EyesOn Design hosted the annual Design Excellence awards ceremony this past week, honoring the people and the vehicles the 36-strong jury panel deemed the most successful and worthy contenders at the 2015 Detroit auto show.
Chief judges on the 2015 jury panel included Ford’s now retired VP of Design Jack Telnak (the 2006 EyesOn Design Lifetime Design Achievement Award winner) as well as Stewart Reed, Chair of the Transportation Design program at Art Center College of Design.
The awards honor the most significant automotive designs revealed at NAIAS as determined by the North American and global leaders of design from automotive manufacturers, along with academic chairs of transportation design programs and design leaders from other fields.
The Best Production Car award went to the Ford GT, which the judges felt “captured the spirit of original a very contemporary way” and showed “the optimism of the brand and industry.” Other contenders for the Best Production award were the Acura NSX and Mercedes GLE, but the Ford GT undeniably stood out as the overall winner.
Chris Svennson, Ford’s design director for The Americas, accepted the award by calling the entire design team up to the stage, thanking the EyesOn jury for recognizing the achievement and concluding: “Well done design team. Fantastic job!”
The Buick Avenir concept took home two awards, one for the Best Concept and another for the Most Innovative Use of Color Graphics and Materials, which was accepted by representatives from GM’s color and trim department.
Accepting the award, the color and trim department cited how the design team in Australia and North America “worked hard and in unison” to develop the concept. The Avenir beat the Audi Q7, Mercedes F015 and VW Cross Coupe concept for the win.
The jury also awarded the Avenir concept, developed by GM’s design teams in Australia and North America, with the Best Concept award, citing the “proportions of GT” as well as the car’s “presence and sportiness”. Other contenders included the Chevrolet Bolt and Mercedes F 015 concepts.
