Chrysler is getting some Italian style thanks to former Ferrari designer Lorenzo Ramaciotti, 63, who will now be lending a hand at Chrysler and Lancia.

Ramciotti was lured out of retirement to head up the project, which aims for a common design language for the two brands. “We are trying to find an international language, which could have a place both here in Italy and in the U.S.,” said Ramaciotti in an interview with Bloomberg. “If you put all the models into the showroom, they must fit together. It’s a delicate problem.”

Sergio Machionne, Chief Executive Officer of Fiat and Chrysler, hopes sharing designs will boost both Chrysler and floundering Italian sister company Lancia, a weak link for Fiat. The carmaker loses an estimated $1.08 billion annually in Europe. If all goes as planned, the new Chrysler-Lancia line will boost group sales 64 percent by 2014.

Sharing vehicles between manufacturers is a quick way to cut costs, but it can have a high price.

“It’s extremely difficult to succeed in a strategy of globalizing design,” said Roberto Verganti, a management professor at Milan Polytechnic. “The risk is making international cars with no personality. When you buy a Lancia, you are looking for a piece of Italy, and when you choose a Chrysler, you are getting a slice of America.”

Despite the plan to marry models between Chrysler and Lancia, Fiat doesn’t plan to do the same for other brands including Dodge, Jeep, Maserati and Alfa Romeo, all of which will retain their respective identities.

Currently, Chrysler provides re-badged Grand Voyagers and 300s to Lancia, with Lancia calling them the Voyager and Thema respectively. For now, the cars are attracting attention in showrooms, but they haven’t been hot sellers in the depressed Italian economy. “Reactions are good. The Thema is pretty, design is attractive for Italians, too, but no one is buying these kinds of cars now,” said Roberto Ferrari, who owns a Lancia dealer outside Milan.

Overall, Chrysler only sold 37,000 cars in Europe last year, including Jeep and Dodge. That number is down by almost 38 percent since 2007 when they peaked at 120,000 units.

The news isn’t all bad for Fiat’s rebranded American cars though. Since June, the company enjoyed 18,000 orders for their rebranded version of the Dodge Journey minivan, more than double their total sales for 2009.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Legendary design firm Pininfarina is ending its auto production business, but will retain its engineering and design divisions. Pininfarina said it will shed 127 jobs due to the division’s closing.

“Unfortunately we are having to stop our production activities, given the way the car market is. So we are focusing on design and engineering,” a Pininfarina spokesman told Reuters.

Pininfarina has a long and storied history, having designed most Ferrari and Alfa Romeo vehicles, as well as numerous other vehicles.

[Source: Reuters]

Not too long ago, a beauty contest in the sub-$20k segment would seem like a competition for the most attractive bar of soap. But now, Kia‘s current line-up will make you look twice.

Men’s lifestyle and fashion magazine Esquire has announced the Kia Optima as the “Most Gorgeous Car Under $20K.” Editors were especially impressed by the South Korean automaker’s “clean and inspiring” design. Moreover, numerous other automotive publications have made positive comparisons of its exterior to the more upscale Audi.

VP of Kia America marketing & communication Michael Sprague says, “Esquire defines and shapes men’s style and fashion in today’s contemporary culture, and this recognition further validates Optima’s tremendous value proposition with its unmatched combination of world-class design, advanced technology, and fun-to-drive performance. The stunning design and value of the Optima has significantly increased awareness, perception and consideration for the Kia brand…”

More than just a pretty face, the 2011 Optima is available with luxury and technology including a satnav/audio system with Sirius XM radio and live traffic, Bluetooth capability, USB and auxiliary input, and steering wheel integrated voice controls.

The Optima is available with an economic 2.4 liter four cylinder producing 200 hp and 186 lb-ft of torque or a turbocharged 2.0 liter four cylinder producing 274 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque. Finally, the Optima Hybrid provides the 2.4 liter combined with an electric motor, combining for 206 hp and 193 lb-ft of torque. Prices begin at $19,200.

