Sunday, March 6, 2005

Morris Richardson II / The Detroit News Trevor Creed, senior vice president of design at DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group, took the carmaker in a stylistic direction that spawned the popular Chrysler 300. The automaker hopes to define itself as a leader in vehicle design.

Risk-taking design chief revitalizes Chrysler's look

Under Trevor Creed, automaker's new models spark rebound in sales.

By Brett Clanton / The Detroit News

Dodge Magnum Cars he's helped design ... Chrysler design chief Trevor Creed influenced a crop of new vehicles such as the muscular Dodge Magnum wagon, above, the chiseled Crossfire coupe, middle, and other key models, including the second-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, bottom, which set a sales record in 1999. Crossfire coupe Jeep Grand Cherokee Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

Growing up in a dreary factory town in England during the 1950s, Trevor Creed found escape in what seemed a faraway dream: That someday he would work in America as a car designer and help bring to life the kind of magnificent, chrome-festooned Buicks, Fords and Chryslers he so admired.

Today, Creed is senior vice president of design at DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group in Auburn Hills, a job that puts him in an elite club of the world's top automotive designers and well beyond his modest boyhood goals.

Since 2000, Creed has made a name for himself as an advocate for risk-taking in vehicle design, a philosophy that helped spawn last year's breakaway automotive hit, the Chrysler 300 sedan.

The 300 and other eye-catching cars and trucks introduced on Creed's watch have helped Chrysler rebound from devastating financial losses in recent years.

They have also ignited a debate in Detroit about the importance of daring vehicle design in the crowded U.S. auto market.

"In my mind, that's how the Big Three gets back on their feet," said Erich Merkle, an analyst with industry forecaster IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids.

Creed's real test may come this year and next, when Chrysler introduces more than a dozen models and tries to maintain the momentum it built in 2004.

"It's enormous pressure," Creed said, during an interview at Chrysler's Arizona proving grounds in January.

"But it's not unlike anything from a pop singer to a movie maker. People automatically expect you to keep performing. There's no letting up."

Creed joined Chrysler in 1985 as director of interiors after working with Ford Motor Co. in Europe for nearly 20 years.

It was the promise of a full-time job in the United States -- which Ford was unwilling to give him -- that led Creed to Chrysler, not the company's vehicle lineup.

"Apart from the minivan, which I thought was cool, I thought, 'Why would I ever want to go to Chrysler?'"

When Creed arrived, Chrysler had just rebounded from near financial ruin by racking up sales of its boxy K-Cars and newly-invented minivans.

But several years of belt-tightening had led the automaker to cut expenses drastically, particularly in automotive interiors.

Creed was brought in to modernize things and quickly established himself as an enemy of the status quo.

"I was completely changing the look," he said. "People would say, 'Where's the stitching on the steering wheel? And I'd say, 'I've taken it away because that stuff is old-fashioned. We're not going to be doing that anymore.'"

That kind of frankness propelled Creed's ascent at Chrysler.

By 1998, he was vice president in charge of interiors for all Chrysler vehicles, directed exterior design for trucks and Jeep vehicles, and was well-positioned to move higher.

With Chrysler's 1998 merger with Germany's Daimler-Benz, Creed was tapped to lead Chrysler's design division, taking over from retiring design chief John Herlitz in July 2000.

Under Creed's leadership, Chrysler abandoned the rounded and swoopy look of many of its 1990s-era models and moved to more chiseled and aggressive styling.

Best seen in vehicles such as the 2005 Chrysler 300 and 2004 Dodge Durango sport utility vehicle, the new design language is distinguished by larger wheels, flat body panels, smaller windows and bigger front grilles for an oversize, almost exaggerated look.

Retired Chrysler designer Diran Yazejian, 71, says the new crop of vehicles hark back to a golden era of design at the automaker in the 1950s and '60s, under famed design chief Virgil Exner. "They're definitely going back to some of the better stuff," Yazejian said.

Analyst Merkle said Chrysler is "playing the design card," in a manner similar to Nissan Motor Co., which has also rebounded from financial crisis in recent years with boldly designed vehicles.

But Chrysler's goal isn't to be known just for interesting designs. Lauded in the past for stylish vehicles such as the PT Cruiser and the elegant LHS sedan, the automaker now wants to define itself as the industry leader in design and match top-ranking Japanese automakers on quality and productivity by 2007.

The stress of hitting such goals has trickled down to Creed and his team in the form of an added workload. In late 2003, Chrysler said it would introduce 25 new vehicles by the end of next year. Nine debuted last year, and at least five are on the way in 2005. That leaves 11 for 2006 -- the largest number of vehicles Chrysler has ever attempted to launch in a single year.

"My people will tell you they're burned out," Creed said. "But it's a fact of life right now."

Chrysler lost eight designers last year from a staff of 55, double its typical turnover rate. But Creed says that was a fluke. While four designers did defect to rival General Motors Corp., one was killed in a car accident, another left the industry and the others left for personal reasons, he said.

Of the four who went to GM, Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche said he is not worried. "The best compliment we can get is when other companies try to improve their designs, they try to get people from us."

In his five years as design chief, Creed has earned a reputation as a sometimes prickly judge of what goes on in his studios, which can be hard for young designers to hear.

"He can be brutally honest sometimes," said David McKinnon, Chrysler's vice president of small, premium and family vehicle design, who has answered to Creed for seven years. "Sometimes, people may feel they've gotten their ears pinned back though, generally, his criticism is very constructive."

Creed's no-nonsense approach with designers is belied by a quiet enthusiasm for design that inspires his team, said Imre Molnar, dean of the College of Creative Studies in Detroit, who sends many designers to Chrysler. "Trevor's recognized for doing tremendous work by way of establishing an environment and culture that takes risks and gets the best out of his design people."

Creed will need the best from his staff as they prepare for next year's launches of the Dodge Neon replacement, a new SUV from Dodge and other key models in the years ahead.

The biggest challenge, however, may be a minivan redesign to update its dowdy image without alienating buyers who have made it one of Chrysler's best sellers. Creed has put Chrysler 300 lead designer Ralph Gilles on the job, but still recognizes what he faces.

"We will give people who own minivans," he said, "as much style as we can give them."

You can reach Brett Clanton at (313) 222-2612 or bclanton@detnews.com.