2008 EyesOn Design Awards

I was once told that the EyesOn Design Awards was initially conceived as an award by which a vehicle would be judged by visually-impaired individuals. The prerequisite for winning was that the beauty of a vehicle would have to be determined solely through the medium of touch.

Though it may seem odd that the award is presented by the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology (DIO) - an internationally-recognized non-profit organization known for helping the blind and visually-impaired - it has since grown to become one of the most prestigious automotive design award ceremonies to date.

And it's no surprise, given that the third anniversary of the EyesOn Design awards at the NAIAS was presided over by BMW Group Design Chief Chris Bangle, former Ford Global Design VP Jack Telnack, and Nate Young of the Art Center College of Design; the chief judges of the event. The panel of 20 judges also included Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Automotive; Fabrizio Guigiaro of Italdesign; Ed Welburn VP of Global Design at GM; Shiro Nakamura, VP and Chief Creative Officer at Nissan; Franz von Holzhausen, Director of Design at Mazda; Dave Marek, Chief Designer at Honda R&D; Tom Matano, former General Manager of Design at Mazda; and Willie G Davidson, Senior VP and Chief Styling Officer at Harley Davidson Motorcycles - to name a few. 

The panel reviewed the nearly 50 production and concept vehicles that had made the shortlist and whittled down their selections to one vehicle for each of the two production categories: Best Production Car and Best Production Truck. Another two vehicles were awarded awards in the two concept categories.

As you have may have read in our Detroit Auto Show Highlights, we were impressed with the recipients of this year's crystal awards, which yielded impressive results for General Motors. While the global giant had already won an award for the Best Concept Implementation for the Cadillac CTS last year, GM took home not one but two awards in both the production and concept car categories for derivations of the same car - the Cadillac CTS-V and the CTS Coupe concept.

"It's a personal honor to guide the future of Cadillac and GM," said Eric Clough, Director of Design of Cadillac Interiors, "The only thing better than winning one of these awards is winning two!" Clough was joined by his colleague, John Manoogian II, Cadillac Studio Director of Exterior Design, in accepting both Cadillac CTS awards.

Best Production Truck was awarded to the BMW X6, even though the manufacturer refers to the vehicle as a Sports Activity Coupe. It was accepted by Anders Warming, Exterior Design Director of BMW Cars, on behalf of the entire BMW Design Team.

"I would call it automotive royalty right here in front of us," Warming said of the illustrious panel of automotive design professionals that made up the EyesOn Design judges.  "This is truly a significant honor."

His respect for the EyesOn Design panel was shared by the designers that accepted the award for Best Concept Truck, garnered by the forward-thinking Chrysler ecoVoyager concept.

"Last year I had the opportunity to walk the floor with the judges for EyesOn Design, so I know what it takes to win one of these awards," said designer Greg Howell, who jointly accepted the award with colleague Tyonek Stump, interior designer of the ecoVoyager concept.

The winners were announced in the final press conference of the 2008 NAIAS, which featured Master of Ceremonies John McElroy of TV fame. Event sponsor guests Annie Asensio of Dassault Systemes and David Amati of the 2008 SAE World Congress presented each of the four winners with unique crystal awards that have been a trademark of EyesOn Design events for nearly 20 years.

Related Stories:
Cadillac CTS Coupe concept - Detroit 2008
Chrysler ecoVoyager - Detroit 2008
New Car: BMW X6

By Eric Gallina