Organization
Contact:
Judi Dara
313 824 4710
jdara@mycomcast.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Legendary Automotive Designer Jack Telnack selected for the 2006 EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award
GROSSE POINTE PARK, MI., April 25, 2006 - EyesOn Design, the world’s only car show to focus on the emotion and character of automotive design, today announced that Jack Telnack, legendary Vice President Design (retired) for Ford Motor Company, has been selected to receive the prestigious EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award. The award will be presented at the19th Annual EyesOn Design Automotive Design Exhibition, on Sunday, June 18, Father’s Day, at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores, MI.
Telnack’s design leadership at Ford helped strengthen the company by giving it the creativity it needed during an era of difficulty. He led the Ford design team in creating the celebrated 1986 Ford Taurus. Over the years, nearly seven million have been sold, making Taurus one of the most popular selling cars ever produced by Ford. Many believe it was the Taurus design that strengthened Ford and brought it back to financial soundness after several years of struggle.
When Telnack retired from Ford in 1997, John Herlitz, then vice president of vehicle design at Chrysler, noted, “Jack was more influential than anyone in breaking that mold (American gimmicky design) with the 1986 Taurus. He brought European design ethics to the American scene. He helped a lot of us trash the old trappings of Detroit. He marked the end of the tail fin era.”
Among many other highlights in his career, Mr Telnack is credited with the original drawings of the 1983 Thunderbird. In addition, Automotive Industries magazine named him 1989 Man of the Year.
Telnack, a 1958 graduate of Pasadena’s Art Center College, joined Ford immediately upon graduation and spent his career there. Just prior to retirement he was moving Ford away from the initial aerodynamic concept towards “New Edge” design. He remains active as a designer in Florida of both boats and related products and vehicles.
Recognizing Jack Telnack with the EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award is especially noteworthy, given that in 1988, Telnack, along with Tom Gale, VP of design at Chrysler, and Chuck Jordan, VP of design at General Motors, came together to help create the EyesOn Design event itself. Working with two other icons in the automotive industry, retired GM designer, Richard Ruzzin and Detroit-based automotive publishing giant & businessman Keith Crain, created what is known today as one of the top annual car shows in the US. Originally called Eyes on The Classics, EyesOn Design is considered one of the “must attend” events by industry executives, automotive journalists and people who just love cars.
The theme for the 2006 EyesOn Design Automotive Exhibit is the “Art of Design” and will feature approximately fourteen categories of cars. Each category corresponds with a different art trend that has been reflected in vehicle design styles. Among them will be cars in categories such as Abstract Expressionism, Cubism/Futurism (1960s), Found Art, The Traditional Hot Rod, Modernism (1950s), Motorcycles, Performance Art (Race Cars), Pop Art (Muscle Cars), Realism (1940s), Renaissance (Classics), Romanesque (Sports Cars), Romanticism (British).
Tickets for the 2006 EyesOn Design Automotive Exhibit can be obtained by calling EyesOn Design at 313.824.EYES (3937).
EyesOn Design is a benefit for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology (DIO), a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. EyesOn Design is the primary source of revenues for the DIO’s research, education and support group programs that enhance the independence of the visually impaired. For more information about EyesOn Design and the DIO, visit our website: www.eyeson.org
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