New Design Chief to Take the Wheel of London Design Entity, Aston Martin

    LONDON, Aug. 15 Ford Motor Company has named Henrik Fisker
as creative director of the company's London Design Enterprise in the heart of
Soho and at the same time he has been appointed by Aston Martin as its new
design director.  This will take effect from Sept. 1.

    "Henrik is a strong addition to our team -- and is among several new
players joining our strong lineup and helping make our global design
organization the best in the world," says J Mays, Ford Motor Company vice
president of Design.  "It goes without saying that Henrik's a talented
designer, but his strong business sense and background make him uniquely
qualified for this position."

    Prior to joining the company, the Danish designer was president and chief
executive officer of Designworks/USA, a subsidiary of BMW headquartered in
Newbury Park, Calif., with a European office in Munich, Germany.  Under
Fisker's direction, the industrial design firm created a variety of concept
cars and products for companies spanning the globe -- including office
organizers, mobile phones, bicycle seats and snowboard graphics.

    Before his appointment at Designworks/USA in January 2000, Fisker was a
designer at BMW AG, which is BMW's design headquarters.

    Among other projects, from 1992 to 1997, he designed the exterior of the
Z07 concept car and the exterior of the product Z8 roadster that was launched
in 1999.  From 1989 to 1992, Fisker worked as a designer at BMW Technik GmbH,
which is BMW's advanced design studio in Munich.

    This fall, Fisker will discuss more fully his vision for the London Design
Enterprise, a Ford Motor Company subsidiary where a team of 30 designers will
explore new ideas in, among other areas, product design and marketing
strategies relating to growing brands including those in the Premier
Automotive Group.

    "The new London Design Enterprise and the introduction of Henrik Fisker
provide us greater flexibility," says Mays.  "We'll have a guaranteed pool of
creativity so our whole range of products will stay fresh and, at the same
time, Ian Callum -- who has been working as design director of both Aston
Martin and Jaguar --  will be able to focus exclusively on the growing
business at Jaguar."

    Dr. Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin, says:  "We are sorry to lose Ian
Callum as he has contributed so much to the design element of Aston Martin.
In particular the DB7 -- our most successful car of all time -- and more
recently the Vanquish which has been recognized as a design benchmark.
However, Ian has to dedicate himself to Jaguar and his focus will be similar
to the work he did for Aston Martin aimed at moving the design work forward.

    "Henrik Fisker brings a wealth of experience with him and we look forward
to working with him.  He joins us at an important point in helping to shape
Aston Martin's future."

    Fisker says he's eager to start building on the tradition and helping
create classic, powerful designs for Aston Martin products.

    "Aston Martin has a great heritage and a great future," Fisker says.  "My
challenge will be to create forms and shapes that are timeless and can only
come to life with the artistry and hand work that are unique to Aston Martin."