Front-seat drivers
Many Southern California auto design studios serve primarily as think tanks and don’t focus on creating cars that ultimately will sit in people’s driveways. But a number of notable production vehicles have been conceived in the L.A. region. Here are some key models, and the years they were introduced:
Toyota Celica
1976 Calty Design Research, Newport Beach
Mitsubishi Mirage
1989 Mitsubishi Research and Design, CypressMazda Miata
1990 Mazda Design North America, IrvineLexus SC400
1991 Calty Design ResearchHonda Civic Coupe
1993 Honda R&D Americas, TorranceAcura TL
1997 Honda R&D AmericasPlymouth Prowler
1997 Chrysler’s Pacifica AdvancedDesign Studio, CarlsbadBMW 3-Series
1998 Designworks USA, Thousand OaksVW New Beetle
1998 Volkswagen Design CenterCalifornia, Simi Valley (studio movedto Santa Monica earlier this year)Nissan Titan
2003 Nissan Design America, La Jolla
Ford Mustang
2005 Ford Design California, Valencia (studio moved to Irvine in 2005)Pontiac Solstice
2005 GM Advanced Design, North HollywoodToyota FJ Cruiser
2006 Calty Design Research
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