The murmurs of the past few weeks has finally been put to rest and made official, the Mercedes Design Team will move into the former Chrysler Advanced Design Studio in Carlsbad. This move will triple the square footage allowing the group to pursue design excellence in fullsize, a luxury that was none existent in the previous facility and in a time frame as early as July 1st. Continue reading Mercedes Takes Design Seriously →

The rumor had reached me via friends that all staff at the Chrysler Pacifica Advanced Design in Carlsbad had been given severance packages on Friday March 7th 2008, victims of the down sizing of company assets and the drop in sales. Today March 8th it is confirmed via Automotive News that all Advanced Design will be conducted at their Auburn Hills Headquarters. This studio in effect had influenced their product design with successful vehicles such as the Dodge Challenger, Chrysler 300 and Chrysler Pacifica over recent years but as many people know, all sculptors and designers in California spend most of their time at the beach! Continue reading Chrysler Pacifica Advanced Design RIP →

This time last year the top honors for Car and Truck of the year fell to the Japanese company Honda, with the Civic and the Ridgeline. The first time in the fourteen year history of the award that one company has taken both honors. Very impressive as Detroit has always been known as the home of the American auto industry, with that, the spoils for the year saw Honda increase its marketplace percentages as did Toyota at the expense of GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler.

This year the North American Car and Truck award goes to General Motors with the 49 automotive journalists appointing the Saturn Aura and the Cheverolet Silverado the winners, making it the second year in a row that one company has taken both honors, couple this with the turn around plan that Rick Wagoner has in place we could see some real momentum for 2007.

This was no easy feat when you think of the competition, the Saturn Aura edged out the Toyota Camry and the Honda Fit proving that the quality is there. The Silverado bettered the Ford Edge and the Mazda CX-7 to win its award. Now with some real contenders out in the marketplace what better time than to reveal the continual story of the Chevrolet Camaro with the Camaro convertible. With production penciled in for 2009 this will keep the palate salivating until the real vehicles emerge. Much to the Generals credit, this years offerings are all about quality and with the possible emergence of an alternative fuel vehicle such as the Chevrolet Volt, the tide could be finally turning. Continue reading GM, What a Difference a Year Makes →

Recently it was pointed out to me by one of my sculptors that International Automotive Design was once again plying for business. This once booming Automotive Design House came to an abrupt end in the early 90’s when recession hit hard and one of its largest customers collapsed, the Leyland/DAF truck conglomerate leaving the company floundering. With little chance of securing unsecured credit and revenues falling there was no other option but to sell the company to Mayflower Corp. a major producer of stampings for cars and trucks in the United States. Continue reading IAD, Rebirth of the Phoenix →