Designer of the Kia Telluride walks us through the entire production process.
Concept cars are a great way to show what a company can do when production constraints and costs are not considered. As the car gets closer to production, it’s disappointing to see the design get diluted.
However, truly innovative designs can often survive the transition without becoming stale or boring. The Kia telluride is a car that stands out in concept form, and now shines in the showroom. Kurt Kahl (Telluride’s exterior designer), spoke to Motor1.com about the process. He said that every step is difficult. The accountants often get the upper hand by making subtle changes to the exterior and interior design motifs that we see on every day cars.
Kahl points out that Telluride’s production model and the concept models were significantly different (pictured above). In this instance, the design team won the most battles with bean counters.
It’s incredible how many battles were fought. Brian White, interior manager, stated that the Telluride concept had three HVAC vents at its middle. Although it seems like an easy choice, engineers and accountants insisted that the standard two vents would be more cost-effective and easier to install. The console-mounted grab handles have integrated switches at the top. Mounting and wiring add an additional layer of production complexity that carmakers often can’t afford. It’s no surprise that some of the most innovative features, such as the Telluride Concept’s jet lag detection or heart rate monitoring, don’t make it to production.
To simplify manufacturing, even minor styling details can be omitted from concepts. For example, stamping the Telluride Concept’s chrome brightwork B-pillar is more difficult than a straight piece of trim. Kia decided to keep it on the Telluride production Telluride. However, even that was subject to debate. It’s difficult to find anything that’s different in today’s auto industry given the size and margins.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that we spoke with Tom Kearns about this story. Kia informed us that they actually spoke with Kurt Kahl (a senior design manager at Kia Design Center America, the Telluride’s lead exterior designer) and Brian White, the interior manager. This story has been corrected. We are sorry for the error.