Winners of World Automotive Design Competition Announced

The design field in the auto industry recently has been given a hand by Autodesk, a leading software and service company for the manufacturing, infrastructure, building, media and entertainment, and wireless data services fields. The said company has organized the World Automotive Design Competition (WADC) in an effort to give the automotive industry a source of new automotive design talent.

It is the fifth time that the company has sponsored a competition geared towards the promotion of automotive design among students. The competition serves the automotive industry just like what a BBK cold air intake performs so that it improves the performance of a vehicle. In the same sense, the competition increases the potential of the automotive industry.

The said competition is aimed to instill in the minds of students that the automotive design field is an accessible career choice. The challenge is to make the field more desirable for students all over the world. The competition was made for students to showcase their skills in the designing of cars. The design challenge for this year is for student competitors to conceive and design a car that will be appealing not only for the younger generation drivers but also for the aging generation as well. The car that they would design must also address the current environmental problems that the global community is facing. In the design process, the students should keep in mind that they are aiming for their cars to be released for the 2014 model year. Eighteen schools from eleven countries were represented at the said competition.

After much deliberation on the part of the judges, the winners were chosen and then were announced just recently in connection with the 2007 Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS). Taking the first place is Paul Kim from the Academy of Art University of San Francisco. His Ford Legion caught the attention and interest of the judges with its bold and distinctive exterior. Moray Callum, the design director for Ford North America, is one of the judges and he has all praises for Paul Kim’s work. “Paul has done a great job of thinking of how the vehicle will actually be used and has introduced a lot of creative solutions for the customer,” Callum said. Paul Kim will take home $10,000 which will be the prize for the first place winner.

Another student from the Academy of Art University of San Francisco won at the fifth WADC. Bagging the second place is Ryan Campbell with his VW Connextion. His entry to the competition is a two seater roadster which he describes will pull the generations of enthusiasts together. Dan Sims, the general manager of the MRDA Design Studio for Mitsubishi Motors North America, Incorporated, is also a member of the panel of judges and also commended the work of Campbell in his statement: “Ryan’s VW Connextion is a cleverly designed two seat roadster, with well designed details that make this concept fresh and attractive.” Sims further added that “it is a car that I would have wanted in high school and now.” Campbell pocketed $7,500 for placing second.

The third place was won by Matthew Finbow from Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning of Toronto. His entry is the Concourse. Judge Ken Gross of Edmunds.com stated that “Finbow’s Concourse is exceptionally flexible. Concourse is defined as a meeting of friends, a place where people feel welcome, and this design would appeal, in his words, ‘to the young and the young at heart’. The Concourse has a futuristic look and its six seats and interior can be configured many different ways and safety has not been neglected. This imaginative but feasible presentation by Matthew is certainly one of the interest.” Finbow takes home $5,000 as the third placer.