EyesOn Design Announces Bob Lutz As Winner of 2008 Lifetime Design Achievement
Award
DETROIT, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Philip C Hessburg, MD, President of the
Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology, announced that Mr Robert Lutz has been
selected as the winner of the 2008 Lifetime Design Achievement Award. The
award will be presented during the EyesOn Design 2008 weekend of June 15th.
But is Bob Lutz a designer??
This award is selected by a vote of the previous award winners. Only once
before has a winner been selected by EyesOn Design who was not a traditionally
trained designer. In 1992 Sir William Lyons, the father of Jaguar design, was
honored.
Over the years, it has been noted that Bob Lutz is not a designer, not an
engineer, and not a product development expert. But he has been a significant
influence on the design of more cars on the world's highways than any person
alive.
The list of living previous winners that form the selection committee are
truly a Who's Who of automotive design; Tom Gale, Giorgetto Giugiaro, Chuck
Jordan, Homer LaGassey, Chuck Pelly, Sergio Pininfarina, Bruno Sacco, Jack
Telnack and Marcello Gandini.
Some of the ballots came back to the DIO with comments. One of the most
interesting was that of Jack Telnack, Vice President of Design, Ford Motor
Company (Ret.) the "Father of the Taurus" who noted:
"Bob is the consummate car guy who has had and I believe is still having a
significant impact on automotive design. He is the only executive I know in
the business who practices design without a license and has supported
designers at all three major American automotive companies. Case in point: if
it were not for Bob's emotional connection with design and backing, I may not
have convinced top management at Ford that the original Taurus design was the
wave of the future.
"Ask me how I feel about Bob!"
EyesOn Design is a benefit for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology
(DIO), a not-for-profit IRS 501(c)3 corporation. EyesOn Design is a major
source of revenue 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 website: www.eyeson.org
SOURCE General Motors Corporation
Judi Dara of EyesOn Design, +1-313-824-4710, jdara@mycomcast.com
