Panel of Distinguished Designers, Stylists Will Select EyesOn Design Award Winners

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Detroit Jan 6, 2011; The annual press preview for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit is bookended by two awards shows. The press preview begins with the North American Car and Truck of the Year and ends with the EyesOn Design Awards.

Now in its seventh year, the EyesOn Design Awards honor the best production car and the best concept car making their North American or worldwide debut at the NAIAS.

Unique among automotive honors, the EyesOn Design Awards are selected by a distinguished group of active and retired design heads of automotive OEMs, transportation design chairs from top art schools and occasionally a noted designer from another field.

The judges’ panel for 2012 includes Alfonso Albaisa (Nissan); Wayne Cherry (General Motors, retired); Dan Darancou (CH-Auto); Karen Davidson (Harley-Davidson); Willie G. Davidson (Harley-Davidson); Ralph Gilles (Chrysler); Kevin Hunter (Calty Design – Toyota); Derek Jenkins (Mazda); Dave Marek (Honda); Tom Matano (Academy of Art University); Jae Min (Volkwagen-America); Keith Nagara (Lawrence Tech University); Suk-Geon Oh (Hyundai); Ken Parkinson (General Motors); Chuck Pelly (The Design Academy); Steve Pasteiner (Advanced Automotive Technologies); Lorenzo Ramaciatti (Chrysler/Fiat); Dave Rand (Changan Automotive); Stewart Reed (Art Center College of Design); Pat Schiavone (Whirlpool); Peter Schreyer (Kia); Jack Telnack (Ford, retired); Mark Trostle, Sr. (ASC, retired); Franz VonHolzhausen (Tesla) and Mark West (College for Creative Studies).

The EyesOn Design Awards are recognized by each automaker as a recognition and validation of its work by peers in the design world. As such, they are covered widely each year by the automotive, national and international press.

The 2012 EyesOn Design Awards will be presented at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 in the Michigan Hall at Cobo Center.

The EyesOn Design Awards are part of the auto design initiatives of the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology (DIO). The magnificence of the styling of modern vehicles can best be appreciated by those of us with good vision. The Institute’s work aids those among us who have lost most or all of their vision. The tie-in between sight and styling has been a great help in supporting the DIO for the past 25 years.

In addition to the annual awards at the NAIAS, the EyesOn Design Car Show at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House each June on Father’s Day has become one of the most prestigious automotive exhibits in the Midwest and has raised over $3.5 million for the Institute’s programs.

The Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology (DIO) is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) organization whose mission is to move forward the day when blind people recover some level of vision and function independently. To learn more about the DIO’s programs visit the web site at www.eyeson.org