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New Director of Ford's Small and Medium Car Vehicle Center Design

20 January 1999

Chris Bird Named Director of Ford Motor Company's Small and Medium Car Vehicle Center Design; Claude Lobo Retires

     DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 20 -- Chris Bird has been appointed
Director of Design for Ford Motor Company's Small and Medium Car
Vehicle Center (SVC) Design Studio, effective Jan. 1, succeeding Claude Lobo
who is retiring.
    Bird has been a chief designer in the SVC Design Studio since September,
1998.  Previously, Bird held several positions with the German automaker Audi
Motor Company.
    "Chris will add a greater technical precision to a team of already
outstanding designers given his keen understanding of quality and
craftsmanship," said J Mays, Ford's Vice President of Design.  "He takes over
from Claude who has made a tremendous contribution to design at Ford.  Under
his leadership at the SVC, Ford's recent European models have assumed design
leadership in our industry."
    Lobo, 55, retires after a career spanning 32 years with Ford Motor Company
during which he played a key role in designing cars from the Capri right up to
the Focus, while pioneering innovations including the development of Computer
Aided Design.
    Bird, 42, began his career as an interior designer in Ford of Britain's
Design Studio in Dunton, England, following his graduation from the Royal
College of Art in London in 1981.  He then went to work for Audi AG in
Ingolstadt, Germany in 1986 and then in 1995 became chief designer,
responsible for many of the recent Audi production exterior designs including
A4, A6, A8, TT and AL2.
    "There is a real sense of purpose and energy within Product Development at
Ford and it is a very exciting time to be appointed to this position," said
Bird.  "My goal is very clear -- to build on the design leadership Ford has
established with models like the Ka, Puma and most recently the Focus."
    Lobo joined Ford of Germany's styling office as a designer in 1966 after
working first as a designer at an electric appliance company and then for
Chrysler-Simca.  In 1967, Lobo was appointed a manager of exterior design in
the newly created Ford of Europe.  Over the next two decades, he held a number
of senior design posts in Ford of Europe, including assignments in small,
medium and large car and truck design.  Lobo became chief designer of Advanced
Program Definition and Computer Aided Design for Ford of Europe in 1987.
    In 1994, Lobo was appointed Director of Ford Motor Company's Advanced
Design Studio in Dearborn, Mich.  While in this position, Lobo led the
development of several innovative concept vehicles including the Ford Indigo,
Synergy 2010 and the Mercury MC4.  He was also instrumental in the
implementation of the Computer Aided Design technology that is now widely used
throughout Design.
    He returned to Ford of Europe in 1997 as Director of Design in Ford's SVC
where he was responsible for the development of the recently introduced,
European Car of the Year, Ford Focus.
    Lobo was born in Paris, France and studied at the city's Technical College
and the Academy of Applied Arts.
    A professional race car driver in the early 1970's, Lobo won the famous
Nurburgring 24-Hours sports car race and the Marathon de la Route driving a
Ford Capri RS with Klaus Ludwig.  He also competed in the Le Mans 24-Hours.