Autoshow 2018: Tricky Times Ahead

Autoshow 2018: Tricky Times Ahead

by | Jan 31, 2018 | Company Insights

2018 Ford GT at Detroit Auto Show

Image courtesy of Maury Fredricks

Just returned from a trip to attend the Industry Preview Days at the Autoshow in Detroit. It’s about a three-hour drive down I-96 from our home in Grand Haven. Typically, drivers are doing an average of 15 over the prescribed limit and traffic is tight in spots. You can move swiftly across the state and it’s worth the drive to check out the NAIAS, the Autoshow. As designers and engineers, we go to witness and take note of styling and technical trends. For us, it’s a bit of a museum of the past and lens to the future. Ironically, the most innovative vehicles shown may be the death of the show itself.

As I confirmed through multiple conversations at Cobo Hall, the show is dying from the inside. Difficult to change the course of a large ship and the NAIAS is at risk of not being able to adapt to the blurring social and technological landscape. (more…)

CES2018 Mobility Ideas, Concepts & Future Solutions

CES2018 Mobility Ideas, Concepts & Future Solutions

by | Jan 25, 2018 | Events

image source: google images

Back to the future…

“The Jetsons” was a hit cartoon when I was growing up (produced by Hanna-Barbera,aired in primetime from September 23, 1962, to March 17, 1963). For a half hour every week, the show engulfed my imagination in a future world where people were enabled by robots, automation and streamlined, on demand mobility options. Rosie the maid was a robot and everything seemed so much easier for humans. The family seemed so happy, except when they were complaining about the hard work and minor inconveniences of life. Many things have changed over the years, now decades, and some things will remain the same.

This lifestyle, as it relates to mobility and the way we interact with products, is a reality in the developed countries of this world. CES showcased IoT, smart city, smart home and automotive technologies to improve our lives. That’s the idea anyway.

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Fredricks Design, Inc. Welcomes Rogerio Miguel Back to Our Team!

Fredricks Design, Inc. Welcomes Rogerio Miguel Back to Our Team!

by | Jul 5, 2017 | Company News

Rogerio Miguel

We are excited to announce the addition of Rogerio Miguel, Design Engineer + MBA to our team effective June 30, 2017.

Rogerio worked with us from 2000-2002 before returning to Brazil. He brings deep and diverse automotive experience and advanced degrees in business, computer sciences, IT and design. He is also is a PLM solutions consultant with deep experience working with international Fortune 500 companies in North America, Brazil and Europe . The addition of Rogerio to our core team will expand our services working with key clients in product development and PLM. He will be based in our Grand Haven, Michigan studio.

This is an especially exciting announcement since we’ve built our friendship and working relationship over the past fifteen years. Please join us with an enthusiastic welcome for Rogerio, Deise and their children!

Maury Fredricks

CEO

Fredricks Design, Inc.

Fredricks Design, Inc. is a full-service design and engineering firm based in Grand Haven, Michigan. The firm specializes in working as an extension of the client studio and engineering team to identify the right problems and accelerate development of solutions from early ideation, feasibility, concept development and production of mock-ups, prototypes and show properties. Fredricks works with key Clients in the automotive interiors and seating industries, advanced rides and show action projects for themed attractions, furniture, and consumer products markets.

fredricks.com

Fredricks Design Review: Autoshow 2017 Insights

Fredricks Design Review: Autoshow 2017 Insights

by | Feb 2, 2017 | Fredricks Design Review

Adient AI17 Demonstratorsource for images: Adient.com

Autoshow 2017 insights | Adient AI17 Demonstrator

Our first stop at the NAIAS Detroit Autoshow this year was at the Adient showroom. We were invited to tour the showroom by the Adient Studio Team based in Plymouth, Michigan. We were absolutely blown away with the demonstrator produced by Adient and their key suppliers.

In interest of full disclosure, we were the design and studio engineering resource on the 20% armrest housed in the second-row seating. Although we had seen the rest of the demonstrator in development at the build house, this was our first glimpse into the design thinking on display at Cobo Hall. Wow!

The AI17 demonstrator is a benchmark example of the advanced development of concepts by cross-discipline teams working on different continents. Adient is the leading supplier of seating to the automotive market with development centers and manufacturing facilities around the world. At a time when the cost pressures continue to increase from the OEMs, Adient remains committed to the advancement of seating with a laser focus on the end users, drivers and passengers. A little more about the AI17…

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CES and Auto Show 2017 Automotive Insights

CES and Auto Show 2017 Automotive Insights

by | Jan 17, 2017 | Company Insights

I’ve taken a bit of time to reflect on my experience over the past two weeks at CES and Auto Show.

The sequential timing of the shows this year was challenging. I am curious about what is going on behind the scenes with the planning teams for both shows. Will the shows be held during the first two weeks of January 2018 or will they get smart and collaborate on timing to attract more automotive attendees out to the desert? Schedules aside, it was a wonderful experience and I am energized about the future of the mobility business and the challenges ahead!

We find ourselves at unique moment in time to work on wicked problems for drivers and passengers. The trending for autonomous vehicles continues to pick up pace and it will not be long before we are able to call up a guided vehicle to make our way from point A to point B. The real work is just beginning… (more…)