A Life in Car Design gives a unique insight into design and project work for a number of leading companies in the motor industry, including Jaguar, Lotus, TVR and General Motors.
The book recounts the author's experiences from within the industry, tracing the changes in the design process over a period of nearly 50 years, and follows his career at home and around the world. It shows how the change from imperial to metric measurements and the growing use of computers revolutionised the quality and accuracy of modern vehicles.
It also covers the issues and challenges of meeting project targets, and some of the issues that can deflect those efforts. It features previously untold stories, and is thoughtfully illustrated with historical engineering drawings and photographs.
As well as informing automobile enthusiasts it is also hoped that this book will inspire upcoming generations to consider a career in the creative field.
● A personal and in-depth look at car design from inside the industry
● Oliver Winterbottom’s experience working for talented industry leaders Sir William Lyons, Jaguar; Colin Chapman, Lotus, and Martin Lilley, TVR
● The author’s work with Guigiaro at ItalDesign, Turin, observing the design processes
● The design challenges of luxury seagoing boat design with radical new design ideas
● A story of international travel including Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, USA, Brazil, Japan, Korea and China
● An account of working with Chinese companies to develop a new cultural understanding
● Producing new designs to severe time and cost restraints
● How the author developed suitable project processes for low volume built cars at GM USA
● An account of the privilege of working with Toyota Japan, and learning their approach to the motor industry
● The author’s experience of extensive development projects for car safety and airbags
