Cadillac and smart Tie for the Design Challenge Award at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show

By Los Angeles Auto Show, PRNE
Thursday, November 18, 2010

LOS ANGELES, November 19, 2010 - Today, a tie was announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show's 2010 Design
Challenge. After much deliberation, the judges selected the Cadillac Aera and
smart 454 WWT as the two well-deserved winners. The designs were selected for
their comfort, safety and driving performance - without sacrificing the
styling consumers demand. This year's theme challenged automotive design
studios to envision a four-passenger, 1,000 lb. Car.

    (Logo: photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20060612/LAM005LOGO)
    (Logo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060612/LAM005LOGO)

"Deciding this year's Design Challenge winner was a tremendously
difficult decision as the quality of entries has increased throughout the
years," agreed the Design Los Angeles judges. "This year's winners - the
Cadillac Aera and the smart 454 WWT - offer two very different visions of the
1,000 lb. Car, yet are equally as amazing. They are both very expressive of
their brand; GM is art and science and smart is playful and fun."

The Cadillac Aera 2+2 touring coupe utilizes a polyhedral, 3D lattice,
mono-formed frame with a flexible pressurized polymer skin to optimize
weight, aerodynamics and safety. The smart 454 features a chassis "knit" by
high-tech robots out of carbon fibre, optimizing flexibility and strength.

Entries were judged by multi-discipline design professionals who selected
the winner based upon not only meeting the weight constraint (1,500 lbs.
maximum with occupants), but also for the artistic beauty, comfort,
uniqueness of design, roadworthiness, sustainability, performance and
user-friendliness of the vehicle. All of the entries for the 1,000 lb. Car
delivered imaginative and detailed design stories.

The Design Challenge has become a highly anticipated competition where
auto manufacturers' Southern California design studios battle against each
other to flex their creativity. Designers enjoy participating in the
challenge because it is a strong venue to showcase their talents and further
explore new ideas in automotive design.

Participating design studios included:

    - General Motors Advanced Design California
    - Honda Advanced Design Studio, Pasadena, CA
    - Mercedes-Benz Research and Development Japan: Advanced Design Center
      Japan
    - MAZDA Design Americas
    - Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America, Inc.: Advanced
      Design Center California
    - Nissan Design America
    - Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Germany
    - Calty Design Research, Inc.
    - Volvo Car Corporation: Monitoring and Concept Center VMCC

About the Design Challenge

The Design Challenge is part of the Design Los Angeles Automobile
Designers' Conference that is held during the Los Angeles Auto Show Press
Days, November 17-18, 2010. Each year, for the past seven years, a new Design
Challenge theme is chosen and the major automotive design studios showcase
their talents, competing against each other to flex their creativity and
further explore new ideas in automotive design. The Design Los Angeles
Conference also gives designers access to design industry leaders and
provides the opportunity to address common industry issues.

The competition has received rave reviews from journalists and extensive
media exposure throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas. For more
information, including images, visit
www.LAAutoShow.com/DesignChallenge.html

Jessica Schmidt of The Rogers Group, +1-310-552-4177, LAautoshow at rogerspr.com, for Los Angeles Auto Show

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