Innovative Students Design Future Vehicles
Offering a great opportunity for high school students across the country to show their innovation and talent, Dodge has provided the perfect outlet. In partnership with the College for Creative Studies (CCS), the FCA US Design team encouraged high school students to design a next generation Dodge Vehicle in a futuristic style, giving students a chance to predict what direction the design and automobile market will go in a few generations from now.  To be specific, the students were tasked with predicting what vehicles will look like in the year 2025, ten years from now. At the  “Meguiar’s 63rd Detroit Autorama”, the winning students were awarded for their impressive designs in correlation with the 2015 “Detroit Autorama High School Design Competition.”
Second Place Design From Conner Stormer of Rochester Hills, MI
The talent pool was certainly impressive, with students from all corners of the country submitting their future Dodge concepts. In order to participate in the competition, students were asked to submit an all original hand-drawn sketch of their unique Dodge design. Additionally, students wrote 500-word essays, using the length as a chance to explain what the Dodge brand and creative vehicle designs bring to mind for them as students and possibly young drivers. Finally, in early March the leaders of FCA US LLC Design team awarded four impressively talented young artists.
Mark Trostle, the Head of SRT, Mopar and Motorsports Design, FCA US LLC., further elaborated on the ultimate goal of the Dodge brand in hosting this contest. “Partnering with CCS and Detroit Autorama gave us the exposure needed to attract young, creative minds and hopefully inspire them to explore automotive design as a potential career.”
The students submitted a unique and varied array of designs, placing emphasis on future technologies while keeping their vehicles grounded in reality. After all, ten years is not so very far away. Four winners from the submitted pool were selected, and awarded great prizes. The first place winner won a $60,000 scholarship to CCS. All four of the winners were then awarded passes to Detroit Autorama, Â a three-week summer automotive design course at CCS (including field trips, housing, and meals), and either an iPad or MacBook.
The four winners are as follows:
- Fourth place – Dongwon Kim, Homestead High School (Sunnydale, California)
- Third place – Hwanseong Jang, Bloomfield Hills High School (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan)
- Second place – Conner Stormer, Stoney Creek High School (Rochester Hills, Michigan)
- First place – Joshua Blundo, Moultonborough Academy (Moultonborough, New Hampshire)
The incredible designs were displayed with honor at the Detroit Autorama from March 6-8, within the Mopar booth.