SOUTHLAND DRIVES UP VEHICLE-DESIGN STATUS.Byline: MUHAMMED EL-HASAN Staff Writer Honda R&D Americas Inc. unveiled its $15million Acura Design Studio this week in Torrance, showcasing the Japanese luxury car's growing importance to the company. The new 50,000-square-foot facility on American Honda Motor Co.'s sprawling Torrance campus is the first design studio in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. devoted exclusively to the Acura brand. "Acura is no longer a large moon circling the Honda planet," studio manager Jon Ikeda said. "We now have established our own orbit as an independent Acura planet." The new studio also enhances Southern California's stature as an international center for vehicle design. "It is no coincidence that many of the car manufacturers are locating their design centers in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, ," said Gordon Wangers, an independent automotive product analyst based in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. . "They see us as the height of trendiness, the height of fashion and the height of automotive culture." In addition to Acura, Southern California has design centers for Honda, Toyota, Nissan, General Motors, Ford, BMW BMW in full Bayerische Motoren Werke AG German automaker. Founded as an aircraft engine manufacturer in 1916, the company assumed the name Bayerische Motoren Werke and became known for its high-speed motorcycles in the 1920s. , Mercedes-Benz and others. Also, the Art Center College of Design Art Center built its reputation as a vocational school, essentially, preparing returning GIs for work in the commercial arts fields. It has traditionally maintained a strong "real-world" focus, emphasizing craftsmanship, technique, and professionalism while somewhat de-emphasizing theory. , which has one of the world's premier vehicle design schools, is in Pasadena. On Thursday, several Acura concept cars were showcased in the Acura Design Studio's main work area, including the Advanced Sports Car Concept, a silver-colored car with a smooth, muscular look that debuted at the 2007 North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. International Auto Show An auto show, or motor show, is a public exhibition of current automobile models, debuts, concept cars, or out-of-production classics. It is commonly attended by automobile manufacturers. Most auto shows occur once or twice a year. in Detroit. The Acura brand was introduced 21 years ago in the United States and Canada. In 2005, Acuras began selling in Mexico. The brand spread to China a year later. Honda is expected to start selling the Acura in Japan within the next few years. Europe will come later. Honda R&D Americas' first major involvement in the Acura brand occurred with the 1994 Acura Integra. After that, U.S. designers increasingly took a leadership role in the brand, which was the first Japanese luxury car designed, developed and manufactured in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . Two years ago, Honda's Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Center in Torrance, where Honda brand vehicles such as the Element were designed, began to hire designers exclusively for the Acura. "This was a relatively quiet but very important step," Ikeda said. Today, the new studio is one of two design centers devoted exclusively to the Acura brand. The other opened within the past year in Japan. Honda's new Torrance studio has a layout meant to enhance collaboration, such as adjacent vehicle interior and exterior design areas. In addition, styling work for interior and exterior will occur in a shared area. The Acura Design Studio uses environmentally friendly Environmentally friendly, also referred to as nature friendly, is a term used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal harm on the environment.[1] elements, including a reflective roof to reduce heat gain inside the building, thereby reducing use of air conditioning. Reclaimed water is used for landscaping. And the lighting system saves energy by adjusting to the amount of natural light that enters the building. It is unclear how many people will populate the new studio since the company is still hiring new designers, said Andy Lyiscott, facilities assistant manager for Honda R&D Americas. muhammed.el-hasan(at)dailybreeze.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Honda R&D Americas Inc. unveiled its 50,000-square-foot Acura Design Studio in Torrance this week. Acura will design interiors and exteriors of concept vehicles at the facility. Scott Varley/Staff Photographer |
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