Adventures in Car Design: California Style

Adventures in Car Design California Style
The theme of this year's Los Angeles Auto Show, which opens on Jan. 5, is Design Los Angeles -- a recognition of Southern California's importance to the global auto industry.

Fifteen manufacturers from around the world operate design studios in the area, making it a design epicenter of the industry.

Not to mention Art Center Pasadena, the Harvard of auto design, which is located nearby.

The Design Los Angeles program includes a design competition, intended to allow the local studios to strut their creative stuff without actually opening their studio doors to competitors.

Organized around the theme LA Adventure, the competition generated a wide range of concepts.

In response to LA's commuting culture, for instance, the General Motors team proposed the GMC PAD, a high-tech loft-on-wheels.

Inspired by drag racing, the Hyundai Greenspeed Gator incorporates fuel cells and an innovative structure: a center spine-like chassis and "seat sling" hanging from the main fuselage.

While some of the features on display aren't so far-flung, like in-wheel motors, others are more futuristic, such as software chauffeurs and adaptive tires that change their tread depending on the driving conditions.

The competition was organized in part by Chuck Pelly, co-chairman of the Design Los Angeles conference and a luminary of