Land Rover designer quits, says no more
Geoff Upex worked with Land Rover for 23 years to help create and re-create the company's iconic boxy Range Rover line and in August, he relinquished the helm to Gerry McGovern. This week, Upex took his retirement on step further, saying that after his last day on Dec. 25, never again will he design another car. Not for Land Rover, not for Ford. Not for any automaker ever again.
It seems a tragedy that someone would completely give up something they devoted so much of their life to. We encourage Mr. Upex to continue creating stylish, attractive automobiles. If not for Land Rover, then maybe help a young, headstrong automaker in need of your sense of elegant restraint.
One charity case we think greatly deserving of your help, Mr. Upex (and we think we have a lot of support on this), is our style-challenged, hyper creative (and apparently nausea immune) Chinese friends at DongFeng. Please, Mr. Upex, for the sake of humanity, at least introduce DongFeng's designers to modern eraser technology. Please?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Yaroukh 9:13AM (11/28/2006)
WTF?
"PLZ help Chinese!" == "PLZ make more people un US unemployed!"
I don't think it is good idea to encourage anyone (especially as capable as Mr. Upex is) to help to someone who is about to make your own automakers cry and bleed. Do you think GM & Ford especially have too few problems? I suppose quality of the product won't be by far the only critical factor when competing with China automakers.
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Howard Kerr 10:03AM (11/28/2006)
Good point Yaroukh.
That aside, during Mr. U's tenure at Land Rover they went from two models to four and all were fairly boxy. The Defender hasn't really changed all that much since World War II when it was born and the Range Rover went decades without any big leaps, stylistically. That leaves the Discovery....again all boxes and the Freelander. The Freelander, when it was "born" looked like the first Land Rover NOT designed with a pencil and T-Square. I think I'd be burned out with the constraints of working there too.
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villainy 9:55AM (11/28/2006)
Pff, design? I draw boxes!
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Shawn 10:30AM (11/28/2006)
Chris Tutor, you must be young if you don't understand how someone can burn out. No matter how passionate you are, people burn out all the time...Especially in the creative industry. Look at musicians, artists and writers. After you been doing the same thing year after year, sometimes you change and wants to try something different.
As for your Chinese friend, they will always be artistically challenged when their government control and censor everything they do and see.
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Bill 11:28AM (11/28/2006)
Why is there a pants press in the photo?
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Adrian Snare 1:18PM (11/28/2006)
I remember the old Land Rovers, the 88 and the 109.
These were terrible mechanically; they needed modern engines ,electrics, transmissions.
The basic concept was good, for the 30s and 40s, maybe.
As for being "boxy", so-what !! This cannot be a consideration - either way..
The Hummer is "boxy", as are commerical and military vehicles...
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praetorian 7:19PM (11/29/2006)
I'll take boxes *any* day over the "Wheeeeeeee, we've found spline curves!" dreck that automotive designers are sh*ting out today. The defender is *perfect*. (Actually, it was perfect until the latest redesign.) It cannot be improved upon aesthetically. You can add better components and a surer drive train, but it is unnecessary to touch it in any major way. It is a permanent thing.
The cult of the new, designer arrogance and federal regulation has given us today's tapioca pudding of soulless vehicles. Bring back the original defenders, landcruisers, broncos, corvettes, 'stangs, gtos, etc. and put modern drive trains in them. Everyone who has gone to automotive design school or who works for the NHSTA and DOT? Up against the wall.
So, who want's to make me emperor-dictator?
Cheers,
prat
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Barney 12:24AM (11/29/2006)
Surprising "yaroukh" in the first reply would talk about "to help to someone who is about to make your own automakers cry and bleed." Ford did not always own this British Company and infact has it for sale to the highest bidder. Probably Chinese. I guess it's only okay if an American company takes over foreign companies.
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Mike 12:34AM (11/29/2006)
I think a noble next step for this prolific designer is to pass on his wisdom to the future generation. Teach!
My alma mater is always looking for 'wise' designers to run the transportation design program (it was Ralph Giles when I was there).
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Snaps 5:51PM (12/11/2006)
I love what he did with the 2007 Range Rovers. It's a shame he is leaving the industry.
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