by Gerald Scott

It was rewarding to see Big Three design staffs watering the garden, so to speak, for the next generation of auto designers.

This notion was true at the Steel Market Development Institute’s Wheels Task Force / 2012 Steel Wheels Design competition at Lawrence Tech in Southfield last week. Tire manufacturer Michelin was also a corporate sponsor.

There, LTU students competed for real scholarship money based on their ability to design modern wheels for hybrid vehicles – but by using steel as the central wheel build material.

And it was Big Three designers who helped the Steel Institute and LTU to together judge the numerous and worthy student entrys.

Judges from General Motors included GM Design staffers Brian Clauw, Todd Parker and Erwin Angala.

From Ford, there was Dong Park and George Bucher and Chrysler was represented by design manager Jeff Gale, the son of the well-regarded, and retired Chrysler designer Tom Gale.

GM’s Brian Clauw is coincidentally a graduate of LTU, so he was happy to be back on campus supporting the next generation of designers.

“I’m always impressed with what the students come up with,” Clauw said. “And these days, their presentation skills are as important as their actual design skills.”

Added his GM colleague, Erwin Angala, “What the students presented today was leaps and bounds above what we saw even last year.”