West Coast Designers: Part Two

Synopsis

Maybe it’s the warm, sunny weather. Maybe it’s the cultural diversity of the region, or even something even simpler like everyone’s just cooler on the left coast. Whatever the reason, trends start in Southern California where style is not just a mantra, but a way of life. You can see it in the shops, on the streets and in the cars. We may think it's media driven, but it's deeper than that. It's almost part of the area's DNA. So when companies and corporations start to plan their new products, it makes sense that, for the most part, SoCal is the epicenter.

And it would be a mistake to think we're just talking about "walking consumables" like food, tech and fashion. Even the OEMs have their own section of the Southern California design sandbox. Ten, eleven, as many as fourteen different design centers are located there to do their best to absorb and predict the trends that consumers will want in, on and around their future vehicles.

Joining John McElroy on this week’s deep dive into the world of automotive design are four of the top automotive artists located on the west coast. Kevin Hunter is the President of Toyota’s Calty Design Research Center located in Newport Beach. Dave Marek is the Chief Designer at Honda’s Advanced Design Studio in Pasadena. Franz von Holzhausen is the Director of Design for Mazda’s North American Operations and Joel Piaskowski is the Chief Designer at the Hyundai Kia Design and Technical Center both located not too far from each other in Irvine. Together all four will talk in-depth about style, trends, SoCal and how their studios plan and predict for the future.

So get ready for a unique look behind the automotive style curtain on this week's edition of "Autoline in LA".

For more from our LA series visit www.autolinedetroit.tv/LA