FCA Product Design Office Names Three High School Students as Winners

FCA Product Design Office Names Three High School Students as Winners

Some of the country’s top automotive designers and special guest judge Josh Welton gathered this month to determine the results of the FCA US 2019 Drive for Design contest. They reviewed each and every entry received from U.S. high school students in grades 10-12 who were challenged to design the ultimate status vehicle using any FCA brand. Three students from Florida, Washington and Michigan rose above the competition and have been named winners based on their innovative, forward-thinking sketches.

“We are always impressed by the next generation of talent that competes in the annual Drive for Design contest, but this year our expectations were vastly surpassed based on the level of comprehensive art work submitted. And, similar to a real-world sketch review, after much debate, the winning designs came down to the aesthetic details,” said Mark Trostle, Head of Performance, Passenger Car and Utility Vehicle Design for FCA – North America. “Even though it’s a growing field, automotive design can often be overlooked by students entering the workforce, so our goal with this competition is to change that perspective and encourage promising talent to pursue opportunities where they could design the vehicles of the future.”

Trostle knows firsthand what it’s like to be given an opportunity to excel in this field. In 2013, he introduced Drive for Design, which is based on a contest he won as a high school student. He credits that experience as something that led him to his current professional role, heading the design efforts for some of the most desired vehicles on the road. Today, he’s passing the torch to three promising automotive designers.

The three student winners of the 2019 Drive for Design competition are:

• First place – Maximillian Cooper, Design and Architecture Senior High, Miami, Florida
• Second place – Mason Ross, Kennedy Catholic High School, Burien, Washington
• Third place – Vincent Piaskowski, Ernest W. Seaholm High School, Birmingham, Michigan

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