Gene Winfield, Hotrod Pioneer, Designer Of Movie And TV Cars, Dies At 97
Gene Winfield, a movie and TV car designer many revere for pioneering hotrod and lowrider methods used by many builders today, died recently at the age of 97. Among the productions Winfield worked on are notable entries like Blade Runner, RoboCop, and even the original Star Trek television series.Winfield was also a celebrated hotrod builder, something which is common among the old school movie/TV car builder crowd. In fact, he's recognized as one of the pioneers of hotrod and lowrider culture. That's why some have referred to him as 'the King of Customs.'
At least until right before the very end, Winfield was still building cars and going to events, socializing with other gearheads. The man loved speed and performance, he himself barely slowly down even in his elderly years.
Born in Springfield, Missouri, Winfield grew up during the Great Depression as the youngest of six children. Seeking greater economic prosperity, his family moved to Modesto, California
An enterprising youth, he opened his first automotive shop at the ripe age of 15. Shortly after, he bought a 1928 Ford Model A coupe. After joining the Navy at the end of World War II, Gene returned home and got into the hotrod scene, chopping his brother's '41 Plymouth convertible.
It didn't take the man long to build a huge reputation. With that came Hollywood studios wanting him to use his creativity and fabrication skills to build custom vehicles for television shows and movies. That was how his work reached a more mainstream audience and will continue living on in those beloved productions.
Back on February 27, Winfield's Custom Shop posted on Instagram about his declining health, revealing his wishes that his museum remain intact instead of the different cars being sold off for big money. He passed away on March 4.
Image via winfieldscustomshop/Instagram,IMDB
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Japan trade deal is more than meets the eye
The Trump administration has reached an important economic agreement with Japan. International trade and finance today are complicated, and therefore, agreements can be difficult to sum up briefly. In this case, there is also significant background, somewhat different from our history with Europe, that bears in important ways on the specifics of the accord. Japan has committed to provide $550 billion in new funding to the United States in the form of investment, loans and loan guarantees. President Donald Trump is justified in declaring that the agreement represents a major victory for his approach of negotiating concessions from other nations, especially major partners in Asia and Europe. However, the agreement is also precisely in line with the long-term strategy of Japan to sidestep U.S. restrictions on direct imports by emphasizing investment in our country. This dates from the Reagan administration, years when trade and other frictions between Tokyo and Washington were at a peak. Reagan officials pressed their counterparts in Japan to accept what were termed 'voluntary export agreements,' meaning in fact a ceiling on exports to the U.S. Automobiles were a high priority, reflecting the fact that the traditional Big Three U.S. auto manufacturers — American Motors (and successor Chrysler), Ford and GM — were suffering from growing, increasingly successful competition from Japan and also Europe. Nissan, Toyota, Fiat, Volkswagen and other foreign firms were making great inroads in North America. Japanese car manufacturers responded to the new, significant challenge represented by the U.S. voluntary export agreements in two ways. First, their export profiles were changed. Emphasis on compact cars was shifted to a new emphasis on larger, more luxurious models. Toyota's transformation is especially striking in this regard. Second, tremendous new emphasis was given to building manufacturing facilities within the United States. The second dimension effectively embedded foreign manufacturers in the U.S, establishing a strategic position that would greatly benefit foreign vehicle manufacturers over the long term. President Trump has a strong personal interest in, indeed fascination with, traditional economic tariffs. However, beginning with the Bretton Woods institutions, initially defined by the Allied powers at a New Hampshire conference in 1944, such trade tariffs have become generally regulated and stabilized at relatively low levels. Significant tariff wars, along with competitive currency devaluations, were rightly viewed as major contributing factors to interwar economic dislocations, capped by the Great Depression. This, in turn spawned totalitarian dictatorships and led to World War II. The creation of the United Nations in 1945 institutionalized efforts to maintain greater international stability. The UN has been an umbrella for the Bretton Woods institutions – the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), now the World Trade Organization (WTO), along with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The end of the Cold War permitted the UN family of institutions to become truly global. The rise of China, and serious competition with the United States that encompasses ideological and military as well as economic dimensions, places a premium on close, positive cooperation with other Asia powers. Japan along with India and South Korea, and the special case of Taiwan, are all lynchpin components important to the containment effort. Farsighted U.S. foreign policies since World War II created durable ties with economically and militarily significant nations in East and South Asia. The nations cited are also today functioning democracies. Japan's shrewd, flexible adjustment to changing U.S. political winds over the long term is also fundamentally important.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
‘Flying Car' Industry Taxis Toward Takeoff
