Los Angeles auto show design contest seeks Hollywood's next hot car

Designers from the United States, Germany and Japan will compete in the 2011 Los Angeles auto show Design Challenge to create Hollywood's hottest new movie car.

The event is part of the Design Los Angeles automobile designers' conference, held annually during the L.A. auto show press days, Nov. 16-17.

For the past eight years, major studios from around the globe have competed to come up with the most innovative product based on the chosen theme. The winning design for this year's challenge will be announced on Nov. 17 during the Design Los Angeles conference at the auto show.

Judging will be based on factors such as brand attributes of the vehicle relative to the plot, how the vehicle relates to the target audience or brand, the level of uniqueness and imagination in the design, and how much character the vehicle has.

Tom Matano, director of industrial design at San Francisco's Academy of Art University, will judge the entries, along with Imre Molnar, the dean of Detroit's College for Creative Studies, and Stewart Reed, chairman of transportation design at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design. A guest judge with movie-car expertise from Pixar Animation Studios--i.e. Toy Story, Cars and Finding Nemo--will also participate.

More information and images for the Design Challenge are available at http://laautoshow.com/DesignChallenge.html.

By Michelle Koueiter