But in the process, the private automakers have probably gotten better at auto design.
Called the Hummer O2 (like the H2, only less toxic), this concept -- which just won the L.A. Auto Show Design Challenge -- incorporates a number of innovative, futuristic features into its oddly-shaped chassis, not the least of which is a "phototropic" body shell that contains algae-filled panels.
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Using advanced design software typically used in auto and airplane design, they were able to figure our how to model the advanced shapes and surfaces that Gaudi's avant garde plans demanded and building continued.
Computer modeling allows today's auto engineers to precisely design vehicles, engines and transmissions, down to the smallest detail, for maximum strength without having to repeatedly build and test actual components over and over along the way, said Quinnell.
The F-Type design unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January is a modified version of a prototype called the XK180.
"I think it's cheesy, " said Gordon Wagener, Mercedes-Benz Cars' global design director, referring to Western auto makers' recent and obvious pandering.
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The 2014 Jeep Cherokee, which replaces the lackluster Liberty in the lineup, makes its debut at the New York International Auto Show in late March, but the design is already stirring up controversy.
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As he tries to turn around the auto giant from years of what many call bland design, an embarrassing 2009 recall and the effects of the 2011 earthquake, he is grabbing the wheel and playing the role of personal pitchman.
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The newest design will be shown at the North American International Auto Show in January.
Oregon's Falcon Northwest Computer Systems offers custom work by an auto painter who hand-sprays 20 layers of paint in any design people want.
"In car styling terms, he's a rock star, " according to Just-Auto's Mark Bursa, who describes Mr Hildebrand's Mini design as "one of the biggest hits of recent times".
Some of the proposed alternatives to traditional engine design offer fuel savings that aren't that much greater than auto makers believe they can achieve through improvements to the designs they know.
In addition, as the slim form factor fits in an 8.5mm x 8.5mm auto focus camera module with a height dimension of 6.0mm, the S5K3H2 gives design engineers a great deal of freedom in designing camera modules suitable for slim mobile handsets and small form factor applications.
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Typical of the auto industry, Ford's early hybrids contained batteries that involved third parties in everything from design to testing.
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One recent success story: A U.K.-based auto parts manufacturer that serves the ministry of defense was having trouble coming up with a winning design for two parts that needed to perform in an environment with a lot of heat and sand.
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