Who are the world’s top auto designers?  That’s a question that egos around the industry would love to have answered.

Some time ago, Motor Trend did a breakdown of the Top 7 automotive designers based on the work they have done designing our guiding design of a vehicle. The list is decidedly director-focused, meaning that the “Designers” are mostly heads of Design Studios, often not in the trenches sketching any more.

Here’s MT’s list:

1) Ian Callum - Aston Martin Vanquish, Jaguar XK Coupe
2) Frank Stephenson - Mini, Alfa Romeo MiTo
3) Luc Donckerwolcke - Lamborghini Murcielago & Gallardo
4) Simon Cox - Cadillac Cien, 2008 CTS
5) Walter de’Silva - Audi R8, Alfa Romeo 156 & 147
6) Martin Smith - The leader of Ford Europe’s “Kinetic Design” form language
7) Chris Bangle - BMW Z4, BMW’s “Flame Styling”

Full Article Here:
Motor Trend’s Top 7 Designers

What are YOUR top designers?

Frank Stephenson has power.  How much power?  Chew on this:  Since being named the new head of the McLaren auto design world, Stephenson’s first task will be to completely redesign the McLaren P11 super-duper car, which only had a few short months left to be displayed to the public since debuting in sketch format last year.

Stephenson will use his super-human bond villain resources to completely redesign the vehicle’s skin and still have it available early-to-mid 2010.

We’ll stand back while the sharks with frickin’ laser beams go to work on the reskin.

Pictured: Last Year’s Theme Sketch

Seat (the auto company) recently unveiled CAD renderings of the Exeo, a new sedan that it hopes will help take a nice foothold into the market for the company.  The new(ish) vehicle’s name comes from…

the Latin word “Exire”, meaning “to go beyond”

“The name Exeo is advanced, forceful and technological, which signals excellence and is highly suggestive of driving pleasure.”

Which is why they are doing it “justice” by taking the previous generation Audi A4 body and throwing a new(ish) front and rear clip on it.

Okay.  Hold on a sec.  We can understand if you take the 2009 model year (or even the 2008 model year) Audi A4 and do what you’re proposing.  But the vehicle design IS 5+ years old.  What are you trying to pull, Seat… a 2003 GTO-like move?

Heck, we even LOVE the design of the A4 from that era, but that’s just… lazy.

Readers: What other bad choices have companies made in bringing older vehicles back from the dead with new name plates?

More images after the break.

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Late last week, we had the opportunity (via our friends at GM’s social media group and our local buddies on Twitter) to visit the GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

For those who don’t know, the Heritage Center is the place where GM stores its historical production and concept vehicles, from cars, to carts, to… well, all manner of crazy things.

Have a look through our gallery, and take a ride down memory lane.  Just don’t pass on the right.

Check out the gallery here.

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The Woodward Dream Cruise brings out lots of cool car and great parties.  This year I got the chance to drive a new “09 Dodge Ram RT.  From a distance the new Ram doesn’t look crazy new, but is more of an evolutionary design.  This is fine since the Ram has the most character of all the full sizers out there.  No need to ruin that.  Major points of interest come from the leaning , “Raming” stance and the crisp lines which make the truck look as if it has been working out during the “off-season.”  I didn’t have a camera handy so here are some pics pulled from around the web.

The exterior is a nice improvement but the big jump is on the inside.  The all new interior design is the best in all of Chrysler’s lineup.  Read more

It’s Monday so let’s start the week off with a little inspiration.  This weeks dose of Sketch P*orn shows a quick marker sketch, a little drama, slick side view and a shiny car.  Take a look and see if any of these will help you out this week.  Enjoy!

Non descript and yet very interesting.  Great teaser shot.

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This week’s WOW is Design Milk.  The site is based around great product design, with a focus on materials, colors, and manufacturing methods lending to the product’s design.  There are some great concepts on this site, especially for students looking to see what is out there (or what COULD be out there) from a materials and processes standpoint.

Design-Milk.com

CDf Episode #12: We talk about how we can love Car Design yet dislike cars at the same time, and then transition into talking about Ralph Gilles’ big move at Chrysler.

Our regular feed is down, so use the following link to download the file:

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD

DUDE! Did ya hear? Ralph is the new Veep! In a move that wasn’t necessarily shocking (although we didn’t know WHEN it would happen) Ralph Gilles will be taking over the post of Chrysler VP of Design on Sept 1st. Trevor Creed, current VP, announced his plans to retire on August 31st.

This could be just the shot in the arm that Chrysler needs: youth, energy, and a change of pace at the top.

Congrats to Ralph, and thanks to Trevor for all of the great years at the helm.

Now, about that Design Shuffle we’ve been talking about…

When we create products, we often do it to solve a specific issue or to simplify a task.  But when we design, do we keep the end user’s emotional response as a goal?

The following article (although based on web design, it extends to all forms of Product and Automotive Design) is a great look at what being “in the zone” means:  not only for us when we are designing, but for the user when they are experiencing our creation.  This feeling of being in the zone baits the user to experience more, learn from their experience, and try once again.  The cyclical “baiting” of the user allows them to enjoy (and ultimately recommend) a product more often.  Sometimes, over-simplifying a task dumbs-down the experience for the user to the point where using a product becomes a chore rather than an extension of their continued involvement.

Do you design for emotion and flow?  Or do you design to solve a problem, to get from point “A” to point “B” in the fastest, easiest way?

Article: Designing for Emotion and Flow

In this state of consciousness, people often experience intense concentration and feelings of enjoyment, coupled with peak performance. Hours pass by in what seems like minutes. We tend to enter these states in environments with few interruptions, where our attention becomes focused by a challenge that we’re confident we can handle with our existing skills. Feedback is instantaneous, so we can always judge how close we are to accomplishing our task and reaching our goal. The importance of the task influences our level of motivation and perceptions of how difficult the task will be…

For the complete article, visit Boxes and Arrows.