Yahoo Autos How Certified Gearhead Ralph Gilles Approaches Designing Autonomous Cars
Ralph Gilles is one of our favorite car designers in the industry today. As the head designer for Fiat Chrysler, he's been involved in creating some of the greatest designs of our era. But more importantly, he's a genuinely passionate car enthusiast. A new Netflix documentary takes a broad look at Gilles' life and work, and gives an incredible behind-the-scenes view of the inner workings of FCA's design studios.
[contentlinks align="left" textonly="false" numbered="false" headline="Related%20Story" customtitles="Driving%20With%20Ralph%20Gilles:%20Alfa's%20Next%20Chapter" customimages="" content="article.30646"]
This profile on Gilles is part of a new series called Abstract: The Art of Design, produced by former Wired editor-in-chief Scott Dadich. The series premiers globally on Netflix today. This first episode centers around the design of Chrysler's futuristic Portal autonomous minivan concept, which debuted at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But it also touches on the hallmark Gilles designs from his career at Chrysler and FCA, including the iconic LX-based Chrysler 300 of 2004, as well as his adoration of the Dodge Viper and his tenure as CEO of the performance-oriented SRT brand.
There's an interesting conflict here, too. As a genuine lover of driving, Gilles had to step way outside his comfort zone to design a fully-autonomous concept car. He's excited for the future, but apprehensive as well.
"The romantic car lover in me wonders if one day, if everything is automated, do people care about the car anymore," he ponders, while behind the wheel of a Challenger Hellcat. "Is it just another device?"
"There's still this solid base of people that just love the freedom and making their own decisions," Gilles continues. "I just hope we always have that choice versus it being mandated to us whether we're supposed to drive or not drive."
It's a fascinating watch for car enthusiasts, but there's plenty in this episode to intrigue anyone interested in design and transportation in general. Gilles is one of the most interesting people in the auto industry today, and this documentary captures the challenges of his work beautifully.
Watch Abstract: The Art of Design here on Netflix, and be sure to keep it on your watch list-while future episodes may venture away from the auto industry, we're certain they'll give you a new perspective on the design of the world around us.
You Might Also Like
