The Guy That Put Chrysler Back in the Black
When every auto critic questioned whether American consumers would buy the bold in-your-face rear-wheel-drive Chrysler 300, especially in snowy climates, such as the Midwest and Northeast, Chrysler's executives ignored the critics and continued on their path to build such a vehicle. Fortunately for Ralph Gilles, the 36-year old one time college dropout and lead designer of the ultra-popular Chrysler 300 for the Chrysler division, the American buying public stood in line to snatch-up all of the vehicles that were available and ignored the critics too. Prior to the launch of this vehicle, Chrysler was bleeding red with a $637 million loss in 2003. Gilles design influence helped put the company back in the black. The company posted a $1.9 billion profit in 2004 while many of their domestic competitors have been struggling since to improve their designs and profitability.
Because of Gilles' design, celebrities from radio and TV personality Tavis Smiley to world renowned Atlanta-based prosperity minister Creflo Dollar to rapper Snoop Dogg are all tooling around in the new American icon. Gilles was also responsible for the Dodge Charger and making the station wagon cool again with the Dodge Magnum. Obviously Gilles has become a star in his on rite. He's been on the cover of almost every major mainstream and urban magazine.
Maybe Chrysler's advertising agency should consider partnering Lee Iacocca, the former chairman of the Chrysler Corporation and one of the key designers of Ford's Mustang in the sixties, and Gilles in a commercial. Both have been responsible for infusing life again into this company (Lee saved the company from bankruptcy in the late seventies.) This would have probably been a better fit than the partnership we saw with Snoop and Iacocca in TV ads during Chrysler's employee pricing promotion last summer.
Moreover, Gilles has received numerous awards and accolades for his design influence. Recently, jeffcars.com caught up with one of the hottest car designers in the world to pose a few questions. more>
