Conceptual Car Designed for Egypt Wins Meritor's 'Vision of the Future' Scholarship
8 January 1998
Conceptual Car Designed for Egypt Wins Meritor's 'Vision of the Future' Scholarship
TROY, Mich., Jan. 8 -- A car that could operate efficiently
for the Egyptian market by integrating various aspects of the country's
culture has been named the grand-prize winner of Meritor Automotive's
second annual "Visions of the Future" scholarship award. Meritor
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Larry D. Yost, will make the
announcement Friday, January 9, at a special dinner at the Detroit Institute
of Arts.
The contest, held in conjunction with the Transportation Design Department
at the Center for Creative Studies-College of Art and Design (CCS) in Detroit,
challenged sophomore students to select an emerging nation, study its culture,
and create a vehicle that is most appropriate for its economy. The project,
titled "Vehicles for an Emerging Nation," judged students' work for
originality, feasibility and professionalism of the presentation.
The first place award, a $3,000 scholarship, was awarded to Stephen
Moneypenny. Moneypenny's conceptual vehicle was a two-person passenger car
designed for Egypt, according to Dave Lyon, who instructs the sophomore
transportation studio at CCS.
"The car was designed to be narrow so it would easily travel through the
narrow streets of Egypt," explained Lyon, who is also a design engineer at
General Motors Corp. "The vehicle has the ability to haul objects stacked on
top of it, much like the people in the Egyptian region do in their every day
lives. The car also makes use of materials and patterns from the Egyptian
culture, such as the use of geometric shapes, which were virtually invented by
the Egyptians."
The scholarship was originated in 1996, when Meritor approached CCS with a
desire to establish an educational partnership with the transportation design
program. The result was the Vision of the Future scholarship awarded to four
outstanding students in the sophomore class.
Meritor created the unique program for the sophomore class to generate
interest in vehicle design early in their educational careers and to provide
greater financial opportunity and benefit through the scholarship awards.
"With the support of companies like Meritor, we are able to provide our
students with even more opportunities where they can learn the skills they
will need to design the cars for the next century," said Carl Olsen, chairman
of CCS' Transportation Design Department.
"It is our hope that our continued support for CCS provides the College
and its students the opportunities and challenges they need to advance their
skills," Meritor's Yost said. "As a leading supplier to the automotive
industry, we believe it is our obligation to assist in the development of
tomorrow's automotive design engineers."
Judges for the 1998 contest included: Jack Crain, executive design chief,
Chrysler Corp.; John Mack, staff project designer, General Motors; Bob Aikins,
chief designer truck, Ford Motor Company; and Bob Calder, president (retired)
of Light Vehicle Systems, Meritor Automotive.
The 1998 scholarship winners were:
First place winner: Stephen Moneypenny, Bramalea, Ontario
($3,000 scholarship)
Second place winner: Bryan Thompson, Safety Harbor, FL
($2,000 scholarship)
Honorable Mentions: Carl Adamski, Plymouth, MI
($1,000 scholarship each) Patrick Quinn, White Lake Township, MI
Meritor, with 1997 sales of $3.3 billion, is a global supplier of a broad
range of components and systems for commercial, specialty and light vehicles.
Meritor consists of two businesses: Heavy Vehicle Systems, a leading supplier
of drivetrain systems and components for medium- and heavy-duty trucks,
trailers and off-highway equipment and specialty vehicles including military,
bus and coach, fire and rescue; and Light Vehicle Systems, a major supplier of
roof, door, access control and seat adjusting systems, electric motors,
suspension systems and wheels for passenger cars, light trucks and sport
utility vehicles.
SOURCE Meritor Automotive, Inc.