'We wanted flying cars; instead, we got 140 characters,' venture capitalist Peter Thiel, himself an early Facebook investor and thus key financier of the first social media age, quipped in 2013. Since his remark, the character limit for posts on Twitter — rechristened X under Thiel's fellow PayPal mafia barone Elon Musk — has climbed to 280 (or 25,000 for paid subscribers). As for cars, they're still not flying. A US-based startup, backed by Japan's Toyota, and a freshly capitalized initiative in China could change that as soon as next year. READ ALSO: Trump's 'Biggest Deal Ever' With EU Prompts Yawn From Wall Street and Can Tesla and Samsung Find Salvation in Each Other? Shares to the Sky 'Flying car' is a colloquial term best associated with futures imagined by sci-fi filmmakers. But outside the dystopian cityscapes of Blade Runner or The Fifth Element, here on Earth, they go by a much wonkier industry term: electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) craft. There's also no futuristic hovering technology — current eVTOLs in development by Santa Cruz-based, Toyota-backed Joby Aviation and Chinese carmaker XPeng get off the ground with old-fashioned propeller and rotor technology. In both cases, that has been more than enough to send their shares into liftoff: Joby, which already has a small fleet of air taxis conducting test runs, last week announced plans to expand its California facility to build 24 of its eVTOL craft per year. It also plans to pursue commercialization by seeking certification from the Federal Aviation Administration and expand production to an Ohio facility where it hopes to mass-produce as many as 500 crafts every year. Propping up the effort is 22% shareholder Toyota, which has invested roughly $900 million in the publicly traded startup (shares are up 122% this year). And then there's Xpeng Aeroht, Xpeng's flying car division, which earlier this month said it secured $250 million in Series B funding to expedite the mass production of its Land Aircraft Carrier, a Cybertruck-resembling all-terrain vehicle with a detachable, helicopter-like air module. Xpeng Aeroht is planning mass production of the vehicle, commencing next year in Guangzhou, with a roughly $280,000 price tag and a facility with a projected annual capacity of 10,000 units. Its parent company's shares are up 59% this year. Toyota, meanwhile, has expanded its exposure to the segment as another startup with its backing, Japan-based SkyDrive, obtained initial certification for an eVTOL earlier this year, which could eventually lead to commercialization. The barriers to adoption vary, depending on the market. For example, Xpeng Aeroht produces a smaller eVTOL, the X2, which is technically for sale in Australia, but regulatory uncertainty means using one legally may be at least a year away (and require a pilot's license). Dubai's the Limit: Joby had initially targeted offering commercial passenger services in Dubai, where Xpeng Aeroht tested an eVTOL back in 2022, by the end of this year. That timeline has been bumped to early 2026, seven years after Blade Runner but well ahead of The Fifth Element's setting in the 23rd century. This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive delivering razor sharp analysis and perspective on all things finance, economics, and markets, subscribe to our free The Daily Upside newsletter. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Post
25-07-2025
- New York Post
Real-life ‘RoboCop' makes debut in Shanghai — directing traffic at bustling intersection
It's not armed, but this 'RoboCop' is keeping cars and pedestrians in line on Shanghai's busiest streets. A humanoid robot dressed like a police officer manned a busy intersection in Shanghai's bustling Huangpu District on Wednesday evening — drawing the attention of drivers and pedestrians alike. During the demonstration, the robot — sporting what looked like an oversize white helmet and a can't-miss outfit with LED tube lighting and reflective yellow fabric — gave voice instructions to pedestrians. Those included 'Red light, please stop,' and standard hand signals to direct foot traffic across the intersection. 3 Xiao Hu, a humanoid robot in police uniform, uses hand signals to direct foot traffic at a Shanghai intersection on Wednesday. Shanghai Let's Meet / Facebook The robot's physical movements and verbal commands are likewise modeled on traditional traffic policing practices in China. The appearance of the robot — nicknamed 'Xiao Hu' (pronounced 'Shyow Hoo') or 'Little Tiger' — marked a trial phase rather than an official deployment, according to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau's Traffic Management Department. In addition to directing traffic, Xiao Hu can provide directions to pedestrians and answer basic questions related to traffic laws. 3 Crowds gather as robot traffic cop Xiao Hu issues voice prompts and manages nighttime traffic in downtown Shanghai. Shanghai Let's Meet / Facebook The Shanghai Public Security Bureau's Traffic Management Department said the robot's appearance on was part of a 'real-world learning exercise for traffic management scenarios.' Developed over four years, the robot is still undergoing testing. But officials appear eager to eventually use the machines to replace human officers in heavily trafficked areas or during large-scale events. 3 The humanoid robot Xiao Hu guides pedestrians during a real-world trial on East Nanjing Road. Shanghai Let's Meet / Facebook No timeline has been announced for a broader deployment of the robot, and officials did not comment on whether Xiao Hu or similar machines will be introduced in other districts of the city. The introduction of Xiao Hu comes amid broader efforts in China to incorporate automation and AI into public safety and governance. The Shanghai Public Security Bureau said the robot represents 'a new technological approach to traffic control,' suggesting that further innovations may be introduced as the city continues to develop its smart city infrastructure.
