Design isn’t a dead end

Re “Stalled at the starting line,” Dec. 15

Your article does a great disservice not only to the talented graduates of the Art Center College of Design but also to the automotive industry as a whole.

Sure, these are difficult times for Ford, GM and Chrysler -- and if you are a recent graduate hoping to work for the Big Three, you very well may feel stranded.

But there are a significant number of automotive studios that are focused on the creation of innovative approaches to fuel efficiency, alternative fuels and new modes of transportation. These firms continue to seek out talented young designers.

During the last 18 months, Art Center graduates have taken jobs at Honda, Bright Automotive, Fisker Automotive, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Citroen, Andus, KIA and Michelin.

The notion that a young transportation designer’s future rests solely on the shoulders of the Big Three is deeply flawed and retrograde -- and overlooks the growing number of job opportunities that are spawning a new age in transportation design.

Stewart Reed

Pasadena

The writer is the chair of transportation design at the Art Center College of Design.

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I graduated from the Art Center College of Design in 1966. Shortly thereafter, I was in Detroit touring Chrysler’s plant, doing research for a Plymouth ad campaign.

My plant tour was eye-opening. I was impressed with the innovation and determination displayed by Chrysler’s young engineers, who were my age and were working hard to create a more competitive Chrysler product.

I asked them, “Why aren’t we seeing what you’re creating in showrooms?” Their frustrated reply: “Our marketing department never lets it happen.”

Detroit can do it. It always could -- if its marketers would get out of the way of innovative engineering. Don’t blame labor and don’t blame engineering for the demise of Detroit. Dump Detroit’s road-blocking marketers and American automobile ingenuity would again rule our roads.

It’s all there. It’s always been there, locked away from public view and our showrooms.

Jerry Collamer

San Clemente