While it is next to impossible to see what fusion looks like, it's not difficult to see the effects Fusion Car Audio is having on the our market. The impetuous manufacturer from New Zealand is turning heads, the way green aliens might were they to be seen walking down a street. So when Fusion's new distributor, Pro-Rep Marketing, wanted a hot platform to show off the brand they decided on the VW Jetta Wolfsburg Edition as the vehicle of choice. For the electronics work, the car was taken to "Area 51", the secret projects shop at Mobile Dynamics Installation School in Toronto, where the instructors and students took on the challenge of molecularly bonding the system to the vehicle in true fusion style. A demo vehicle is much different than a competition vehicle in both the design and the execution of the installation. Top-level IASCA competition vehicles are cosmetically and sonically flawless everywhere and require ongoing maintenance to keep it pristine. A top SPL vehicle is usually heavily serviced after a competition and rebuilt at least yearly. In contrast, a manufacturer's demo vehicle has to run for hours at a time in the parking lot of a local car audio retailer, or at a big car show. It may not see any service for months on end, and must be rugged enough to endure thousands of miles of travel as the sales rep's daily driver. If service is required, the repair time must be measured in minutes, not hours or days.
In addition, Fusion has a brand image to promote and that makes the final design a balance of many elements, which for any manufacturer's project, requires coming up with a plan before the first screw is turned. This system was designed to show off a variety of products offered by Fusion while still being the type of system that any car audio enthusiast would be able to afford. It also needed to be unique enough that people would remember the car and the brand. And it had to be completed in very little time. Once Fusion and Pro Rep were confident that the installer's ideas fit the marketing goal, authorization was given to "freelance" the project. This allowed the instructors performing the installation to pack in as many elements as they could while shifting the design on the fly to guarantee the completion date.
The only non-Fusion component in the system is the Nakamichi CD452 head unit, selected due to the unavailability of the new Fusion CD player. The Nak drives the input of the Fusion FX-40 preamp EQ mounted in the dash compartment above the radio opening. The FX-40 is a half-DIN sized unit, which would leave an unsightly gap either above or below the unit when mounted in the larger dash compartment. To adapt to the dash, the EQ was dismantled and the faceplate was scanned into the computer. Some quick mousing in Photoshop allowed the instructors to print out a new image that, once Goode filmed onto a thin piece of Plexiglas, yielded a new faceplate that filled the entire opening. It looks both factory original and custom at the same time. The Nak head unit can be activated or disabled via the latching outputs of an Autopage RF-505 security system, which also serves as the vehicle's antitheft system.
Front speakers consist of 6.5" woofers in well damped and reinforced doors, a pair of 4" midranges in custom built fiberglass kickpanels, and tweeters on the front doors near the A-pillar. It was agreed that the factory VW grills were pretty boring, which gave the instructors a perfect excuse to fabricate a foam/glass/MDF grill using two plastic rods as the only obstruction.
Project leader Matt Gordash personally took responsibility for the majority of the trunk area, which is the most complex part of the installation. A pair of fiberglass cabinets each housing twin 12" subwoofers flank a raised bridge that divides the trunk. This bridge supports the Jonah Lomu special edition amplifier for the subwoofers and two other Fusion amplifiers driving the component speakers. The wraparound fiberglass trunk interior and cabinetry was specifically designed to avoid the tired look of flat panel boxes. Curves are everywhere, which called for the integration of small flat plateaus to allow for mounting accessories securely. All fiberglass components were either painted in Fusion's trademark in-your-face lime green or covered with flawlessly hot wrapped black vinyl. On panels that consist of both green paint and black vinyl, an inset bead of chrome was secured into a recessed transition channel to blend the installation with the chrome plating on the Lomu amplifier.
Although the trunk is complex, serviceability was factored in. The trunk can be disassembled in minutes, revealing an umbilical cord of wiring with enough length to allow the whole amplifier bridge assembly to be serviced outside the vehicle. If a component or piece of product fails, as occasionally happens in a demo vehicle, a field replacement can be performed by the sales representative. Visual impact comes from the unique shapes incorporated on the rear deck and trunk, as well as the captivating green paint that reflects in highly random patterns. At car shows, observers need to be reasonably close to appreciate the clean, stunning workmanship. In order to entice spectators to come closer, the trunk lid was used as another focal point. Urethane foam and fiberglass were used to form a base that morphs the curves of the trunk lid to a dramatically different set of curves that compliment the trunk cavity. A set of 5.25" component speakers and crossovers were molded into the panel and protected with a rod grill similar to the kick panels and doors. Opening the trunk activates the trunk lid speakers to enable spectators to hear more than just the substantial bass from the trunk while gathered behind the Jetta.
One of the most important features of a demo car compared to other show vehicles is the use of marketing elements to cause the spectator to remember the brand that was being promoted. The approach taken was to use the rear deck to create a memorable marketing icon to match the Fusion theme. Urethane foam and resin were used to create a form that covers most of the rear deck has a large opening to allow bass to pass into the interior compartment with minimal attenuation. The opening also serves as a focal point for the rear deck feature "trademark" element. Gordash assembled a three orbit atom with large green electrons and a nucleus of green and black spheres that hovers over the opening and serves as a mental trigger to remind spectators about the "Fusion" concept.
The instructors at Mobile Dynamics love to take any opportunity to experiment with a new process or material that could be the next "big thing" for aiding professional installers. Normally, a professional installer would never be tempted to explore new techniques on a customer's vehicle, but an installation school is not under the same customer pressure as a retail store. The instructors confidently tried out a new type of urethane filler that ultimately developed cracks after the paint had been heat cured. This required the reworking of a few trim pieces with trusty polyester filler before being sent back into the paint booth for a second try. Another new material that failed to live up to the standards of the instructors was a very stretchable, rubbery vinyl. It was extremely easy to form over the radical curves, but soon reacted with the adhesive and began to shrink, requiring a change to the "old faithful" vinyl and a different adhesive. Even the most experienced professionals need to continue learning and experimenting.
The overall workmanship on all visible surfaces equals the finest of pro class IASCA vehicles in the field today. Musicality is also at the high end of the spectrum, which is unusual for a demo car that is primarily meant to be a parking lot pounder. The body was given a bit of a rework as well. A body kit was installed, along with a new wheel package and an inch sliced off of the ride height. The final touch is an exterior graphics package that leaves no doubt in the observer's mind that this is a demonstration vehicle and that the company is extremely proud of the brand they sell.
But how effective is all this planning and sticking to a marketing theme? Does it really make a difference to plan an installation with several different specific goals? The Jetta's public debut at the Darknights Import Car Show, a premiere event that attracts import show cars from the Northeastern U.S. and Canada, was the validation the instructors wanted in order to know they had succeeded. The Jetta proved its caliber by winning "Best Manufacturers Booth" at its first show. Now all Fusion needs to do is invent a way for the system to power itself without a vehicle electrical system or batteries. Would this be considered "Cold Fusion"?