Review, John Samsen DVD - - We Dreamed the Dream Cars!
Reviewed by Mark E. Olson
March 28, 2009
I purchased this DVD last Monday and it arrived in my mail box yesterday, Friday the 27th of March. I excitedly opened the box and was a little surprised that it is a professional; shrink wrapped, pressed DVD with professional label and box insert. But then I should not be surprised as the man responsible for the DVD is professional in every way.
I only had time on Friday night to watch the introduction as I had prior commitments but I was very excited to see more. The introduction is eighteen minutes long and really tells us who John Samsen is and why he decided to produce this DVD. The quality of the production is very high. This is not a true video but more like a narrated presentation. Slides transition very seamlessly and the music is done so it enhances and does not detract.
Saturday afternoon I had time to devote to the rest of the about three hours of history and entertainment. I would say this is a must see for anyone like me who is a car nut approaching his “golden years” as John himself is a car nut in his “golden years” and he was lucky enough to have a very close connection with the cars I grew to love and enjoy.
After the introduction John takes on a thirty minute history of the evolution of car design in America. John covers how it was when he first started with Ford Motor Company and the last and longest segment is his time with Chrysler Corporation.
All through the narrative, John and the host Bob McCloskey the life and the job are described in great detail. John follows his own cars that he drove all through his design career. John does a great job of bringing his personal experiences to life.
If you want to better understand what it was like to spend your days in the studio of Chrysler working with many famous designers and sketching the future, you must see this DVD. John is an artist first and most of the best designers had that quality but he also knows engineering as to make a design work, it has to be both beautiful and functional.
Take a delightful excursion into the world of the 1955 Thunderbird, the mid-fifties “Forward Look” cars and the muscle cars of the 60’s with a host who knows the story because he lived it. All through the DVD are sketches, design experiments and finished designs by not only John but Homer LaGassey, Gil Spear, Alex Tremulis, George Walker, Bill Boyer, Elwood Engel, Virgil Exner and many many more.
This is a great bargain for $25 including shipping and handling to your door.