Meet Keith Kaucher | Custom Coachbuilt Car Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Keith Kaucher and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi keith, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I had been working a full time job , plus my business at night and on weekends, I had landed a couple very good design contracts with two major aftermarket wheel manufactures with a royalty based salary, and I was making more money with my business so I decided it was time to leave my job. I saved money and paid my rent for six months in advance, so when I left my nest was well feathered, so I could start my business without having to worry about money.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Well, I have to clarify that though I’m artistic, I consider my self more a designer than an artist. I have been refereed to as an artist, or an illustrator in magazine articles before which I never felt is a proper description of who I am or what I do.

I studied Industrial Design and have a degree in that field, though I do illustrate cars as part of how I present a design I’m a designer first.

When I graduated from college, I knew that I wanted to work on the auto industry, but I graduated from a state university that didn’t have a dedicated transportation design program like Art Center, so I knew that I would have to compete with those better trained in car design graduates in trying to get hired by a car company designing cars. So I thought where’s the back door to the industry.

I thought that the wheel industry might be my way in so I sent out my resume out to 12 different aftermarket wheel manufactures. I was invited to interview with six of them and was made offers from three of them. In the end I accepted the offer from Superior Industries in Van Nuy’s, CA.

Getting my foot in the door through Superior which was not only an aftermarket wheel and accessory manufacture they were mainly a first tier supplier for most of the auto manufactures, this was a blessing in that I ended up dealing with auto manufactures and got to meet with car stylist and engineers in their studios when I was tasked with designing a new wheel for a car that was a carry over body style. Manufactures didn’t want to use their limited design staff on a fresh wheel design for an older body style.

I learned a lot about what it was like to work as an in house car stylist, and I realized that working in-house for a major manufacture as a designer was not the dream job I thought it was. The thought of spending eight hours a day designing a taillight lens or a brake pedal pad.

I recognized that working independently and on custom car designs essentially re-styling vintage American cars was by far more a dream job. I never looked back and to this day still feel like I get paid to play for a living.

My brand is about timeless design. I a have many competitor in the hot rod/ custom car industry. When I start on a clients design I work with the car owner on creating a theme, and when I’m given free reign, I go with the concept car theme re-imagining what the original designers of the car might’ve really wanted the car to look like before the accounting, marketing, and engineering stuck their fingers in the paint and dulled the car’s style down.

For instance over ten years ago I designed a ’67 Cougar fastback, recently I finally got hired by a client that is a big fan of that design and want’s to build the car as I envisioned it, so This car which was themed as a one off concept car that escaped the crusher.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, since most of my friends I met through the the car hobby, so I would take him to the Grand National Roadster show in Pomona, CA. Then we’d hit Gilbert’s El Indios when we got back to Santa Monica, because it’s a tradition.

I’m a true West Sider. I’m a native Santa Monican, and I feel and have always felt that the West Side pretty much has everything we need food and entertainment wise.

So the itinerary would be be going to my favorite spots to eat, like Sonny McLean’s on Wilshire, Bruno’s on Ocean Ave, for some of the best pizza in town. After dinner at Bruno’s we’d jet across the street to Chey Jay’s one of the oldest bars in Santa Monica and have a couple of Old Fashions.

Talpa’s on Pico in West LA, for some great Mexican food and some Linda Margaritas For some good BBQ Baby Blues on Lincoln. We’d hit Sushi King on Wilshire and have Sea-bass Misoyaki, some Alaska Rolls and Beer. Of course wewould go to the various car meets in town in my ’69 Pro-Touring Falcon.

Towards the end the week with a visit to Versailles for some Cuban food in Mar Vista and finish at the Manchester in Westchester on our way to the airport for the $16 Burger and a beer happy hour deal, (their burgers are great)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It wouldn’t be fair for me to just do a shout out to just one person that has been a part of my success. I wouldn’t want anyone of those people to feel slighted.

My list of support is way too long to list, but those of you that have been my side throughout my 30 year journey know who you are and I will shout out a huge thank you!

If I had to pick one big influence in my life I would have to say it was the movie American Graffiti, the reason being that I was 12 years old when I saw that movie, and I fell in love with the hot rodding life style watching it on the big screen.

I was already car crazy, but after seeing how the car culture operated seeing teenage kids cruising in their cars and of course that street race at the end of the movie I was all in.

Website: https://www.kaucherkustoms.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaucher_kustoms/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-kaucher-985510b/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063501312801

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@keithkaucher4962

Other: https://www.pinterest.com/kaucherkustoms/

Image Credits
Keith Kaucher