Automotive Design Studios Go Hollywood

LOS ANGELES, August 17, 2011 -

- Design Studios from the U.S., Germany and Japan Participate in the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show Design Challenge: Make a Car the Star

For decades, automobiles have played important roles in some of Hollywood’s most popular films. The big screen has seen a steady parade of iconic autos that not only entertained as the emblematic rides of their famous drivers, but also actually stole the show and took leading roles themselves. Thanks to vehicles such as the 1968 Mustang GT that Steve McQueen raced through the streets of San Francisco in Bullitt, to the DeLorean featured in Back To The Future, automobiles are now firmly part of film lore.

(Logo:  photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20060612/LAM005LOGO)

In the quest to find the next A-list automobile, this year’s LA Auto Show Design Challenge will focus on designing Hollywood’s hottest new movie car. For the second year in a row, participating design studios from not only the U.S., but also Germany and Japan, will compete against one another to showcase their talents. Design studios from General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz Germany (Smart), Mercedes-Benz Japan (Maybach), and Mercedes-Benz U.S., will explore new ideas in automotive design as they contend for this top annual design honor.

“There is no more perfect theme for this year’s competition held in Los Angeles, home to Hollywood and the film capital of the world,” said Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner in The Design Academy, Inc. “We have some amazing talents participating and can expect blockbuster design concepts that fuse design and technology in innovative ways.”

The winning design will be announced Nov. 17 during the Design Los Angeles conference at the LA Auto Show. Judging criteria will be based upon various factors including: How the vehicle reflects its brand attributes relative to the plot; how the vehicle relates to the targeted audience or brand; level of imagination; character development of the vehicle; and uniqueness of the combination of story, car and character.

Entries will be judged by Tom Matano, director of Industrial Design at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University; Imre Molnar, dean of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies; and Stewart Reed, chairman, Transportation Design at Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design.  There also will be a special guest judge with an expertise in movie cars from Pixar Animation Studios, famous for such animated films as “Cars,” “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo” and many others.

The Design Challenge is sponsored by Faurecia, the world’s sixth-largest automotive supplier specializing in automotive seating, emissions control technologies, interior systems and auto exteriors as well as Yokohama Tire, which works closely with auto manufacturers in the U.S., Europe and Japan to develop tires for the latest concept vehicles. Other sponsors that make Design Los Angeles possible include, Dassault Systemes and the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA).    

About the Design Challenge

The Design Challenge is part of the Design Los Angeles automobile designers’ conference that is held annually during the LA Auto Show Press Days, November 16-17, 2011.  Each year, for the past eight 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 Design Challenge has received rave reviews from journalists and extensive media exposure throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas. More information, including images, is available at LAAutoShow.com/DesignChallenge.html.

Jessica Schmidt of Rogers Ruder Finn, +1-310-552-4177, LAautoshow at RogersRuderFinn.com, for LA Auto Show