Dodge and Volkswagen Design Studios Win Top Honors in Design Challenge at Los Angeles Auto Show

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LOS ANGELES, Jan. 15, 2005 -- The judges of the Los Angeles Auto Show's Design Challenge have named the Dodge Superbee and Volkswagen Mobile Lounge as joint-winners of the first-ever automobile design studio competition.

As part of the auto show's Design Los Angeles theme and automobile designers' conference, studios were invited to create their vision of the "Ultimate LA Machine," and each rose to the challenge, presenting a dazzling variety of 2-D renderings. The Los Angeles area has the highest concentration of automobile manufacturer design studios in the world, according to Truman Pollard, chief designer at Mazda Research & Development.

The Dodge Superbee, from DaimlerChrysler's Pacifica Design Center, is intended to reflect the California lifestyle, allowing owners to commute efficiently during the week and providing the ultimate tool to explore the Pacific Coast Highway on weekends. According to Brian Nielander of the Pacifica Design Center, "It's open and lightweight -- almost a motorcycle on four wheels."

Designer Reto Brun of Volkswagen/Audi Design Center California said his studio considered two Los Angeles issues when designing the Volkswagen Mobile Lounge -- an antidote to traffic and a better option for the area's "limo-centric" entertainment culture. Whisper-quiet fuel cell technology whisks occupants towards their destination while electronically controlled tinted glass, an open living space and innumerable in-car amenities provide a supremely comfortable environment.

   The highly imaginative and entertaining entries were:

   California Spyder          BMW Group DesignworksUSA
   Dodge Superbee*            DaimlerChrysler's Pacifica Design Center
   Ford Scout 7               California Advanced Product Creation
   Honda C2C                  Honda Research & Development
   Hummer Hr                  General Motors' 5350 Industrial Concepts
   Hyundai NTT                Hyundai Kia America Design Center
   Kia Kitsch                 Hyundai Kia America Design Center
   Lexus L500                 Calty Design Research
   Mazda Shinzui              Mazda Research & Design
   Flugel Tue                 Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design of North America
   Mini Canyon Carver         BMW Group DesignworksUSA
   Mitsubishi Goku shin ka    Mitsubishi Research & Design of North America
   Volkswagen Mobile Lounge*  Volkswagen/Audi Design Center California

   * Joint-winners

Judging the competition were Imre Molnar of the College for Creative Studies, Detroit; Nate Young of Art Center College of Design, Pasadena; and Tom Matano of Art Academy University, San Francisco. Their decision was based on the criteria of spirit, road presence, "brag factor," originality, "sex appeal," function and features, and LA character.

"The contest gave designers the opportunity to venture into uncharted territory and think freely and creatively without real-world constraints," explained Chuck Pelly, conference director and partner in The Design Academy, Inc.

"The Design Challenge was a great outlet for the studios to really show their stuff and let their creativity fly."