When luthiers say that the basic design for the violin family of stringed instruments hasn’t changed in four centuries and talk about ways to improve upon it, this isn’t exactly the kind of redesign they mean.

In a clever feat of musical ingenuity, an orchestra playing instruments created entirely from car parts performs the soundtrack to the new Ford Focus television commercial. […]

Milbrodt’s team took apart a Ford Focus five-door hatchback that had, literally, just come off the production line. “When we got it to the mechanics shop, it had less than a mile on the clock. We took the doors and fenders off, but we had the body shell intact and we later cut out of that the parts we wanted,” said Bill Milbrodt.

By the time the orchestra had been assembled for the photo shoot at Universal Studios in California, Milbrodt’s team had constructed 31 instruments. Each has a name that instantly identified its origins, such as the Transmission Case Cello-Dulcimer, Clutch Guitar, Rear Suspension Spike Fiddle, Fender Bass, Hatchback Kick Drum, Handheld Gear Tambourine and Door Harp.

No doubt the commercial will be uploaded to YouTube the night it airs, or maybe it will be available on the Ford web site.

I wonder what it’s like to play.

(Did you notice the bow? It’s a windshield wiper.)