WardsAuto Interiors Student Design Finalists Envision Pick-Ups and Mobile Offices from Luxury Auto Brands

All 15 innovative student designs on display at WardsAuto booth, SAE World Congress Experience – April 4 to 6, Detroit, MI

Detroit, MI, April 4, 2017 – Bentley, Lamborghini and other ultra-luxury brands are bringing utility vehicles to market. Mercedes-Benz is even rolling out a pickup truck. What other new types of vehicles can be created as consumers lose interest in traditional luxury sedans?

That was the latest challenge to College for Creative Studies students for the WardsAuto Interiors Student Design Competition and once again they delivered a wide variety of fascinating, futuristic concepts.

Sponsored by International Automotive Components (IAC) and Lear Automotive, with support from SAE International, the seventh-annual competition has a history of helping graduating design students capture attention, and job offers, from major automakers and suppliers.

The five finalists for the Grand Prize are:

Eileen Hwang
Dong Hun Joung
Jisang Kim
Jenn (Hyojin) Lim
Eugene Suh

The competition was judged by leading interior designers from four automakers:

Ryan Patrick Joyce, Design Manager - Jeep Interiors, FCA Product Design Office
Ariel Choi, Lead Designer, Calty Design Research Inc.
Chris Hilts, Global Director of Design, Buick Interiors, General Motors
Ryan Niemiec, Interior Design Manager, Lincoln Motor Company

In addition to competing for the Grand Prize, the five finalists are also in consideration for two special awards from the competition sponsors. The Lear Innovation Award is an honor bestowed on the design that incorporates an especially unique application of new technology to solve a transportation challenge. And the IAC Eco Blend Award recognizes the design that judges feel includes the most visionary use of Earth-friendly materials.

The course is taught by Brian Stoeckel, who is a creative designer for Chevrolet Performance Interiors at General Motors.

"We always enjoy putting this competition together," said WardsAuto Senior Content Director Drew Winter. "WardsAuto has a mission of staying ahead of the curve in design trends and implementations of new technologies and materials. So working with these students – tomorrow's automotive designers – gives us a glimpse into the future, a focus on some things we might see in showrooms ten years from now."

The winning student designs will be on display in the WardsAuto booth at SAE World Congress Experience on April 3 – 5 in Detroit's Cobo Center. The students will also be honored in a special award ceremony during the WardsAuto Interiors Conference on May 9 in Detroit, where the prize winners will be announced and awarded. For more details, or to register for this day-long event focused on advancements in auto interior design and technologies, visit autointeriors.com.

About WardsAuto
WardsAuto is a world-leading provider of automotive insights and analysis, having served the industry's information needs for more than 90 years. A Southfield, MI-based division of the Penton Commercial Vehicle Group, WardsAuto provides a forward-looking perspective on all aspects of the automotive business. Its WardsAuto Intelligence unit offers the premium WardsAuto.com resource and suite of customizable data reporting tools, multiple detailed forecasts on industry sales and production, the quarterly WardsAuto Outlook conference series, special reports and more. Learn more at http://intelligence.wardsauto.com.

About Informa
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