This seems like a non-issue.
Evidently “his” photo was used in the mock-up ahead of time.
None of his work was used actual production.
See the article, about paragraph 5.
well case closed
It doesn’t make any difference if they used his image on the cars or on the mock-up. They used his image and did not pay for it. That is illegal. It’s a violation of copyright law. Photographers need to sue when their work is used without consent. Their work is being stolen. It’s just as if you worked for me for several hours and I refused to pay you.
The headline promises a juicy story, and the article takes it away.
That being said they are a lot prettier that, say, Cobb county's sheriff's cars.
Jet black cars with a foot high dark charcoal gray "SHERIFF" on the side outlined with a narrow gold pinstripe.