January's Guests And Conversations

Friday, January 5, 2018

Topic: Volvo's $600 Smartphone-Like Monthly Car Payment And Their Quest To Become A Top Tier Luxury Brand

Guest: Vice President Dean Shaw, Volvo USA

2018 Lincoln Navigator Designer Earl Lucas Talks One-On-One with SiriusXM's 'Auto Trends'

Chief Lincoln Exterior Designer Earl Lucas 

Jeff is with car designer Earl Lucas.

Earl Lucas, who is the highest ranking Black designer at Ford Motor Company, shares how he went from designing airplane interiors for one of the richest men in the world to creating breakout car designs.

Lucas, unlike most car designers, has found himself driving in a lane, no pun intended, which only a few in this niche field have. This gifted designer has had the honor and privilege of infusing life into two of the automaker’s iconic flagship vehicles, the athletically-infused 2010 Ford Taurus and the upcoming bold, but elegantly styled 2018 Lincoln Navigator.

Background Info About Jeff And JeffCars.com

Jeff Fortson is the host and the executive producer of the only and longest running syndicated multicultural automotive radio program in the industry, Auto Trends with JeffCars.com. The weekly program, which airs on SirusXM and several traditional radio outlets, includes one-on-one conversations with many of the industry's pioneers and influencers. 

Fortson, who considers himself to be a student of the business, has worked for the Chrysler Corporation and several dealerships. Currently he serves as the editor of JeffCars.com, an educational car-buying website with a new-car pricing guide and configurator. 

In addition to JeffCars.com, the car fanatic has also penned several extensive car-buying guides throughout the years for Black Enterprise, Ebony and Essence, three of the premier magazines in the Black community. Thus, this makes him the only auto writer who has contributed to all three magazines.

Moreover, in April 2009, Essence recognized him as a "The top guru for sound car-buying advice." His contributions and articles have also appeared in The Washington Post, Jet, Bet.com, BlackAmericaWeb.com and Aol.com. 

In fact, he was tapped in 2009 by AOL's BlackVoices.com to author a new blog, bvAuto. Added to that, he has appeared on such programs as CNN and NPR, serving in the role of an automotive analyst. 

Furthermore, he created a car-buying clinic, which is copyrighted with the Library Congress, as a means to combat predatory auto lending practices with minority consumers.

Lastly, Fortson has partnered with several schools throughout the years to create minority outreach educational school programs centered around STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) and financial literacy.