractor.

Emanuel Brito

[jens g.r. benthien]

you are fantasstic - you da man when it comes to SUPER-RETRO-DESIGN...

Have you ever heard of the Messerschmitt Kabinenroller? An early threewheeler, built right after World War II for the Germany who wanted to start their own mobility (see pic below)

More info here:
Messerschmitt Kabinenroller

They had the human touch you like so much ;-} The similarities between your model and the tiny cruiser are stunning!

Great model ! I guess I should bring you aboard our developer team for the destinct human touch.

Holy moly, just discovered after uploading the pic that this one is a fourwheeler - extremely unusual. But anyway, enjoy!

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de

----------//--
If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
----------//--

[Mark (theKeeper)]

hahaha man those look like something out of a 70's sci-fi movie, that attempts to portray how the future would look -- from a 70's perspective.

Excellent!

[randyrives]

Looks good Jens. I think the sleek look is what riding mowers need.