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Porsche 918 RSR and the Audi A6 Win EyesOn Design Awards at NAIAS 2011

EyesOn Design Awards at the North American International Auto Show 2011
The Porsche 918 RSR and the Audi A6 won the 2011 EyesOn Design Awards at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). To be eligible for the awards, the vehicles must make their debut during NAIAS.

The awards are judged by top design executives from automotive manufacturers and by academics from transportation design programs. Leading the judges were Willie G. Davidson—Harley-Davidson, EVP & Chief Styling Officer; Tom Matano, Academy of Art University, Executive Director of Industrial Design; and Jack Telnack, Ford Motor Company, Global VP of Design (Retired). Speaking of NAIAS and the OEMs’ commitment to design, Telnack said of this year’s NAIAS and Awards, “The lights are brighter, the cars are brighter.”

The Porsche 918 RSR won the EyesOn Design Award for Best Concept Vehicle. Accepting the award for Porsche was Detlev von Platen, the president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America Inc. “Design is part of our vision. Design is in our DNA,” von Platen said. The other concept vehicle finalists were the Ford Vertrek and the Kia KV7. The award was supported by Dassault Systemes.

The 2011 Audi A6 won the EyesOn Design Award for Best Production Vehicle. Accepting the award for Audi was Achim Badstuebner, head of exterior design for Audi AG. Commenting on the award, he said, “It’s strong feedback that we have done our homework.” Audi has received four EyesOn Design Awards over the past three years. The other finalists were the Audi A6, Bentley Continential GT, BMW 6-Series Convertible, and Hyundai Veloster.

EyesOn Design at the North American International Auto Show is sponsored by the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology (DIO) as part of the EyesOn Design series of events. The DIO is a not-for-profit that aids the visually impaired and facilitates research related to the eye. Each year, they host the EyesOn Design automotive exhibition at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe, Michigan that also focuses on design. The show is recognized by its peers as one of the best classic car shows in the country. The DIO enjoys a close relationship with automotive designers through the EyesOn Design events and by understanding the correlation between design and the eye.

The event was sponsored by Dassault Systemes and EyesOn Design in Grosse Pointe. The post-awards event Focus on Design was sponsored by BASF and KPMG

Shiro Nakamura to receive major design award

EyesOn Design kicks off 2010 year with announcement

The Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology announced that Shiro Nakamura, Senior Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, Nissan Motor Company Ltd, has been elected as the Lifetime Design Achievement Award winner for the EyesOn Design Automotive Exhibit, 2010.

The award itself is unique in that only those designers who have previously won the award are allowed to vote. As a young man, and to this day, Mr. Nakamura has listed as favorite cars the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed 1964 Alpha Romeo Canguro and Sergio Pininfarina’s 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB Berlinetta. Both of these design heroes are on the DIO’s panel of previous winners who elected Mr. Nakamura to this high honor.

Mr. Nakamura, almost always listed in the press as “the Dapper Mr. Nakamura,” is a fascinating man. An accomplished musician, who at one time sat in at a Ginza jazz club as a bass player, also counts Miles Davis among his heroes. Not to be musically narrow-minded, he also plays classical music with his cello. Think Bach!

But the design legends who added to their very select list with his election to the Lifetime Design Achievement Award may not even have known of his musical prowess. They voted him in for his design successes. Among the many are the Nissan 370Z, Murano, cube, GT-R and Infiniti G37, FX and Essence Concept.

Born in Osaka, Japan in October 1950, Mr. Nakamura graduated from Tokyo’s Musashino Art University with a Bachelor of Art degree in Product Design and immediately joined Isuzu. Several years later he came to the United States and graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Transportation from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, Calif. Then, after stays at Isuzu in Europe and General Motors in Detroit, he was wooed by Carlos Ghosn in 1999 to join Nissan. In 2000, he was named head of global design for Nissan and Infiniti, and he was promoted to Senior Vice President, Design in April 2001. In 2006, he was named Chief Creative Officer and has been responsible for brand management, as well.

Mr. Nakamura is well-known to the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology since he has, on multiple occasions, served on the EyesOn Design panel of OEM global design leaders who judge concept and production vehicles introduced in Detroit each January at the North American International Auto Show.

The Lifetime Design Achievement Award will be presented in June 2010 at the EyesOn Design event, held annually on Father’s Day at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe, Mich.

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