MOTORHEADS L.A.'S HIPPEST CAR DESIGNERS DRIVING DULLEST WHEELS IN TOWN.

Byline: BARBARA CORREA Staff Writer

Southern Californians are no strangers to waiting in long lines for cars in hot demand, such as the Toyota Prius and other hybrids.

But you'd think being one of the designers of a popular car would give you a little pull -- maybe let you cut the line.

Think again.

Vicki Vlachakis -- a hip designer from Pasadena, who helped dream up the interiors for the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky at General Motors' Design Center in North Hollywood -- has to queue up like everyone else.

``I don't really get (preferential) treatment,'' said Vlachakis, who had to wait for several months to get her Solstice.

``I had to scope out all the dealerships in my area... wait in line and get a number. It was a big deal.''

While car designers tend to get the rock star treatment at events like last week's L.A. Auto Show, car creators are a very down-to-earth lot. They may design top-of-the-line sports coupes, but they often drive home in family wagons.

Dave Bigelow is a sculptor at the Mercedes-Benz design studio, responsible for building clay models of all the new car designs before they get approved for manufacture. But he's also a surfer and a father.

``I have two Honda Accords and a Toyota truck. One (of the Accords) is for surfing. I can just throw my wet suit in it.''

His boss, Michael Cato, drives a 1997 Dodge Caravan minivan. He said he may consider downsizing now that his kids are getting older.

If it's true that you are what you drive, some of the car designers at the Auto Show seem to have a split personality.

Andre Frey designed the RECY, a ``blue sky'' concept car that would run on biodiesel and whose parts would all be recyclable after five years. The design was one of nine competing in the third annual Design Challenge.

This year's theme for the competition focuses on renewable energy and environmentally friendly design. Frey loves the car, but he says his passion is his two Ducati motorcycles.

``I go to work on the bike every day.''

Hmmm, an eco-friendly Hummer?

The winner of the challenge, the Hummer 02 -- described by lead designer Frank Saucedo as ``Hummer meets Lunar Rover meets agricultural tractor'' -- was rendered by Loren Kulesus.

But what does Kulesus drive? A 1985 Honda Accord.

Kulesus is a student at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design and an intern at GM's design studio. While the futuristic Hummer he helped design would use algae-filled panels to transform carbon dioxide into oxygen using photosynthesis, Kulesus relies on the low-key Accord to get him from classes at the college to his internship at GM.

He said his dream car is a Daihatsu Hijet, a Japanese pickup truck with an oversize front.

It turns out the people paid to dream up automotive designs fantasize as much as the rest of us about what they would drive if money were no object. The word Porsche came up more than any other model among designers.

Give me the one Steve McQueen drove

Dave Marek, chief designer with Honda R&D Americas, drives a Honda Ridgeline pickup truck, but he is in awe of the Porsche 917 race car, the model Steve McQueen drove in the 1971 film ``Le Mans.''

``I love racing, and I love design, and that's the most beautiful, baddest race car ever,'' Marek said. ``It makes me cry a little.''

Other fantasy cars designers included on their wish lists were: 1961 Jaguar, 1971 Camaro, 1968 Dodge Charger, and a 1968 Ferrari Dino.

But, just like real people, designers can't just buy whatever they want. The starting salary for talented designers is somewhere between $60,000 to $80,000 a year, according to CareerJournal, the Wall Street Journal's career site. That's nowhere near enough to buy or even make the payments on Porsche 917.

Designers with some seniority get company cars to drive around -- some change models every six months, some every few years. And there's a standard discount for automaker employees.

But younger designers who want to fit in will frequently lease the model they really want instead of drive a dull company model, said Michael Cato of Mercedes-Benz.

L.A. draws foreign designers

Another reason for leasing is that Southern California is one of the world's leading auto design centers, with some 15 design studios in the greater Los Angeles area. As a result, the area draws top designers from all over the world. Many of those foreign-born designers can't qualify as easily for auto financing, so they lease.

Jussi Timonen of Finland, another member of the Hummer 02 design team, said he had to lease a regular Hummer to drive because he's only been in the U.S. for a year and doesn't have any credit history.

That's not a problem for GM lead designer Frank Saucedo. He changes cars every six months and owns several more on top of that. His current company car is the Hummer H3, which he likes because his two teenage children are heavily into snowboarding. Before that, he drove a new Chevrolet Malibu, and before that, a Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac CTS-V, which he said made for a very nice commute between the studio in North Hollywood and home in Westlake Village.

Saucedo also has a 1959 Porsche and is restoring a Volkswagen Thing with his kids. Still, that's not enough. ``I bought a '68 Ferrari Dino a few years ago,'' he said. ``I'd like to have a 'Vette.''

barbara.correa(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Loren Kulesus of Pasadena leans on his 1985 Honda Accord LXi. Kulesus is an intern at General Motors' Design Center in North Hollywood.

(2 -- color) no caption (car design)

John Lazar/Staff Photographer