Ford will tease global design at Detroit show
LOS ANGELES--The Ford brand will unveil the next step toward its global design language next month at the Detroit auto show.
Ford has refused to identify the vehicle, but industry sources expect it will be the 2010 Taurus.
"If you look at our lineup in North America and what has to be replaced, you can put two and two together," said J Mays, Ford design chief.
While the vehicle debuting in Detroit "is not the next-generation design language, it will be a big step in the direction of the global design DNA," Mays said.
For the past two years, Ford Motor Co.'s design teams in Europe and North America have been developing a global design for the Ford brand. Essentially, it is an evolution of the successful kinetic design philosophy created by Ford of Europe. Kinetic design, evident in the Fiesta and Mondeo, strives for a muscular, sporty appearance.
Mays said the first vehicle to adopt what he called post-kinetic design is more than a year away. He did not identify the vehicle.
The new design "is going to have the best attributes of kinetic, but I would say that it is going to be possibly a little more simple, a little more elegant," said Mays, who was interviewed at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Globally, post-kinetic design will be seen on Taurus-sized vehicles and smaller. Vehicles generally have minor differences from continent to continent. In North America, the design will appear on the Focus and Fusion in the next decade.
(Source: Automotive News)
