Sit inside, check the interior, slam a few doors and enjoy the auto industry’s latest designs when the San Diego International Auto Show fills the Convention Center, Dec. 26 through 30.
It’s an annual attraction when many of the latest polished, carpeted models sparkle their best.
If you’re Clay Dean, design director for GM’s Malibu, it represents a “freshened” car for the next three years. The challenge: Toyota’s Camry and Honda’s Accord, with combined sales of a million units.
Dean, 48, has been an integral part of the team responsible for the company’s revitalization.
The Malibu hit San Diego showrooms this fall. CNN Money named the Malibu one of the top 10 cars to look for in 2008 and Business Week applauded the GM designers’ work on the car.
A Poway High graduate who obtained a degree in industrial and transportation design at BYU, Dean has been with General Motors since 1988. He resides in Rochester, Mich., with his wife Tonya and their five children.
“You try to understand the customer needs and what the competition is doing,” Dean said. “We move the elements around and then start sketching. If we find the sketches exciting, we’ll do scale models and find one we like. Then we take it to full size.”
Currently he is with GM’s small and midsize cars. But he has worked with the Camaro, Corvette, Saturn Aura and even the Hummer. With a fondness for racing, he supported GM’s activities in motorsports and high performance specialty vehicles such as Chevy’s newly released Cobalt SS.
GM has 11 design facilities around the world on multiple projects. The design business has expanded a great deal.
The Chevy Malibu has been redesigned on a new global GM platform with a more powerful V-6 engine, a roomier layout and available side-curtain airbags and adjustable pedal.
“You’d change the design every year but there weren’t as many cars as there are today,” Dean said (Motor Trend recently reported 166 different models). “Today you have a lot more choices. You try to keep it fresh for the next three years. You move around about three or four years. We grow in our career and experiences. Now I’m responsible for Global Cadillac.
“My responsibly is exterior design, collaborating with other engineers to see what we have to do. We’ll build prototypes and drive all around the country with them. We expose the public to the car and let them tell us what they think. If we’ve done our job and they like it, we go forward. If not, we’ll get back in the car and address those issues.”
As for the auto show, officials for the New Car Dealers Association anticipate a larger number of exhibitors and will have an additional 10,000 square feet outside the convention center.
Early bookings were attributed to the Los Angeles Auto Show’s schedule change. It held its show in November rather than the usual January dates.
Key exhibits will be Toyota Trucks Off Road and ultimate rides expo. Ford and Hyundai will offer test drives and Mazda will give away a Tribute Hybrid SUV.
Auto shows are nearly as old as the car itself, originally conceived as promotional venues for new manufacturers. There are currently four major domestic auto shows (Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and New York, with four major international events (Frankfurt, Geneva, Paris and Tokyo) along with a handful of smaller regionals.
For information, visit www.sdautoshow.com.