car design thread

Gotta love a headline like this one.....
VW Replaces Design Chief Because CEO Was Reportedly Unimpressed With His Work

Bentley's Andreas Mindt will become the new head of Volkswagen brand design

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by Sebastien Bell
January 20, 2023 at 20:05
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• Automobilwoche says that the change will take place on February 1, citing unnamed sources within VW’s corporate circles. Kaban apparently failed to impress VW brand CEO Thomas Schäfer and the board with his work on the ID.2 city car, which was previewed with the ID. LIFE concept, and it will reportedly be up to Mindt to revise the design.
  
  Read: Ousted VW Boss Herbert Diess Resurfaces As Head Of Chipmaker Infineon
  
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  Jozef Kaban next to the ID. LIFE concept
  Kaban came to Volkswagen from BMW in 2020, though he worked at various Volkswagen Group brands between 2003 and 2017. The designer will become the third ex-BMW employee to leave his role, following the exits of former CEO Herbert Diess and Murat Aksel, who acted as purchasing director.
  
  Indeed, the Volkswagen brand is going through something of an upheaval in terms of designers. In December, Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume sacked Klaus Zyciora as head of design for the group, replacing him with Porsche’s Michael Maurer.
  
  Naturally, Kaban’s departure will have knockdown effects. With Mindt set to replace him, his role at Bentley will be filled by Tobias Sühlmann. Currently the head of exterior design in Crewe, the move should be a comfortable one for the man who has been with the British company since 2021, having previously worked at Bugatti.
  
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  Kaban, though, will not be fired. Reports suggest that executives are not displeased enough with his work to part ways completely, but will instead give him a new task within the organization. What that role will be, though, is not yet clear.
  
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Thanks for the photos.
Friend of mine has his roadster there.

 

He’s going to Bonneville with it!

 

Nope, this will be his first shot at 200

 

He’s spent a number of years getting it to where it is. Larry was the designer that did Cadzilla for Billy Gibbons. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
We worked together at GM Design, then he left for Ford. Later he was Chair of the Trans Dept at CCS here in MoTown.

 

Earls Court, London, England. October 1960. Battista Farina (second from right) pictured with the Farina-Bodied Chevrolet Corvair. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

That summed it up nicely!

 

MAZDA, TWO GENERATIONS OF DESIGNERS IN COMPARISON
Home/NEWS/MAZDA, TWO GENERATIONS OF DESIGNERS IN COMPARISON

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Tom Matano – one of the creators of the MX-5 – and Jo Stenuit – Design Director of Mazda Motor Europe – talk about what makes Mazda design unique and what differences and similarities they see between the design and designer generations.

What are the biggest challenges and successes when it comes to designing a car?
Tom Matano: “Your initial styling theme has to make it to mass production without losing its essence, passing the meticulous scrutiny associated with the product design and production phase. In my time, we achieved this with the RX-7 FD, Miata NA/NB, MX-6 and Mazda3. The great team of Mazda engineers supported the styling vision and worked with us”.

Jo Stenuit: “The challenge is to design and meet numerous requirements while ensuring that your vision as a car designer is not lost. It works if you focus completely on your goal (in Mazda’s case: Kodo design) and communicate regularly with all stakeholders within the company. Success comes if all the designers and engineers are happy with their contribution and our customers like the car”.

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What are the differences and similarities between designers of different generations?

Jo Stenuit: ‘Obviously the two of us designed for a different generation of customers, but in principle the car design remained very similar. We are both passionate about cars and want to create cars that make people excited. Modern cars are much more complex and require a more holistic design approach. A very big change is also the internationalisation of car design. Having a team of Europeans, Russians, Chinese and Indians all together is made possible by a connected world, which also makes it much more competitive than before’.

For Tom Matano, there are differences based on their age groups due to their own experience at different stages of life. “Along with new technologies, there are new materials and evolving production processes that influence the design outcome. Other factors are regulatory changes that influence fundamental changes in architecture, such as safety or fuel consumption regulations that require much greater aerodynamic efficiency and lighter weights. Or the zero-emission/zero-carbon sustainability movements.

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What is the main memory when you think back on your career at Mazda?

For Matano, being lucky to be in the right place at the right time and being able to work with the right people. “I have been able to use all my knowledge and life experiences working in the US, Europe and Japan, and working with the best talent worldwide. For example, Mazda designer Ikuo Maeda. He has been a key player during my career and was my protégé in the US when we started to develop our design vision and philosophy in the late 1990s. Ikuo Maeda has become a true world leader in design’.

Jo Stenuit adds: “I was lucky too. Lucky to work for a company that allows you to express yourself and expects you to have your own opinion and your own way of working, that allows you to influence what happens in the Hiroshima headquarters and to be strongly focused. I will always remember my two years in Japan as one of the highlights of my life and work because being immersed in Japanese culture is a truly unique and heart-warming experience’.

By A&D|2 February 2023|NEWS

 

additional shots of Larry's roadster

"The last day of the Grand National Roadster Show and the first day to catch your breath. We had most of the team here but a big part of the team is still in Michigan. It’s a skilled group that gets 776 to Bonneville. Julie and Gary along with the support of Ed and Dave got the new motor assembled, dynoed, into the car and ready to go. Some fuel, a little water, a lot of salt and it’s ready to run."
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His 'vision'

 

not going to happen with a 4bbl, of course