What Young Designers Dream Of
THE design studies known as concept cars, which are staples at auto shows and often inspirations for the cars of tomorrow, are also test beds for new ideas. The newest designers in an automaker%26#8217;s studio often have a hand in these %26#151; with ideas that spring from creative young minds to become dream-car matter.
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Dreams of Young Designers
Who, at the moment, are the young designers worth watching, the young people who may become the next Ralph Gilles (creator of the Chrysler 300) or Franz von Holzhausen (who designed the Pontiac Solstice before moving to Mazda)? In conversations with senior designers, auto executives and design school faculty members, a few names came up over and over. Here is a look at some up-and-comers who played significant roles in creating concept vehicles being displayed at major auto shows this year, including some that will be featured at the New York auto show, which opens to the public on Friday, March 21:BILL ZHENG CHRYSLEREven when he lived a half a world away, Bill Zheng, 30, seemed destined to become a designer for Chrysler. Mr. Zheng said he had been a fan of Jeeps since he was a child in Shanghai. Then, in the 1990s, after his family moved to Michigan, he was impressed by the %26#8220;dynamite%26#8221; concept cars and production models coming from Chrysler%26#8217;s studios.And Chrysler designers were involved in the industrial design program at the Cleveland Institute of Art in Ohio, where, in addition to car design, Mr. Zheng got experience in furniture and product design. He was hired by Chrysler upon his graduation in 2000 and is now design manager for small, premium and family vehicles.The Dodge Zeo, a design study for a sporty electric car, sprang from a studio competition. %26#8220;Bill%26#8217;s design hit it out of the park with the first sketch,%26#8221; said Joe Dehner, vice president for small, premium and family vehicles. %26#8220;It was a side view with the doors open and it blew me away proportionally. At the end of the day, big wheels and tires, a long wheelbase and short overhangs still look good.%26#8221;The end result was an electric car that defies expectations. Mr. Zheng contended that electric vehicles will yet become as common as those powered by gasoline or diesel fuel, and that they deserved to have different design personalities. %26#8220;So to say that electric cars should look like electric cars is a dated thing,%26#8221; he said.He did, however, want a hint of an electric vehicle identity. So, the conventional grille was abandoned in favor of a version illuminated by blue L.E.D.%26#8217;s.%26#8220;The Zeo is basically a muscle car, but it%26#8217;s not powered by a V-8,%26#8221; Mr. Zheng said. %26#8220;It%26#8217;s quiet, but it goes superfast. The image of a green car is kind of timid. I%26#8217;m very environmentally conscious, but I love sports cars.%26#8221;JENNIFER HEWLETT FORD MOTOR COMPANYAs part of an image overhaul for Lincoln, the brand imagined its latest concept car, the MKT, as an example of guilt-free luxury, a seeming contradiction in terms. Jennifer Hewlett, 28, a color and materials designer, was tapped to come up with an appropriate interior.At the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Ms. Hewlett studied industrial design, fine arts and furniture building, gaining experience in working with wood, metal, fiber, ceramics and glass, and particularly in learning about how to relate such materials to one another. %26#8220;It%26#8217;s one of the crucial points of a vehicle, all these materials coming together and harmonizing,%26#8221; she said. Her previous work included color and materials for the 2009 MKS. %26#8220;When the new MKS was coming out we thought it would be a really good match for her because of her taste level, her sense of style, as well as her skills,%26#8221; said Susan Sage, the color and materials design manager at Ford. It was because of the success of those vehicles that Ms. Hewlett was chosen to be part of the team that designed the 2007 MKR concept car and now the MKT, Ms. Sage said.Ms. Hewlett said that with the MKT, her design inspiration was a feather. She tried to bring the lightness, translucence and layering of a feather to the colors in the passenger cabin, while using earth-friendly materials, like a rug made with banana fibers.The stained oak veneers come from recycled oak, already found in some other Lincolns. The MKT%26#8217;s leather is made using an organic tanning method, free of harsh chromium additives.Ms. Hewlett said she liked using these organic materials and processes because, %26#8220;It%26#8217;s something that makes our customers feel good about the products they are buying.%26#8221;BERNARD LEEMAZDA Furai is Japanese for %26#8220;sound of the wind.%26#8221; Streamers, kite tails and a sheet in the wind are images that Bernard Lee, 32, imagined when designing the Furai (pronounced FOO-rye) concept. 1 2 Next Page %26#x00bb;
Tags: Auto, Auto Show, automaker, cars, Chrysler, Dodge, electric car, Ford, ford motor, ford motor co, images, Jeep, Lincoln, Mazda, ponti, Pontiac, sports car
