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Norman Bel Geddes, Car model no.9This streamlined car is the product of designer Norman Bel Geddes, who gained fame during the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s for a broad range of designs. Bel Geddes’s design ideas embraced all of modern life. Motorcar Number 9 provides an example of his interest in streamlining. In many ways this car is different from any built at that time or later. It offered excellent visibility through the use of curved glass for the windshield and windows. The steering wheel and single headlight were in the center. The car featured a vertical stabilizer, or rudder, in its tail, like an airplane. The front and rear bumpers were made of chrome, and the rear bumper was attached by three hydraulic shock absorbers. This design offered good use of interior space, providing seating for eight. This design comes from a time when streamlining was thought to be the wave of the future. Bel Geddes’s ideas have made a great contribution to modern design, especially to visions of how the future should look. The field of transportation is where his ideas are easiest to see and appreciate. He designed trains, ocean liners, airplanes, cars, and even a flying car. These efforts were characterized by two distinctive features: on the exterior, they achieved streamlining by means of a teardrop shape. In the

interior, equal attention was given to the use of space, designed to provide large capacities and unique uses. These ideas are still visible today; look at the streamlined vehicles on the animated show Futurama, which borrowed its name from Bel Geddes.A 2:49 minute video, introducing you to Bel Geddes’s work and vision for the future of design.In this week’s Three Objects in Focus video, you were introduced to an object which was never produced, Norman Bel Geddes’s Motorcar No. 9. While this car was an innovative design, there were also design problems that needed to be addressed. List at least three potential design issues with the car. You will need to do some quick internet research on your own. Also, list three ways the design of the car reflected the growing change in American culture during the time it was conceived. Consider the information shared in this week’s videos. A bullet point list with a brief explanation is an acceptable format for this assignment.What needs to be included in the submission?1. ) List of at least three potential design issues with the Bel Geddes’s Motorcar No. 9. 2.) List of three ways the design of the car reflected the growing change in American culture during the time it was conceived. These need to be unique ways. Be careful not to be repetitive in your answers.