2005 Los Angeles Auto Show

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Drool nearly ran down our collective chins when Mercedes-Benz revealed to the North American press the stunning, the sensuous, the delectable 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG at the 2005 Los Angeles Auto Show. Photos don't do the car justice. You've got to get up close and touch it, smell it, gaze upon its beautifully rendered flanks. Great design inspires this kind of passion. It's what turns an automotive appliance into rolling art.

Frank Stephenson, Designer at Ferrari SpA, knows this well. As he explained to reporters during the opening speech for the 2005 Design Los Angeles competition, Ferrari designers are charged with creating "the absolute sexiest cars that we can bring off the sketchpad." Stephenson also acknowledges that great design relies, to some extent, on a company's history, though he notes that "it's critical not to go retro; you must move to the future."

Citing as an example of this philosophy, Stephenson pointed to the lower outboard air intakes at the front of the 2005 Ferrari F430. They clearly mimic the appearance of the 1965 Ferrari 250 LM, but because it is a single "graphic" taken from the vintage Italian rather than an entire design vocabulary (like the 2005 Ford GT, for example), the new F430 is modern while simultaneously recalling the company's rich heritage. "(At Ferrari) you're a kid in a candy store, trying to design the best piece of candy," enthused Stephenson. "I'm in heaven."

Stephenson's remarks preceded an award ceremony for the 2005 Design Los Angeles competition. In recent years, the L.A. Auto Show's theme has been green, focusing on the environment and alternative fuel technologies. But people tend to find that stuff either dull or incomprehensible. Plus, aside from a couple of hydrogen-powered concept vehicles from BMW and Hyundai, there wasn't much green news to dredge up in Los Angeles this year.

So, in an effort to add some zest to the proceedings, show organizers made automobile design the theme for 2005, and invited the 14 car design studios located in Southern California to participate in a contest. The goal: conceptualize the ultimate set of wheels for Los Angeles, the hotbed of car culture in the United States, the place where trends begin.

In the end, the jurists, prominent members of design schools located in SoCal, awarded two entries the top prize. Volkswagen was recognized for its The Mobile Lounge, a fuel-cell vehicle designed to serve as a personal limousine for nights on the town and as an office or living room on wheels for long slogs through traffic. Our favorite, however, was the Dodge Superbee from DaimlerChrysler's Pacifica Design Studio. Designer Freeman Thomas called the Superbee "all about getting out of Dodge," citing the fantastic driving roads winding through the local Santa Monica Mountains as a great place for L.A. residents to escape real life. Blending the best attributes of a car and a motorcycle, the Superbee epitomizes our kind of ride.

For now, however, we'll be waiting our turn behind the wheel of the new 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG. Did we mention that it makes us quiver and drool?