If you’ve seen the Ford Flex, you’ve probably noticed that the top is fairly plain. It’s a perfect place to express yourself! That’s what Ford officials were thinking when they introduced the “Cool Lid” project with artist Tristan Eaton at the New York International Auto Show earlier this month.

The project includes a one-of-a-kind painting on the rooftop of the Ford Flex. To showcase this feature, Ford displayed a painted rooftop propped up on its side next to a plain rooftop to give visitors an idea of the difference. It also showed how cool and expressive the painted tops were compared to the plain, boring ones.

Tristan Eaton, the creator of the painted rooftops, is a 29-year-old artist who founded ThunderDog Studios, a creative agency and toy brand in the New York area. Before designing the eye-catching rooftops for the Ford Flex, he created several artistic pieces for city streets, galleries and several other venues that were proud to display his talents. Two other vehicle customizers, Chip Foose and Funkmaster Flex, have also created unique rooftops for the Ford Flex models.

These Ford vehicles will be available at dealers across the nation in summer 2008. It’s a crossover model that combines the efficiency and compactness of a smaller vehicle with the usability and flexibility of a larger SUV-type vehicle. Unfortunately, the unique rooftops won’t be available with the models sold at the dealerships. If you want to have a uniquely-painted rooftop, you’ll have to commission an artist to do it or try to do it yourself.