GALLERY: 2011 Kia Optima

Click here to read AutoGuide’s 2011 Kia Optima Review

Ferrari is holding a world design contest to develop the Ferrari of the future. Ferrari, in collaboration with with Autodesk, the technical partner and supporter of the project, is challenging students to develop the Ferrari hypercar of the future with the latest generation technologies and materials, while preserving the iconic performance and elegance associated with the legendary Italian automaker.

Students must focus on lowering fuel consumption,alternative powertrains, and hybrid technology while also emphasizing driving pleasure and weight reduction through their models.

Fifty presigious international design schools began the competition, and now there are seven finalist schools, from all over the world. The finalists include: IED and IAAD from Turin (Italy), the London Royal College of Arts (UK), the European Design Institute Barcelona (Spain), Seoul’s Hong-ik College (Korea), the DSK Supinfocom (India) and the College For Creative Studies in Detroit (USA).

The winner of the design contest will be announced on July 19, including a grand prize of an internship at Ferrari in Maranello, Italy as well as cash prizes. Autodesk will also award the student team that best used Autodesk Alias software to communicate their design and demonstrate their process of design.

[Source: Ferrari]

So the new Ford Taurus was only introduced last year. Why, then, did Ford refresh it for 2013 at the New York Auto Show—why go through all that effort now? Because, according to Ford head design honcho J Mays, the new front end is supposed to showcase Ford’s new global look, and the Mondeo and Falcon are gonna nab a piece of it.

Yes, for once the Ford global look sets its standards from America, not Europe or Australia. The new corporate look, said Mays, will still allow these three diverse sedans to retain their own character. The design elements can be altered to create subtle or aggressive looks across a model range. And the trapezoid grille was influenced by those from Audi—where J Mays used to hang his hat.

[Source: GoAuto]

Simbol Design, based out of Italy, looks to be in the business of replicating Italian supercars such as the Ferraris Enzo and Pagani Zonda. This Lavazza GTX-R, named after its general manager Fabio Lavazza, is an Enzo replica sporting BMW’s V12 powerplant with 620-hp.

It looks like the body is made out of carbon kevlar, sporting a staggered wheel and tire setup: 18-inch in the front with 245/40s and 19-inch in the rear with massive 345/30 rubber. Oddly enough, BMW’s V12 is mated to a 6-speed electro-pneumatic transmission.

Now for a company that develops supercar replicas in Italy, their website could be a whole lot better. But it looks like the company has a reputation, being involved with designing and developing race cars since 1975. Simbol Design also offers four other vehicle models, other than the GTX-R, all vaguely sporting some styling cues from popular Italian supercars.

GALLERY: Simbol Design Lavazza GTX-R

[Source: Simbol Design via CarScoop]

Audi‘s design chief Stefan Sielaff told Autocar magazine that Audi will never do a retro design, for fear of becoming locked into an increasingly stale aesthetic.

In an interview with Autocar about the upcoming A7 sedan, Sielaff commented that”…doing retro is a dangerous game, because you will always have the problem that as soon as you have done such a retro car, you have to think of the next generation, and the generation after that. What are you going to do? Because you can’t get out of it. It will always be close to what you have been doing before.”

Sielaff’s interview is generally interesting, as he detailed the challenges that went into merely getting the A7 into production, but he leaves out one detail. None of Audi’s designs before the TT were really noteworthy at all. How can they do a retro design if they have nothing to look back on?

[Source: Autocar via The Car Lounge]

Before he set the BMW world on edge with his controversial aesthetics, Chris Bangle had a comfortable post at Fiat, where he designed the Fiat Coupe, a car never sold in North America but regarded as an iconic and revolutionary design.

French auto website Cardisiac is reporting that Bangle, who quit BMW in 2009, may be headed back to Fiat as the brand prepares to expand outside of Europe. With Volkswagen acquiring Italdesign, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is hoping to secure his own supply of design talent before any sort of arms race/buying spree occurs. Fiat’s current lineup is pretty snazzy, but there’s no denying that some of the Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep products could use a looks-related rest to break them out of their current stalemate.

[Source: Autoblog]