Winners of the 'Ultimate LA Machine' Design Challenge announced

Designer Reto Brun of Volkswagen/Audi Design Center California said his studio considered two Los Angeles issues when designing the Volkswagen Mobile Lounge - an antidote to traffic and a better option for the area's "limo-centric" entertainment culture. Whisper-quiet fuel cell technology whisks occupants towards their destination while electronically controlled tinted glass, an open living space and innumerable in-car amenities provide a supremely comfortable environment.

Judging the competition were Imre Molnar of the College for Creative Studies, Detroit; Nate Young of Art Center College of Design, Pasadena; and Tom Matano of Art Academy University, San Francisco. Their decision was based on the criteria of spirit, road presence, 'brag factor', originality, 'sex appeal', function and features, and LA character.

"The contest gave designers the opportunity to venture into uncharted territory and think freely and creatively without real-world constraints," said Chuck Pelly, conference director of the auto show's Design Advisory Board, and partner of The Design Academy, Inc.
The Los Angeles area has the highest concentration of automotive design studios in the world, and as part of the LA Auto Show's 'Design LA' initiative, all 13 studios were invited to create their vision of the 'Ultimate LA Machine'.

The Dodge Superbee, from DaimlerChrysler's Pacifica Design Center, is intended to reflect the California lifestyle, allowing owners to commute efficiently during the week and providing the ultimate tool to explore the Pacific Coast Highway or Muhlholland Drive through the Santa Monica mountains on weekends. According to Brian Nielander of the Pacifica Design Center, "It's open and lightweight - almost a motorcycle on four wheels. We imagine a small two liter V8 that revs to 14,000 RPM that burns cleanly on natural gas, or how about hybrid or fuel cell power?"

All the entries were prominently displayed inside the LA Auto Show from 5-16 January.

The winners were announced at the start of the inaugural Design Los Angeles Automobile Designers Conference, held on the second media day January 6, which attracted more than 600 car designers. The inaugural conference was developed in close collaboration with the design community and spearheaded by conference director Chuck Pelly, founder of and president emeritus of BMW Group DesignworksUSA.  

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