Ford has reportedly announced that its current chief designer at Ford of Europe, Phil Simmons, is being moved over to Land Rover. Rather than having a man with such experience oversee the design of the entire Land Rover brand, Simmons will become the studio director for just the Ranger Rover line of premium SUVs. Simmons is actually the one responsible for the Ranger Rover's current design, having spent a decade at Land Rover before being sent to Ford in the U.S., where he also oversaw the Blue Oval's family of midsize sedans, the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ. He's been at Ford of Europe since 1999, and thus also must've been partly responsible for the Kinetic design language that debuted on the Iosis concept and matured into the production design of the current Mondeo.
Is it a waste (or a demotion) to shift such talent to a brand that's on the verge of being sold from the corporate fold, and then to only give him control over one vehicle line? The Range Rover is certainly key to the success of Land Rover as a whole, but does it need its own design steward? We're a bit perplexed at the appointment, but the rest of Ford's loss is Range Rover's gain.
[Source: The Car Connection]
