"It's definitely time for a new aesthetic at Chrysler," said newly promoted Chrysler vice president of design Ralph Gilles. "We're done with the 'Edge' look."

Gilles was speaking in an interview at the launch of the 2009 Dodge Ram, the vehicle he believes his design team gave the best interior ever to come out of Cralph-gilleshrysler. Gilles was promoted on Monday when former VP Trevor Creed announced his retirement. Gilles will take over September 1.

Gilles' priority will be "getting our cars to be sexy again" and he wants to "get this monkey off our backs on interiors." Accompanying the new Ram in Gilles assault on cheap-looking Chrysler interiors will be redesigned cockpits in the 2009 Jeep Compass and Patriot. As far as exteriors go, he wants to get away from the "Edge" look that has defined recent generations of Chrysler vehicles and move towards a more "organic" look. Gilles gave the Dodge Zeo and Chrysler EcoVoyager concepts as indications of future directions Chrysler designs might go. He also indicated that the cab forward look that was made popular by the Tom Gale era could see new light in the future.

Another goal for Gilles is to reduce complexity at Chrysler by designing vehicles that will be "relevant anywhere in the world" so they won't need to be redesigned for several different markets. This will be in addition to a change in leadership structure where Gilles will report to Executive Vice President of Product Development Frank Klegon instead of directly to CEO Bob Nardelli as Gilles' predecessor Creed did. This change is intended to get the design and engineering teams working more closely together in the future, according to Gilles.

Do you think Gilles will be able to drive up Chrysler sales with a turnaround in the styling department? And is "organic" the correct design philosophy for Chrysler to be taking? Have your say in the comments section below!

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
by Scott Evans