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American auto design, part 1
By Rain Noe - May 21, 2007
Dismal financial performance aside, Chrysler is still a damn sight better than its two American competitors when it comes to design. While Ford and GM have looked backwards for inspiration (the Mustang, the T-bird, the SSR) it was Chrysler that invigorated the shape of American automobiles beginning in the '90s, with a unified design language expressed in grills and headlights, new cab-forward profiles from young-buck designers like Mike Santoro, and the instantly-classic lines of the 300, the Charger and the Prowler. (Sure, you could argue the Prowler is as guiltily retro as the SSR and the 'Stang, but its undeniably deviant form factor simply never fails to turn heads.)
Now Chrysler's design group is seeing a staff shuffle. Design veeps David McKinnon and Thomas Tremont are stepping down, to be replaced by Joseph Dehner and Brandon Faurote, respectively. Whether this will be good or bad remains to be seen; old hands McKinnon and Tremont had their hands on the groundbreaking 300 and the Prowler, while Dehner and Faurote have worked on the ho-hum Sebring and 1999 Jeep Cherokee, respectively. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
Rain Noe
Rain Noe is a writer and industrial designer based in New York City.
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By squirrelbait - May 20, 2007
New York Design Week 2007 : ICFF : CC11 at Danish Crafts
Last year, Soren Ulrik Petersen was our clear favorite at the Danish Crafts booth with the Stick in a Box wonder-cooking utensil. It made an appearance again this year, but with a few new accompaniments worthy of a mention. Danish goldsmith Kim Buck took the idea of a mylar balloon...
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By squirrelbait - May 18, 2007
Trash Talk with frog design's Ashely Menger
We love the hands-on effort with this project: In order to shed light on unneeded overconsumption and the accelerated production of trash, frog design technologist Ashley Menger will go without a trash can for the next two weeks blogging her experience on Trash Talk, as part of frog's current green...
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By squirrelbait - May 18, 2007
Luke Wolfson documents Danone bottle-scape at Torino after Milan Design Week
Luke Woolfson sent us this photo essay revolving around creative trashing spots for these bright pink Danone yogurt drink bottles that were being handed out for free during Milan Design Week. The trash cans got so packed that yogurt-slurping design fans resorted to careless, yet, in some cases, quite neat...
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By squirrelbait - May 18, 2007
International transport innovations that Americans can learn from
This has been up on Good for a little while, but is too, er, good to pass up! While its made clear that Americans are trying, and have a few sweet trans nuggets here and there, we can learn a lot from what our friends around the world have already...
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